Information on China CITIC Bank's Prior Travel Expedite Program for Repeat Travelers to the U.S.

Expedited visa interviews are available for repeat travelers to the United States. Applicants who meet ALL of the following requirements are eligible to submit their applications via China CITIC Bank's Expedite Program, at the denoted China CITIC Bank locations listed in the Fees section of this website. All applicants will still need to appear at the Consular Section of the U.S. Consulate General, Shanghai to have their fingerprints taken, but in most cases, they will not need to remain for additional questions and can leave immediately after providing their fingerprints.  In this way, applicants can shorten their waiting time in our office.


The requirements for the prior-travel expedite program are that an applicant:

• Must be applying for the same visa class of U.S. visa (i.e. B-1/B-2, F-1, etc.), and the last visa must have been issued in Shanghai;
• Must not have been refused a U.S. visa since the last visa was issued;
• Must be renewing a visa that has not yet expired (there is no longer a requirement that the visa was used for travel to the United States in order to utilize the Prior Travel program); or
• If the visa has expired, the expiration date cannot be more than 12 months prior to the date the application is submitted to CITIC Bank (except for H visas); and
• If the visa has been used to enter the United States, no single trip to the United States on the previous visa can include a stay of more than 90 days (this requirement does not apply to H visa holders);
• Returning H visa holders can use CITIC Prior-Travel Program regardless of the length of his/her most recent stay, provided with the issuance date of his/her visa is no more than 24 months prior to the date the application is submitted to the CITIC Bank.

Required documents for the prior-travel expedite program include:

• China CITIC Bank application fee receipt.
• A passport valid for at least six months beyond the travel departure date
• The completed DS-156 visa application form in English, with a recent (taken within the last six months) 2-inch square (50-mm square) photograph attached.
• For all applicants over age 16, one copy of the supplemental application form DS-157 must also be included in English).
• For applicants and their dependents renewing F-, J- or M-class visas, one copy of the supplemental application form, DS-158, in English, must also be included.
• For those who renew their B1/B2 visas, a valid invitation letter is required.
• For those who renew their F1/M1 visas, a valid I-20 form and the copy of transcript are required, for their dependents, a valid I- 20 form is required.
• For those who renew their J- visas, a valid DS-2019 form is required.
• For those who renew their H- visas, a valid I-797 form is required.
• For any applicants whose previous visa application was delay for additional processing, we suggest that they also submit an updated resume or Curriculum Vitae.