Department of State:

After  your documents are notarized locally and by your States State Department.  It's time to get them to Washington D.C.  The U.S. State Department will have to notarized all of your documents before you can take them to the appropriate Chinese Embassy or Consulate General.  This office does same day Authentications but you have to walk-in.  Their hours of operation are quite short so I'd suggest getting there early.  There's nothing like seeing two or three people in line ahead of you but then notice each one has 15 documents each to be authenticated.  Kind of makes for a long day.

Location	Washington			Documents originating in Washington D.C.
Hours of Operation	7:30am-11:am
Cover Letter	download
Authentication address	U.S. Department of State - Authentications Office			Notarial Section of the District of Columbia
	518 23rd St. N.W. State Annex 1			441 4th Street, N.W. Room 1C090
	Washington, D.C. 20037			Washington, D.C. 20001
Wait Time	Mai-In	Express	One Day
Business Day	3	no	no
Fee (per doc)	$6
	Website			Website

Washington
NOTE: The Authentications Office will mail documents directly to the Chinese embassy or consulate if provided with a transmittal letter, fee, and a pre-addressed, stamped envelope for the return of the documents.
Include a cover-letter.

Document to be Authenticated ensuring:

• Acknowledged before a notary public
• Certified by the clerk of court of the country in which the notary is commissioned.
• Certified by the Secretary of State of the state in which the document is executed.
• * Item 2 may be omitted if the authority in item 3 will certify directly to the notary.
  
• A check or money order made payable to the U.S. Department of State
• A personal or company check, MasterCard, and Visa are acceptable.
• A self-addressed stamped envelope. You may use express mail services for faster receipt/return of your documents.

On this site you will find these needed items:  Chinese Visas, International Marriage

• K3 Visa Forms
• Why you need an Affidavit of Single Status.
• The difference between a Hukou and a Ming Zhen Ju.
• How to obtain a Police Report or Gold Seal Letter Visa.
• American government forms needed for K3 and K1 Visas.
• Visa Interview questions.
• What you need to bring to the K3 Visa interview at the Chinese Consulate.
• First hand accounts of people who have actually married in China and gone through the Visa interview process from start to finish.