visa.ywpw.com YWPW Chinese Visa Service > Shipping Options

Chinese Visa Shipping Options

secure: online tracking
& email update

fast: 6 hours to 4-5 days
affordable: low service fee
If you use a prepaid return envelope, please sign the release form

Reduced FedEx rate -- we got better rate and we transfer the savings to you.

Sending documents to us

Most customers use USPS Priority Mail (inexpensive and reliable). You may also use Express Mail, FedEx, and UPS, which provide tracking. There are also customers who use USPS first class letter mail.

USPS certified or registered mails are reliable but very slow. Priority Mail with signature confirmation (2-3 days) often takes longer than Priority Mail without signature confirmation (2-3 days). Please keep these in mind when time is critical. You may use our Travel Planner to calculate the total time it takes to get your passport back.

When you use USPS priority or express mail, please use the free envelopes provided by the post office if possible. They offer better protection than the "Cushion Mailers" sold at post office.

Shipping documents back to you

For shipping documents back to you, we recommend FedEx due to it's near "real time" tracking, especially if you tend to worry about where the document is. As soon as the package is scanned, you get email notification from FedEx, even before our update. For USPS, the tracking may be delayed until the next day.

Option 1: (preferred) pay a shipping fee (1) and we will take care the rest. We offer several FedEx and USPS services (see table below), selected primarily based on reliability.

Option 2: send us a prepaid return envelope (FedEx, UPS or US Postal Service) for shipping your documents back (handling fee $1-8, see prepaid envelope preparation guide for details on fees, restrictions, and sign the release form).

  • FedEx tracking is in general more reliable and more timely than USPS tracking.
  • If you need to compute/compare prices, please note that our zip code for return shipping is 77030.

Type Days Fee (1) Tracking (3)(4) Insurance Sat
Delivery
Sun
Delivery
Holiday
Delivery
FedEx Express Saver 2-3 $16 Yes (good) No No No No
FedEx 2Day 2 $20 Yes (good) $100 No No No
FedEx Overnight(2) 1 $29 Yes (good) $100 extra cost No No
FedEx Ground(7) 2-4 $15 Yes (good) No No No No
USPS Priority Mail 2-3 $7 Yes (delay) No Yes No No
USPS Priority Mail
with signature
2-3 $9 Yes (delay) No Yes No No
USPS Express Mail(2) 1 (5) $20 Yes (delay) $100 Yes extra cost extra cost

(1) The shipping fees are based on shipping up to 10 passports per package for USPS Priority Mail and Express Mail, 1 lb (16 oz) for FedEx 2Day and FedEx Express Saver, and 0.5 lb (8 oz) for FedEx Overnight. They apply only to 48 US continental states. For all other areas, or even within the 48 states, if the actual shipping cost is excessively higher than listed, you will pay the actual cost of shipping and we may not ship your documents back before payment is received.
FedEx Overnight is Standard Overnight which ususally delivers by 3 pm. FedEx Priority Overnight and Saturday Delivery cost about $5 and $20 more, respectively.

(2) Both FedEx and US Postal Service say that their overnight services are available for most cities. For certain cities, they may not be able to deliver the next day, even if you paid the rate for next day delivery. Although both services are very reliable and usually deliver on time, we have seen delays using both services. So always plan ahead and allow some extra time.

(3) For USPS priority mail, the 2-3 days delivery time is for most areas. During holidays, it can take a week or more (just like regular mail).

(4) Tracking information for FedEx is usually available 2-3 hours after pickup (about 7:30pm). For USPS Priority or Express Mail, the tracking information is often not available until next morning. If you tend to worry about your package, please select FedEx.

(5) USPS Express Mail usually arrives the next day, but may take an extra day to some smaller cities away from a major city.

(6) Puerto Rico: The cost of shipping for US postal service is the same, but is higher for FedEx. We may ask you to pay extra if the actual FedEx cost is much higher than in the table.

(7) FedEx Groud: Good for shorter distance, not recommended if the distance is long as it takes too long to arrive.

USPS Priority Mail

Priority Mail offers 2-3 day service to most domestic destinations. It delivers on Saturdays but not on Sunday or holidays.

USPS Express Mail

Express Mail offers overnight service to many destinations and is guaranteed or your money is refunded. Express Mail is delivered to many locations Monday to Saturday (extra charge for Sunday and holidays) - and delivered next day by noon to select locations. Express Mail provides tracking and insurance up to $100 at no additional cost.

For some destinations, it may take an extra day.

FedEx Overnight, 2Day and Express Saver

FedEx services provide online tracking, but usually do not deliver on weekends or holidays.

The pricing for FedEx is complex and depends on distance, and it has additional fees for residential delivery, weekend delivery. Our fees are set for typical distances. You are welcome to include a prepaid FedEx envelope for mailing back your documents.

Overseas Shipping

(Document only, no passport/visa) Shipping to overseas is expensive and the shipping time varies. It also includes a lot of extra work for us. We offer the following options to Hong Kong and mainland China (16 oz or less):

  • USPS Express Mail International (EMS) $45 (3-5 days)
  • FedEx International Priority $69 (3-5 days, extra if over 0.5 lb)
  • From our experience, FedEx usually arrive 3-4 days and EMS 4-5 days. The difference may be due to the fact that FedEx only delivers to large cities.

Please note that the above fees are for your reference only and will be adjusted according to the current charges by the carriers. In addition, there will be an international mail handling fee of $10.

Responsibility

While mailing services are generally very reliable (US passports used to be sent to everyone through regular letter mail), but lost mails do happen from time to time. We will not be responsible for documents lost during the mailing process. However, we will provide you with tracking information.

Your satisfaction is our
top priority!
Testimonials

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        duration of stay

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        my visa back


General visa information
Tourist/family visit visa
    2-year family visit visa
Business visa
    2-year business visa
Study/student visa
Employment/work visa
Transit visa
Non-US passport holder

Document authentication

Born in China? read Chinese
for more targeted information
Notarization & Authentication
Chinese passport
American born Chinese children


Tips

Cushion Mailers get damaged frequently. Priority or Express Mail envelopes, available free at post office or FedEx, offer better protection.

Always allow extra days for shipping.

USPS certified, registered, or signature confirmation are slow, usually takes 3-5 days.

Mail travels slower during holidays, and priority mail can take more than a week around Christmas.

You may use self-taken pictures for visa application (please print at photo stores), see visa photo requirement.

For US citizens, a 1-year multiple visa is as easy to get as a single visa, and costs the same.

Frequent travelers, please make sure you have at least one blank visa page.

You may make a single payment to us for consular fee, service fee and shipping.

Q/A

How do you mail back my documents?
Your document safety is our No. 1 concern. We drop your mail in the Post Office or FedEx collection boxes located in well attended locations, like inside the Post Office building or FedEx shipping center.

Why don't you provide options for certified mail or registered mail?
Those types of mails are required to be presented to the post master, and we do not have the man power waiting in the line. Also, those mails are frequently not entered into USPS tracking system, causing troubles to customer and our agency alike.

Why don't you recommend prepaid return envelope for USPS mails?
Customer supplied prepaid return envelopes using USPS priority mail or express mail are often not scanned into the USPS tracking system when the mail leaves Houston. In contrast, our computer generated shipping labels are usually scanned.

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