Chinese Consulate in Houston: closed since 2020
What happened to the Chinese Consulate in Houston
The Chinese Consulate General in Houston closed on 24 July 2020, by order of the United States Department of State. Its building on Montrose Boulevard was vacated, its website no longer resolves and its consular district was redistributed.
Since 2020 there has been no Chinese consular office anywhere in the American South. Everything for those nine territories goes through Washington.
Where Houston's district went
The nine states and territories it used to serve — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas and Puerto Rico — now report to the Chinese Embassy in Washington. That is written into the jurisdiction announcement both governments agreed in June 2024.
The practical consequence is distance. Before the closure a Texan had a Chinese consulate inside the state; today the median drive from a Texan city to the office that covers it is over 1,500 miles, and from El Paso it is 1,964.
Why Google still shows it
The listing at 3417 Montrose Boulevard, Houston, TX 77006 carries hundreds of reviews, and every one of them predates the closure. A Google listing is not removed when an office shuts: it stays until somebody reports it. Several private visa agencies in Houston rank alongside it, which does not help.
Real reviews of the Chinese Consulate in Houston
These are some of the reviews people leave on Google, rewritten in their own terms and not chosen to flatter.
The listing still averages 3.2 stars over 260 reviews — and every one of them was written before July 2020. They are a record of an office that no longer exists.
Tips for applying here, as of 2017: no appointment needed for a visa, bring the passport with a copy of the first page and the V.2013 form. Parking opposite the side door.
Chen L. · 5★
I expected a DMV experience and it was better than that, mostly because I turned up with everything I needed. Worth checking the hours before you drive over.
Andrea F. · 4★
We were there for a reception marking the anniversary of the PRC. Good food, pleasant building — nothing to do with consular services.
Robert M. · 3★
What you can settle without going to the consulate
- book nothing: since October 2023 the five offices take walk-ins and there is no appointment to make
- send someone else to hand in your passport and to pick it up for you
- fill in the whole visa form and upload your documents on COVA, without leaving home
- get a U.S. apostille from your Secretary of State — the consulate stopped authenticating documents in November 2023
Details verified on 10 September 2026.
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