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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
• Please note: CIBT office will be closed on July 4th, as well as the US
Passport Agency and most all Foreign Consulates.
• India has increased fees for most visa types effective July 01, 2008.
Six month business visas will no longer be granted to U.S. citizens. Please
contact customerservice@cibt.com
for the latest information. India will reject applications anytime the
vital information on the passport does not match the application exactly.
Please proof your application form carefully.
• Effective May 28, the Consulate General of Brazil in Chicago now
requires visa applications to be filled in online. To request visas, the
proper form must be electronically filled in at the following address: https://scedv.serpro.gov.br.
Once the application is completed, CIBT will still be able to submit the
visa request on your behalf.
• Please be advised that CIBT will now charge a $45.00 per country research
fee for any non-business or non-tourist visa request.
• 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.
• 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.
• CIBT offices are not open on weekends and cannot accept weekend
deliveries.
• The CIBT National Customer Service Center will close at 5 PM (central
time) on July 3rd.
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