Chinese passport holders with 10-year US visas need to update information online by November

The US Customs and Border Protection announced on 28 September that Chinese passport holders having 10-year US visas need to update their information every two years online starting from November this year.

They should provide their name, date of birth, passport information, emergency contact, employment and biographical information and other details by logging on to www.cbp.gov/EVUS and registering with the Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS), which was developed recently.

The registration fee costs $8 for the system, which is expected to be functional by the middle of October. Starting November 29, individuals who have not registered their details will be disallowed from travelling to the United States.

Shanghai Daily quotes Gil Kerlikowske, the commissioner of the border agency, as saying that EVUS was devised to improve national security as well as the longevity of the joint pact with China to issue visas for 10 years.

In November 2014, a mutual agreement was signed between the US and China to grant visitor and business travel visas with a validity of 10 years. As per the agreement, it was agreed upon that travellers would need to regularly fill up an online form by filling in their latest information.

The agency has advised travellers to enrol a minimum of three days before they are scheduled to leave for the US.

Covered in this agreement are 10-year visa holders who want to enter America by land.

This rule would, however, not affect students F visa or H work visa holders.

More than 3.9 million visas of this category have been issued to Chinese passport holders by the US.

According to the border agency, the new requirement for China is similar to the ones that citizens of 38 other countries should follow before travelling to the US.