Washington D.C. – Washington Post, July 20, 2025
A Chinese American man who works for the Commerce Department and traveled to China several months ago is being prevented from leaving the country after he failed to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the U.S. government, according to four people familiar with the matter.
The American, an employee of the Patent and Trademark Office, went to China to visit family and now has been caught up in China’s controversial practice of blocking Chinese and foreign nationals from leaving China — in what is often seen by Washington as a tool of coercion against people and businesses, these people said. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
The Washington Post does not know the individual’s name. A spokesperson for the Commerce Department referred queries to the State Department.
