Lost passport . . .

[jsm86]

hello! my name is johnny and i am new to this forum! i was searching on the internet about lost passports and visa issues when i lose a passport and came across this forum and a post about a guy who was traveling in the northern part of china near the border of north korea but didnt find too much help there.

my story...

i live in suzhou (a wonderful and beautiful city that you should all visit if you have a chance) and ive been here since june. first i came on a L visa and then after the 3 months got it extended for a month and then went to HK and got it changed to a F visa. it is a weird F visa though because it requires me to leave mainland china every 30 days... i was told i can get this visa extended here in suzhou so that i dont have to leave mainland china every 30 days and just get a standard F visa thats good for a year no problem. so here i am about 9 days before my visa expires (well not expire but i am supposed to leave the country just for a day and come back or get it extended) and i get pick pocketed and lose my passport. now ive been told that i have to go to the u.s. consulate in shanghai, after i get a report from the local PSB, to get my new passport from them which is not really a problem for me because its only 45 minutes by train. the real problem, i guess is what do i do about the visa because i dont think theres such a thing as a visa "reprint". i have to go and apply to get a new visa (like a totally new one) is this correct? and if so my visa expires in about 9 days. i have to wait 5 days for the passport to come out so what do i do? also i called the local entry exit bureau and they asked what company i work for that provided me the means of getting a F visa (a company in shenzhen that i dont know the name of)(they asked for a invitation letter?). im panicking because not only does it cost loads of money for a passport and visa it also costs loads of money for travel and rent is due next month! AND TO TOP IT OFF i was in a bathroom at work and i kid you not this toilet never is out of paper but when i used it today there was no toilet paper! i have the worst luck. so if anyone has any suggestions please help me?(not for the toilet obviously)

oh and mods sorry if i posted in the wrong forum feel free to move my topic to where ever you please. thanks in advance

[anonymoose]

Well, I'm sure you're not the first person to have this happen.

[imron]

Go the the US consulate and explain your situation. They will have dealt with situations like this before. I don't know if they can offer temporary visas or the like, but there will be some way to solve it. Unfortunately, yes, it will cost you money, but there's not much you can do about it.

[roddy]

Get in touch with a visa agency or two in Shanghai (emoo.net is one I know of) and ask if they have any experience. Sounds like you're going to need to use one at some point anyway.

The PSB will give you a new visa, but what you actually get is at their discretion - will be anything between a month and (if they note the HK agency visa you had before and the lack of any official reason to be here) a few days. The fact that you can't justify your original visa is going to complicate things.

Let us know how you get on.

[heifeng]

talk to the US embassy, heck they can even give you a loan or something (since you usually cannot exchange $$ at banks w/o ID) and an temporary passport.

I was there once when a girl had the same thing happen to her...they are there to help you...I think