Q2 visa requirements: the family document checklist
Build the applicant and inviter sides of your Q2 packet, check your consular office’s instructions and distinguish a ten-year visa request from the stay actually granted.
Content updated ·
Two sides of the Q2 packet
| Applicant’s side | Inviter’s side |
|---|---|
| Current passport, online application and photo, US residence evidence, and relevant prior China visa or residence permit | Invitation from the relative living in China |
| If applicable: lawful US status, former Chinese passport, naturalization and name-change documents | Chinese citizen: Chinese identity card, front and back |
| Child or unresolved identity history: use the separate guide and ask the office for case-specific requirements | Foreign permanent resident in China: passport biographical page and Chinese permanent residence card, front and back |
The Embassy’s Q2 list requires the invitation and inviter identification. Unlike its Q1 list, it does not list relationship-certificate originals as a universal Q2 requirement. That does not prevent the office requesting proof in your case.
Check the office for your residence
These are source comparisons checked on October 1, 2026, not five interchangeable checklists. Each office’s linked page gives its jurisdiction and current submission instructions.
- Responsible office
- Washington, DC — Embassy
- Detail to check in its own instructions
- Passport: more than six months remaining and at least two blank visa pages; Q2 invitation and inviter ID uploads
- Responsible office
- New York
- Detail to check in its own instructions
- Distinguishes uploaded materials from original passport, barcode page and other originals for submission
- Responsible office
- Chicago
- Detail to check in its own instructions
- Q2 requires invitation and inviter ID; also apply the general-document list
- Responsible office
- San Francisco
- Detail to check in its own instructions
- Separate first-visa evidence for children under 16; parents’ status at birth may need documentation
- Responsible office
- Los Angeles
- Detail to check in its own instructions
- The current table specifies at least one blank visa page and more than six months’ passport validity; follow its upload/physical-document columns
Ten years, multiple entries and length of stay
US citizens may request a Q2 multiple-entry visa valid for up to ten years under the China–US arrangement described in the Los Angeles notice of November 12, 2014. That notice establishes the option; use current office instructions for passport and document requirements. The consulate decides what to issue.
Visa field
Validity / enter-before date
- What to check
- The period in which the visa may be used for entry; not ten years of continuous residence
Visa field
Entries
- What to check
- How many entries are permitted; do not assume a requested multiple-entry visa was granted
Visa field
Duration of each stay
- What to check
- The permitted stay shown on the issued visa; Q2’s category boundary is not an automatic 180-day stay
Before sending the packet
- Match names, birth dates and passport numbers across the form and invitation.
- Check both sides of identity cards and that scans are legible.
- Keep prior-passport and name-change evidence together where applicable.
- Wait for the online passport-submission status and prepare the barcode page and originals requested by your office.
- Confirm CEV order receiving instructions before mailing originals if you have purchased a visa handoff service.
If a parent has died, the proposed inviter cannot provide an identity document, or a relationship record is missing, describe the actual situation to your office and ask what evidence it requires. This guide cannot supply a universal substitute or exemption.
Official references
Follow the current instructions of the Embassy or Consulate handling your application. These references do not confirm CEV service availability or an order-specific receiving address.
- Chinese Embassy in the US: visa requirements (September 22, 2025) — verified on
- New York: visa requirements (September 24, 2025) — verified on
- Chicago: visa requirements (September 25, 2025) — verified on
- San Francisco: visa requirements (September 25, 2025) — verified on
- Los Angeles: visa documents and submission methods — verified on
- Los Angeles: long-validity visas (November 12, 2014) — verified on
- Chinese Embassy in the US: visa FAQ (updated September 2025) — verified on