visa application agencies
 

I live far from any major cities with consulates and need to get several visas. I am worried about running out of time if mail them all. Does anyone have any experience with any of the agencies that advertise this service. I looked for the AAA site someone had posted about, but didn't find the link. thanks.

If you can tell us where you are located and which visas you need hopefully we can give you ideas and experiences relating to this.

By the way, the only Asian visa you have to apply for in person at a consulate is China.

As James says, give us the info on where you are from and which visas you need, as many (but not all) visas can be arranged upon arrival.

kathie---do you have to apply in person for china?? that would seem almost an impossibility for many??

You can use an agent to apply for Chinese visa in the US. What you cannot do it just mail the application to the consulate.

Bob, The Chinese visa requires an in-person application. As rkkwan says, it can be an agent who applies for you in person. But you cannot mail your application to the Chinese consulate for a visa like you can for other countries.

When I went to Ghana,West Africa in 2003/2004 2004/2005, I applied for my visas through a company called Travisa....tel(202)463-6166 for the Washington,D.C. office. I live in L.A., but there's no Ghanaian Consulate here and I called the consulate in New York city,only to get attitude and hung up on. So, I got on the computer and did some research and found Travisa and it was the BEST service I've ever received. I then found out that there's a Travisa office in San Francisco so I called there out of curiosity and was told that they handle the Asia region of the world and the D.C. office handles other regions of the world. Last year, an friend of a best friend of mine had her plane ticket to Ghana and went to L.A. airport, to fly to Ghana, only to find out then that she needed a visa for Ghana. She didn't know that she needed one. She was not allowed on the plane. She left the airport and went home very upset at her oversight.Vacation ruined. So, my friend called me to ask how her friend could get the visa work done because the airline had rescheduled her friend's flight to leave about a month or so later.I was told that she'd called the same Ghanaian consulate that I'd called in N.Y. and had gotten the same attitude problem and hung up. So, my friend called me and asked what her friend should do and I told her to contact Travisa and let them take care of the whole mess. They did and she couldn't have been happier.Got her visa fast and went on to Ghana and had a great vacation. The second year that I went back to Ghana, I was supposed to get another visa since my first visa was a single entry one. So, I sent the application in again along with the money,photos,etc. Travisa called me as soon as they received my packet and said that I wouldn't need to reapply and pay again and that they would note on my previous visa that it was fine to re-enter. They wrote something on the old visa, mailed it back to me immediatedly and told me to have a wonderful trip. I entered Ghana with no problem and on the visa from the previous year. Happy Travels!

Thanks. I live in Alaska and am going to Tanzania, India, Thailand, China, etc. I need a few visas and am worried about turn around time if I mail each separately.

hi
i have used CIBT for a wide variety of visas, and have had no problems. their website is www.cibt.com

If yuo are staying in Thailand less than 30 days you won't need a visa if US passport.

Thanks for the info on CIBT. I think using an agency will be simplest

I know for Tanzania, US passport holders can get a visa on arrival for $50. There's no need to spend extra money getting one in advance unless you're intending to cross into the country via some obscure land border.

Thanks, Patty. I didn't see that on web site and that would help!