Visa Issue for US Naturalized citizen--Help!

[skeeter]

Hi,

I am a US naturalized citizen, born in Hong Kong in 1967, came to the US when I was 8 years old. I plan on traveling to China for the first time since coming to the US this April 15. When I went to the Chinese consulate to apply for my visa, I only have my US passport. The consulate is asking for my Hong Kong passport. The problem is, I don't have one. Since I came to this country as a child, I was never issued a hong kong passport. Has anyone else experienced this issue? How were you able to solve the problem? The consulate was not helpful, when I told them my situation, they told me to go 'find' my hong kong passport! Please help..

[studychinese]

Apply as a U.S. citizen. Deny that you are a citizen of HK. I don't see how difficult that could be.

[jbradfor]

Your place of birth is on your passport. What makes you think you can deny it?

Anyway, my wife is in a similar situation (born in HK, naturalized USA citizen, had a Hong Kong passport but couldn't find it. I'm not going to tell you her DOB or she'll kill me ;) ).

We were warned that we might have problems without her old HK passport (or, at least, residency card). However, she has gotten three Chinese visas thus far, and so far no problem. When asked, she said she lost it.

One option you could try is to use a visa agency. It costs more money, but since you would not be doing it in person, the can't ask you. Of course, you then run the risk of it being rejected outright and losing the visa agency fee.

BTW, you said you never had a passport, but yet you were able to leave HK and come to the USA?

[edelweis]

As a child, you were probably listed on a parent's passport. Perhaps you can get hold of that?

[jbradfor]

Ah, right, children used to be able to travel on their parents' passport. I forgot that. Not the case anymore.

However, I'm not sure how that will help the OP. The issue is, as I understand it, that China does not allow dual-citizenship, and they require you to give up your Chinese citizenship when you naturalize in a different country. And one way they enforce you giving up your Chinese citizenship is to see your revoked Chinese passport when you get a visa to China.

I have heard, but have not actually tracked it down, that there is a form you can fill out to explicitly revoke your Hong Kong residency permit after you naturalize somewhere else. This would probably help. However, if you want to leave April 15, I doubt you have time for that before you leave. So that won't help for this case.

[fanglu]

Go back again, try to talk to a different person and if they don't agree, argue with them (explain you came 40 years ago, never had a HK passport, only a British passport (?), etc.). Once they decide it's all too hard they'll give in.

[Jive Turkey]

However, I'm not sure how that will help the OP. The issue is, as I understand it, that China does not allow dual-citizenship, and they require you to give up your Chinese citizenship when you naturalize in a different country. And one way they enforce you giving up your Chinese citizenship is to see your revoked Chinese passport when you get a visa to China.

This would not apply to the OP as Hong Kong Chinese citizens are not prohibited from being dual-citizens. Perhaps the consulate just wants people it views as Chinese citizens to enter China as such.

[skeeter]

jbradfor--Thank you very much for your input. Which consulate did your wife deal with? I went to the China consulate in San Francisco and they were most unhelpful, asking me to go home to 'find' it. I took your advice and spoke to a Visa Agent to explain my problem. She told me to bring a copy of my birth certificate. Thankfully, my mother had a photocopy of it, hopefully that solves the issue. I will know soon.

[jbradfor]

Chicago. I have heard from more than one person that the SF consulate can be, how to phrase it, less than helpful.

FYI, in my looking, I came across this web site, which explains how to officially revoke your HK citizenship.

This would not apply to the OP as Hong Kong Chinese citizens are not prohibited from being dual-citizens.

Humm, you seem to be correct. It's a bit confusing, and I'm no immigration lawyer, but the closest information I found was this (source)

Article 3 of the Nationality Law of the PRC states that dual nationality or citizenship is not recognised. However, in Hong Kong, this is subject to "the explanations" made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC). These explanations declare how the Nationality Law is to be interpreted in Hong Kong. According to the explanations , a Hong Kong Chinese person may still be considered to be a Chinese citizen even after obtaining foreign citizenship.

If that is true, from my reading of it, you are still considered a Chinese citizen by China, and hence the problem you are encountering.

[edelweis]

Would it be possible to enter HK on the US passport, and once there either get a HK passport or officially decline HK nationality, finally armed with all paperwork, get a visa for the mainland in HK ?

[jbradfor]

That might work as well. And, as a bonus, you get to spend a week (or so) enjoying yourself in Hong Kong!

I was a bit surprised that the visa agency said that your birth certificate would help. I'm not saying they are wrong, they should know more than I do, just surprised. I did a bit of looking, and found this (source)

A child with Chinese descent born in US applying visa for the first time should provide the original and a photocopy of either parent's foreign passport or green card and Certificate of Birth besides other regular materials.

I wonder if the visa agency thinks that while you were not born in the US, but you were a minor when you came to the US, you could fall into this category.

Anyway, cheer up! Once you get the first visa, you won't need to worry about this issue again, as you can use your previous visa as proof that you are eligible to get a new visa.

First time applicant whose former nationality was Chinese, shall write down his Chinese name in the application form and submit his original Chinese passport and the photocopy of the information page of the passport; if the name in the new passport is different from that in the old one, official document for name change should be provided; applicant who was formerly Chinese and has acquired a new US passport, if there is a Chinese visa in the old passport, shall submit his old US passport or the photocopy of the Chinese visa.

Let us know how this works out, to help others in your situation.

[skeeter]

Hi Everyone,

After a lot of back and forth with the consulate via the Visa Agent, I finally received my visa. I wanted to report back in hopes of helping others who may encounter the same issue in the future. Here is what I did:

1) Submitted a copy of my Hong Kong Birth Certificate along with my mother's old Hong Kong passport (thankfully, my mother still had the passport after all these years) which also included me and my siblings' names. This was the passport used to enter the US.

2) Visa was denied because my Chinese name was on the passport and my US passport showed my American name. Consulate wanted my naturalization papers or some document showing name change, which I did not have.

3) I wrote a letter explaining my situation. I've been in the country for 36 years and became a citizen when my parents received their citizenship, therefore, no naturalization papers.

4) Visa Agent resubmitted the visa application with the letter, visa was denied again.

5) Consulate requested that I go to a notary to certify that my name changed when I became a citizen. Luckily, I found a notary fluent in Chinese. She helped draft a letter written in Chinese, notarizing my name change when I became a citizen. The notary seemed to have experience with helping people in the same situation as myself, those who came to the country as children, who now want to visit China, but do not have all of the required documents. She said the situation is fairly common.

Overall, I think it was worth using a visa agent, it really saved me three trips to the consulate and dealing with the lines and bureaucracy. I'm so thankful that I finally got my visa. Apparently, after you are granted a visa the first time, it's much easier to get visas in the future.

Thanks everyone for all of your input and very creative advice.