Passports

General Information

Passport applications are accepted at the Consulate during our normal American Citizen Services hours, listed here. Limited validity emergency passports may be issued in special circumstances.

Information for all Applicants

All passport applicants, whether applying for the first time or renewing, must appear in person before a Consular officer. The following chart shows the appropriate forms and fees:

 

All of these forms are available at the Consulate or can be downloaded and filled out before you come in. Please wait until you are in the presence of a Consular officer to sign the form. Also, please bring in two recent 2” x 2” photos with your application. These should be on a white or off-white background with your eyes looking forward. Click here for full photo specifications. Fees are payable in cash only, either in dollars or renminbi.

If you have never had a U.S. passport before, please bring in at least one photo ID and evidence of your American citizenship—e.g. original certified copy of birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or Certificate of Naturalization. Note that, depending on your circumstances, the Consular officer may need to request additional information. Further information about documentation of U.S. citizenship can be found here.

If you are renewing, please bring in your current passport.  Note: if you have changed your name by court decree or through a marriage, please bring the original court order for change of name or your original marriage certificate or certified copies of same.

Regular (i.e. non-emergency) passports are processed in the United States and are usually available for pickup at the Consulate 7-10 days after you file the application—our staff will contact you when the passport arrives. You will keep your current passport while the new one is being processed. We will cancel your current passport when you pick up the new one. If you would like to have someone else pick the passport up for you, please write and sign a note for him or her to bring in along with your current passport.

Passports for Minors (under age 16)

If your child is between the ages of 14 and 16, at least one parent should accompany him or her to the Consulate. Also, please bring along his or her original birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, and adoption decree (as applicable) with the parents' names and child's name on it.

If your child is under the age of 14:

• Both parents need to accompany him or her to the Consulate and sign the application in the presence of a Consular officer. If one parent is unable to attend, he or she must submit a notarized letter of consent (Form DS-3053) or a similar notarized letter of authorization. Notarizations for this purpose can be done at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate free of charge. We will accept letters of consent notarized by non-American notaries on a case by case basis. Alternatively, the parent applying for the passport must submit proof of sole custody.
  
• Parents should bring along their own passports as well as the child’s birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad and adoption decree, as applicable.
  
• If the photo in your child’s previous passport was taken when he or she was a baby, we recommend that you bring along family photos showing the child at age 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and each subsequent year thereafter to show that the child pictured in the previous passport is the same child as the applicant.
  

Note: the stricter requirements for children under age 14 stem from Public Law 106-113, which took effect July 2, 2001. The law is aimed at lessening the possibility that a U. S. passport might be used in the course of an international parental child abduction. We will not waive these requirements.

Adding Extra Pages to Your Passport

We can add extra visa pages to your passport while you wait -- it takes about 20 minutes if we are not busy. You do not have to appear in person to get pages added -- if you want someone to take care of it on your behalf, write and sign a letter of authorization for him or her to bring in. You must sign the DS-4085 form yourself.

For applicants under the age of 14, at least one parent must be present, and both parents must sign form DS-4085. If one parent is absent, he or she must also provide a notarized Letter of Consent (Form DS-3053) or a similar notarized letter of authorization. Notarizations for this purpose can be done at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate free of charge. We will also accept letters of consent notarized by non-American notaries.

If you have any questions please feel free to email us.