Posts Tagged ‘Chinese passport’

China’s New Passport Raising a Stir: Rush Passport NYC

Monday, November 26th, 2012

India has officially responded with action to China’s new passports.  The new Chinese passport shows disputed territory close to their shared border as belonging to China.  India responded by issuing Chinese citizens with visas that are embossed with New Delhi’s own maps. 

Indian officials call the new Chinese passport ”unacceptable.”  India feels the best way to retaliate is to issue visas to Chinese citizens with their own version of the map of India that includes all territories claimed by New Delhi.

Not only do the new Chinese passports upset India, but the Philippines and Vietnam are also angered because the new passports also show disputed regions of the South China Sea as Chinese territory.

The land discrepancy stems from a border war that was fought between India and China in 1962.  Large portions of land in the area remain in question. 

While China and India have met several times to try to resolve this issue, they have not reached an agreement.  This new move by China to change their passports has upset India and one can only imagine whether or not there will be trade implications.

Indian officials can only speculate what sparked China to make the revisions to their passport at this time.  This is a developing story and it will be interesting to see how India, the Philippines and Vietnam respond to the new Chinese passports.

If you are interested in getting a passport or visa, give us a call at (212) 643-9305. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

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Cryptocat Creator’s Passport Confiscated: Rush Passport NYC

Sunday, June 10th, 2012

cryptocat passportHave you heard of “Cryptocat”?  If not, you probably will be hearing about it soon.  Cryptocat is a web-based program that allows users to communicate and share files over a secure, encrypted chat session that is not subject to commercial or government surveillance.

It was created by Nadim Kobeissi.  According to his Wikipedia page, Kobeissi was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1990 and lists his occupation as “computer security specialist, freedom of information activist”.

You may not have heard of Kobeissi or Cryptocat.  However, according to cryptocat founder, Nadim Kobeissi, US border patrol confiscated his passport.  The founder claims that he has used his passport to travel from Canada to the United States 4 times in the past three weeks.  The last time that he used his passport, he says that he was interrogated by US border patrol and his passport was confiscated.

Kobeissi has been on US radar for a while as a person of interest with regard to internet security and according to his Wikipedia page, “In 2012, the FBI attempted to entrap Kobeissi using Sabu – an American hacker involved with Lulzsec, an offshoot of Anonymous – as an undercover informant.”  That story is also backed up by a NY Times article.

Kobeissi cannot understand why his passport would be confiscated.  He sees Cryptocat as an application that “can save lives, because during the tense moments of the Arab Spring the sources of certain instant messages and other online communications were tracked down and killed for their political views and organizational skills.” 

While Kobeissi admits that Cryptocat can be used for bad as well as good, he thinks its worth the risk.  “It’s like if someone says ‘Hamburgers: they can be used to feed the good and they can be used to feed the Taliban. I guess that means we should get rid of hamburgers then.’ It bothers me that we’re so afraid that our freedom will be used against us that we’re willing to just give it up.”

I don’t know whether or not you’re convinced by his hamburger analogy, but it seems that Kobeissi’s decision to use his passport is under scrutiny.

Kobeissi is not the only computer developer who has been detained by US customs.  Last year a bitcoin developer using his passport to travel from China to the United States was questioned for hours by US Customs agents and then denied entry into the United States.

If you are interested in getting a US passport or visa, contact us at (212) 643-9305. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

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Update on Chinese Passport Case: Rush Passport NYC

Sunday, May 20th, 2012

In a previous Rush Passport blog, we covered the story of blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng’s plight to come to the United States.  In a new development, Chen arrived in New York over the weekend.  The arrival of Guangcheng ended a stalemate between the United States and China.

On May 19, Chen left Beijing and arrived in New York city with his wife and two children over the weekend.  Chen plans to study law at New York University.

This was a diplomatic situation in which China demanded an apology from the United States after US diplomats offered Chen safe haven in the US embassy.

Now that Chen is New York, the tension between the two countries has dissipated.

Chen was issued a Chinese passport and allowed to travel to the United States.  It is unclear whether or not Chen and his family will become US citizens and get US passports.

It is important to know that just because Chen Guangcheng is free, he still has other family members who remain in China and may be the target of retaliation.

The deal to allow Chen to apply for a passport and accept an offer to study at NYU law school was reached between China and the United States earlier this week.

Who knows what the future will hold if Chen decides to return to China.  China may not allow him to come back and he may end up applying for a US passport and remain in the states as a political refugee.

If you are interested in getting a passport or visa, give us a call at (212) 643-9305. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

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Passport for Chen Guangcheng? Rush Passport NYC

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

us passportHave you heard about the blind Chinese activist who is in the middle of a diplomatic crisis?  He fled China and entered the US Embassy.  Then he filled out a Chinese passport application took a passport photo in an attempt to study in the United States.

The blind Chinese activist, Chen Guangcheng along with his wife and 2 children have applied for passports to come to the United States.  It is estimated that Chen and his family should receive the passports within 2 weeks.

The US says that the activist’s US visa is ready.  While Chen should be free to study abroad just like other Chinese citizens, security officials have prohibited him from leaving.  While under house arrest, Chen made a dramatic late night escape and arrived in the protection of US diplomats.

Chen has plans to study at NYU as soon as he and his family are issued Chinese passports.

Chen, a blind, self-taught legal activist, gained notoriety for his crusade to help people with disabilities and his fight against forced abortions in his community.  This caused local officials to convict him in 2006 on allegedly fabricated charges.  After four years in prison, Chen has been held on house arrest.

This is a developing story.

If you are interested in getting a passport or visa, give us a call at (212) 643-9305. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

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Visa Regulations Need Reform to Bring in Chinese Tourists: Rush Passport

Monday, February 20th, 2012

US visa from ChinaIn a recent Rush Passport™ blog entry, the topic was getting a Chinese visa to travel to the United States. 

The main problem with the United States visa system is that it cannot keep up with the Chinese demand.  China is currently the source of over 10% of all US visa applications.  The only other country that has more passport holders applying for US visas is Mexico.  With so many visa applicants, the visa system should be able to accomodate the large numbers to maximize travel to the United States.

However, the is a currently a 3 month wait just to get a visa applicant interview.  Each visa applicant must have an in-person visa interview in order to be approved for travel to the United States.

It is in the best interest of the United States to process Chinese visa applicants more efficiently.

In order to expedite the handling of visas from China to the United States, there needs to be more American staff members at the embassy and UIS Consulates in China.  In addition, more interview facilities need to be made available to Chinese visa applicants.  The best case scenario is that a visa interview can be made in 48 hours or less once the visa application is submitted.

Another way to make the visa process smoother would be to grant visas to pre-qualified travelers who were granted visas in the past.

It is understood that national security should be the United States’ prime concern, but it is also very important from an economical standpoint to make the visa application process more efficient.

Other countries are competing for Chinese tourists and have taken steps to ease the visa process.  Japan, for example, has made it so that a Chinese visa applicant who lives in a big city must only need to have a credit card to be approved for a visa.

New Zealand has also eased theire visa regulations with the hopes of attracting Chinese tourists.

Spain sees the opportunites to bring in more Chinese tourists and in addition to easing visa regulations, has also encouraged airlines to schedule more direct flights between the two countries.

Germany is also planning moves towards simplifying the visa process for Chinese applicants.

If you have more questions about getting  a visa, a passport, an expedited passport, emergency passport, passport renewal, same day passport, US Passport book, US Passport Card, passport photos or other passport services, be sure to contact Rush Passport™. You can visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent. (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

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