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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
• Many Consulates and government agencies will be closed for Memorial
Day, Monday 26.
• CIBT's National Customer Service Center will close at 5 PM Central Time
on Friday, May 23.
• Please be advised that China continues to tighten its visa policy in
advance of the Beijing Olympic Games. In many cases, Chinese Consulates are
requiring additional back-up documentation such as proof of hotel stay,
flight itineraries, proof of previous visa, host business or Foreign
Ministry invitation letters from China, and certificates of financial
guarantee. Each province has a government department that deals with
foreign businesses doing trade within its jurisdiction. It will likely be
to this local office that any local Chinese company who wants to invite a
foreign company must go for permission/authentication. These requirements
are changing almost daily and are not uniform from city to city. These
changes are also being immediately implemented without advance notice or
grace period, so that items already in progress may be affected. In some
cases; we are seeing that China may deny visa requests to certain foreign
nationals residing in the U.S., and will refer the individual to their home
country for application. Please be assured that CIBT is working diligently
to understand and implement these new requirements. We are updating our
systems with this new information as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, we
recommend that travelers contact CIBT (www.cibt.com)
for the latest information prior to submitting documents for processing.
• The Chinese Embassy and its Consulates recently changed visa submission
requirements. As a result, an additional fee of $15 will be temporarily
assessed to cover the extra costs associated with expedited processing and
strict jurisdiction enforcement imposed by China. Please contact customerservice@cibt.com for
further information.
• U.S. cell phones do not work in Japan and Korea. Please contact Global
Phoneworks (http://www.globalphoneworks.com/)
for reduced rate mobile phone rentals. Special promotional discounts
available for groups of 20 or more traveling to China.
• Attention Companies with Aviation Departments: If your company has an
internal aviation department that coordinates flights from the United
States to destinations overseas, then CIBT can assist your crew members
with visas and passports. Requirements for crew members often differ from
those for business travelers. To learn more, please contact Steven Diehl
at: steven.diehl@cibt.com. Steve
would welcome receiving the contact information for your aviation
department so he can send them the necessary information.
• India will reject applications anytime the vital information on
the passport does not match the application exactly. Please proof your
application form carefully. Additionally, India will no longer issue
a 5 year visa to U.S. citizens. U.S. passport holders may only request
visas for 6 months, 1 year, or 10 year visas (a 10 year visa request
requires a business invitation letter). All U.S. passport holders who apply
for a 5 year visa will have their applications rejected by the consulate.
The Indian consulate will no longer automatically convert 5 year request to
a 10 year request.
• China Group Travel: CIBT anticipates that many of our clients will
be sending groups of employees to China to attend events related to the
summer Olympics. CIBT can help your organization create a program with
customized visa "kits" for groups of 20 or more employees who are
traveling to China at the same time. If you are interested in learning more
about this program, please contact Steven Diehl (CIBT Business Development)
at: steven.diehl@cibt.com.
• Department of Homeland Security delays border crossing rules. Those
U.S. citizens returning to the U.S. by land and sea will not have to
present a passport until June 1, 2009, according to the U.S. DHS and the
State Department. The WHTI land and sea final rule and specific information
on documentation requirements may be obtained at www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/ready_set_go/.
For general information on the WHTI or other travel-related programs, visit
www.dhs.gov or www.travel.state.gov or www.cibt.com.
• Effective December 3, 2007, The United Kingdom introduced a biometric
visa process. Travelers will need to complete applications online. CIBT
will continue to assist with securing the visa. Please contact CIBT for
additional information. http://www.britainusa.com/visas/articles_show_nt1.asp?i=65024&a=46974&L1=41000.
• CIBT offices are not open on weekends and cannot accept weekend
deliveries.
• The Weekly Update will be on vacation next week and will resume on
Wednesday, June 04. Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day holiday.
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