Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Chicago — Local services in Chicago

Posted this to help L-type (tourism) visa applicants after the July 2024 update (take note: the application process update in July 2024 has actually made it easier to apply for a tourist visa for US citizens and green card holders). The required documents have lessened and you do not need itineraries or flight/hotel bookings anymore, which is great! The updated requirements are easy to find on their website or with a Google consultation.

Firstly, this IS the building you have to go to for visa applications; you would find another Chinese consulate general office on Googlemaps closer to La Salle St, west of this location - that is not the correct building. Go to this building, the entrance has sliding doors and the address One East Erie on its glass windows. You have to sign a time-in at the reception desk, then head to the 5th floor. On weekday mid-mornings, for those driving, it was easy to find street parking spaces close by.

Just have all the needed requirements (print out everything you need to print) and your whole time inside the consulate can take as fast as only 5-10 minutes, depending on how busy it is. No interview, didn't have any questions asked. Depending on how many people are waiting, you might need to get a number and wait for it to be called.

Submit your passport and properly filled required docs (remember there are 2 places you need to hand-sign and date on the COVA form - the very 1st page and one of the last pages), and then you'll be given a pick-up date of 3 business days after. Payment will be on the date of pick-up.

For dual citizens like me, which I declared on the application, I also gave a bio-page photocopy of the other passport (but I only submitted the US one).

Also, I have been to China before but I couldn't find my previous visa (already more than 10yrs ago) so I left the previous visa number blank but that didn't turn out to be an issue.

The cost is $140 and they accept typical credit cards.

For out-of-towners, unfortunately I don't know if they do same-day visas; I saw in another review from years ago that they don't. The rush application looks like it is only 1 business day faster. I would suggest making your visa application trip also a Chicago tourism trip and plan to stay and explore the area for a couple of days as well (Chicago is nice and you can even plan daytrips to Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana...). I think it isn't clear on which holidays the consulate closes but out-of-towners, keep it safe and just plan a trip keeping in mind any holiday for the wait time. No one wants to waste time and money for things like this.

On my pick-up date, I had no issue at all - just paid the $140 fee and I got a multiple-entry ten-year validity visa without even asking for it in my application (I only declared a single trip). Guess I kept it direct and simple, and I got it fast and simple as well. Non-US citizens actually have cheaper visa application fees and different fees for single and multiple-entry, so glad I got my money's worth!

Two things I didn't like about this consulate: It closes too early (2:30PM, really?). Regular day workers, you'd need to probably schedule some time off just to get a Chinese visa. No option to have the passport mailed back to your home (from what I know, I didn't ask though). Which means you really have to make 2 trips on 2 different days to the consulate. Guess it's for your passport safety as well (EDIT: I saw other reviewers mentioning the courier agency next door on the 5th floor, which you can use to have your passport delivered - didn't...

I had recently applied for a Tourism (L) Visa at the Chinese Consulate in Chicago (FYI- they do not accept appointments for applying for a visa). I’m visiting from out of state so it did mean I was taking a mini vacation …twice, unless I decided to stay for 5 weekdays as it takes 4 business days to process and then you can pick up on the 4th day. I applied on a Friday and it was ready by the following Wednesday according to the pickup receipt. The day of pickup, I got there by 9:05 and I was like 3rd in line to wait for the office to open but once it’s almost 9:30 you won’t see the line in the lobby because the people will be making their way upstairs to go through security. You stay in the same order as when you line up downstairs after you sign in with security. Once upstairs, the line splits off depending on what you are doing. There’s a separate line for pickup and a separate line for applying for the visa- so just because you see 10 people ahead of you, maybe 3 of them is for pickup.

So, before you go to the embassy, you need to apply via the online form and you need to include a headshot of yourself on a white background, not off-white because the application will not let you move forward. I typed just my personal info in CAPS but did everything else in normal writing with some capitalizations. Though it says that filling in your “position” at your job and “job duties” as optional—You actually need to fill it because they will make you fill it on the spot if you don’t. The “where you stay form” is not optional, though it says that…I had to fill it at the embassy so just print and have it ready to give to the officer. I had all my photocopies in color but I’m not sure if that matters but to be safe, I wanted the copies to look exactly as they are. I put that I wanted multiple entries for 9 years and something, and I got multi for 10 years and I am a US citizen who had a 6 months Chinese visa 15 years ago when I was studying abroad in HK.

If you have all your documents, it should be very fast at the window. The day I applied I got to the building around 10:30AM, silly me brought a coffee up thinking I can drink it while I wait inside…SIKE. You can’t bring any drinks or food inside the office. So, I was outside chugging my coffee! This meant, like 7-8 people passed me while I was drinking my coffee in a span of like 7 mins and I finally went through security at around 10:35AM? I was #19 but they were on #5. I was called around 11:30AM and it took less than 10mins for the officer to review my docs and approve it. They give you a pink receipt to bring back to pickup your visa! You can pay with credit card on day of pickup and it's $140--NO CASH ACCEPTED

Here's what I brought with me: my actual valid passport with at least 6 months printed copy of my passport -my actual copy of old passport (this is required because I had a visa before) -printed copy of my OLD passport (this is required because I had a visa before) -printed copy of OLD CHINESE VISA (this is required because I had a visa before) copy of your state ID printed copy of your completed Visa application with the QR Code -copy of marriage certificate (because of name change) -Where you Stay Form

They had 2 officers that were just for the visa...

Important You MUST print out the confirmation page with the barcode and message "passport to be submitted" (see picture below for example)

I was applying for a tourism visa for the first time and used the new online application system (rolled out Sept 2025).

I arrived at 8:30am on a Tueday and was the 2nd in line. I think arriving by 9 is sufficient Tues-Thurs. I heard it's a little more busy on Monday and Friday. No eating, drinking or even sitting (!) allowed in the downstairs lobby. By 9:15, there were over 20 people line. They have you wait in the downstairs lobby, then around 9:15 they'll have you sign in one at a time before heading up to the 5th floor via elevator.

You'll go through security (this guard was super nice) and be handed a number based on the type of visit (visa or passport). They check that you have the application info page at security and person in front of me did not have it so the guard directed them to where to print across the street/next door. I only had to sit and wait for a few minutes and then once called up, I turned in my required forms, was given a pink slip to return Friday for pick-up, and was out the door by 9:35am. There's 5 windows but they only had 2 people working them at the time (1 for pickups and 1 for visa/passport).

Items needed for first-time L tourism visa: physical passport 2 page application page with the barcode and message "passport to be submitted" (there's no download button for this like there is for the application itself which is a bit misleading. You have to right-click and print or ctrl+p, and then download and print those first couple pages)

None of the other documents I prepared just in case were required. Documents NOT required: scan of my passport scan of state ID or utility bill printed COVA application form application statement

It seems that with the new system they minimize the required paperwork from the previous reviews. Here's what the general documents say online on the China Embassy website (so in my case, only the first 2 items were needed): "Documents to be submitted on-site as originals: Passport original used for visa application Application info-page showing “Passport to be submitted” status and the barcode of the application form Old passport containing previous Chinese visa or residence permit which is still within validity If the applicant was of Chinese nationality, the latest Chinese passport is required for submission. 5.For Q1 or S1 visa application, the original certification showing  the relationship of immediate family members between applicants and inviting  individual is required for verification. 6.Other original documents that the consular officials asked to be submitted on-site."

When I returned the next week, the pickup process was even faster: I arrived at 9:15am and you just head straight to the pickup booth after going through security. I was out by 9:45am. All you need is the pink slip and credit card...