Tourist Visa Expire Date. Can I come back to US, I'm a US Citizen?

[Up in the Sky 2]

Hi

This will sounds stupid but,

I have a Chinese Visa and will expire on May 18th. I am a US Citizen and will be traveling to China to see my wife on May 12th. I will stay till June 1st. That's about 2 1/2 weeks.

My visa say multiple entries and have a 30day stay period on it.

My question is will I be able to get back in the US without any hassle? I am trying to avoid pay for another Chinese visa which I will probably wouldn't used in a very long time.

Thanks

[confusedasheck 21]

Why would this cause problems with the US government? You're not overstaying your visa in China ( I'm assuming your Chinese visa the "Enter by" date of May 18 on it and is in the "M" catagory for Multiple entries) Unless it's your passport that's expiring, then you may have problems. But since it's your visa that's expiring, I don't see why it would be a problem getting back to the US as a citizen.

[GeoffandAnna 19]

As a US citizen, you can, of course, come back to the US anytime. They don't care about your Chinese visa. I would worry more about being hassled on the way out of China for having an expired visa.

[confusedasheck 21]

I don't think the OP is violating the terms of his Chinese visa as long as his passport is valid for six months after he enters China.

This is what I remember the Chinese Visa looking like when I went (this scan seems to be recent). http://www.rathburn.net/visa/china/china.html

If he has a multiple entry visa for China it should have an "Enter By" date someplace on the visa. This is not an expiration date, it just means the visa holder must enter China before that date. If he is allowed thirty days for each visit after entering China and plans to stay 2.5 weeks (17/18 days), then he is within the terms of the visa.

[Darnell 8,478]

back into the usa? no problem - in fact - the CBP goons don't look at yer china visa - they only look at yer passport.

The china cbp goons only review the 'enter by' date - I think yer getting confused .

this is not a USA tourist visa topic - the forum guidelines cover 'This forum is for discussion tourist visas to the US. People wishing to enter temporarily for pleasure, tourism, business (B-1) or medical treatment (B-2) should post here.' so I'm moving this to the China forum ***

Edited March 26, 2011 by Darnell

[xiaozhu 4]

They are correct. The period listed on your visa indicates that you can enter into China during the period, does not mean how long you can stay in China. It would not be any probelm for you to enter China (before May 18), stay in China, and return USA. You donot need to apply for another visa.

Edited March 26, 2011 by xiaozhu

[Up in the Sky 2]

Ok,

I got my airline ticket May 12th heading into Hong Kong I will be staying in Hong Kong for 2 hour only then flying off into mainland china. Hong Kong doesn't need a visa from me so I should be fine. So I guess I'm still good on my visit that expires on May 18th.

Right? I hope I'm right. I know everyone responded on my thread, but I hope those answer didn't change because of where I will land first.

[Eric & Jin 10]

As long as you enter China prior to your visa's expiration date you can stay the maximum duration of stay noted on the visa irregardless if the visa expires before your maximum stay as been reached. It doesn't matter where you enter China from just as long as you enter before the visa's expiration date. To put your mind at ease here it is straight from the horse's mouth (Chinese Consulate in Houston):

Q:My Chinese visa says ENTER BEFORE Apr 20th, 2000 with DAYS FOR EACH STAY 30. However, I plan to enter China on Apr 18th and stay for 19 days. Therefore, the date of my exit, which is May 7th, exceeds Apr 20th. Will there be a problem?

A:No, there will be no problem. The validation of a Chinese visa, which appears on the visa as ENTER BEFORE, designates the period it may be used for entry into China, not how long a visitor can stay. How long a visitor can stay in China after his entry is determined by duration of stay of a Chinese visa, which appears on the visa as DAYS FOR EACH STAY. Therefore, if your Chinese visa says ENTER BEFORE Apr 20th,2000 with DAYS FOR EACH STAY 30, you can enter China before Apr 20th, 2000 and stay in China for no more than 30 days after entry.

http://houston.china-consulate.org/eng/vp/faqs/

[Darnell 8,478]

Yay Houston !