By the AmCham China Visa Committee
Starting Jan. 1, 2016, the US Department of State will no longer add visa pages into American passports. Previously, US passport holders could pay for the insertion of an additional 24 pages when valid passports lacked adequate space for entry or exit visa stamps. Discontinuing this service was done for the sake of enhancing security and adhering to international passport standards.
To mitigate the impact on frequent travelers, the Department of State began issuing 52-page passports in 2014 to all applicants outside the US for no additional cost. Applicants within the US have the choice of a 28-page or 52-page book.
Requests for 24-page visa inserts will only be accepted until Dec. 31, 2015. Come Jan. 1, all US passport holders in need of additional pages in their valid passports will need to obtain a new passport.
For more information on how or where to apply for new pages or a new passport, please visit Travel.State.Gov/ApplyEarly or call the National Passport Information Center toll-free at 1-877-487-2778 or 1-888-874-7793.
To learn more about the AmCham China Visa Committee, contact Elizabeth Barrett: ebarrett@amchamchina.org.