2mike&jin

Larry; At the risk of sounding too pedantic, I looked twice at your posts and I don't see a definitive place where you state whether you "have" or "have not" been filing your taxes each year. Let's say that you have filed and reported all of your worldwide income each and every year - as you are required to by law. When you produce the last three years of tax forms they will see that you have either filed single and married or joint and married. Any other filing status, i.e. single, would be in error, since the first year of your marriage. As we say, the sun never sets on the long arm of the US Internal Revenue Service. If you have filed joint/married - then I suppose you wouldn't have asked the question. So that brings us to the last possibility - you possibly haven't filed any tax returns since being in China since 2003, and specifically none since you were married. If this is the fact, then I think you have a significant problem only not only with the application to bring you wife to the US but with the IRS upon your return to the US. I hope this is not the case. If I missed the intent of you post or the fact that you "have filed each year" I apologize for it, but we see so many folks here that think because so much of their income "Could be excluded" on their overseas income that they fail to report of file income taxes - thus setting themselves up for serious IRS complications as well as the resultant VISA issues. Best of Luck to you in your endeavors

Ok, we use "New Zealand" whole milk for our "cereal" in China - and it has never been a problem. Our David also will drink the "street vendor" Do Fu milk, but that is only a drink if we are out and about. We, haven't tried any "Chinese Dairy" products - only the NZ, Australia, European products we get in the Major Stores, Carrefour, Metro, or Wall Mart. BTW - I'm not sure the timing would be right to change an emerging infant from formula to whole milk while being in China. The better part of valor might be to make the switch when you return....too many moving parts in my view.

We've done this several times and it is no big problem. We use the Enfagrow-Powder as milk (includes the BPA etc) and all we did was fill up 7 or 8 bottes with the powder in the disposable insert liners - and put in Diaper Bag. No problem with TSA, and of course outside the US no one cares. When on the plane, they will bring hot-water/warm water at will, just pour in and presto - lunch is served. You will need same travel documents for Child as you need for yourself - passport, visa, shot record, and in the case of an infant a copy of the birth certificate. (I never travel anywhere without a copy in my wallet). I also had our son's DNA taken and registered, will do fingerprints and FBI info when I return to Hawaii. Note: It makes a lot of sense to get an "International Shot Record" and have the shots transcribed at your Dr's office - the next time you're in for shots. I know our Hawaii schools/Dr Office one is essentially a plain piece of paper and doesn't even look official -- ergo the perception of having it in the International Shot Record record format (the Yellow one). When arriving in China - I always carry son through customs/entry and wife goes separately through Chinese line. I also have David say Ni Hao, and try to get him to sing Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) which seems to relax the checker - not that I need to do it....just seems to calm me more than anything after a long flight. Airlines: Usually - under 2, Infant in Lap/Arms is free, I notice that Foreign Airlines charge about 10% of the adult price for an "infant in Arms". Our David is now 29 months and I'm sorry to say - our last trip his cost was the same as an adult fare. Also note, you can buy infants a full fare seat and they get their own seat...but it seems to be an overkill to me since you hold them in your arms most of the way anyway. I also notice, as was outlined here - the fold down baby-beds are available if you book them, depending on airlines. We usually fly "Business Class" on all trips to China so there is not much demand for the infant beds. Our son won't sleep in them anyway - so I don't bother with that, although we tried it once, a dismal failure since he wouldn't stay in it. I also notice that on Foreign Carriers, they don't "fill up the" Business or First class with upgrades out fo coach - so usually it is pretty empty up front or on top in the case of 747's (JAL etc). Usually, after takeoff - we are sitting alone as most of the Adult Passengers have moved away to avoid the shrill conversations of a two year old, not to mention the occasional outburst. (our last trip on JAL 747 to Hawaii the 3 of us and 1 other couple had the entire upper floor to ourselves - 5 flight attendants took care of us) What did we take with us? For our one month + trip we took a very large suitcase full of; His normal soap/lotion, 8 large cans of powdered formula, our "baby medical kit", extra topical, temperature, and infant cold remedies, Ma Tong cover, and the rest was filled with "diapers". I think my wife has finally agreed we can get cheaper better medicine in China - without a Dr's prescription, diapers are readily available at Metro, Carrefour or Wall Mart, and baby products - soap/lotion are basically the same as we can buy here - minus some of our favorite flavors (Vanilla Oatmeal). The powdered formula IS NOT available in any variety and I think it better to just carry it and be on the safe side. Our David eats in every resturant we eat in and seems to not know the difference between eating at home in the US or home in China. The same goes for the resturants when it comes to food. I think availability of western/Australian baby products might vary if one was not in a large city, but I don't know specifically. Our city, Xiamen, is pretty modern with all the foreign stores. (It does kill me to pay $5.00 US for a starbucks in Xiamen and $2.36US here in Lake Tahoe). Trip itself: We use all the modern gadgets to pass the time. Our son, has owned his own IPAD2 since he was 19 months old. He has tons of movies on it that I ripped, downloaded, or bought via APPLE and Amazon, plus he has NETFLIX. I turn off tethering on my IPHONE, so he can't stream internet movies once we leave the US airspace, so what is on his machine is what he gets until we get to a starbucks or airport lounge. I usually will buy one or two NEW movies and load a couple of new games to keep him interested during the flight. We also go through his chinese lessons and he get's lots of practice with ABC's, Numbers, and phonics in both English and Chinese. (no wonder people don't want to sit next to us) So, I think these "activities" that one plans in advance can reduce some of the anxiety on long flights - because it is unrealistic to think they will sleep the entire flight. I think the longest I have seen our boy sleep is 5 hours which leaves a lot of quality acitivity time for Dad to keep him busy. BTW - I also check the stroller (BOB evolution) directly through to destination so I don't have to deal with it at stopover airports. Another note; I always have the movies and appls from his IPAD synched to my wife and my IPHONES, so that if for some reason he runs out of power - we have the small screen backup! Oh, I aslo carry my MacBook Pro in my backpack and that not only can "recharge" his IPAD it has all of his "STUFF" on it. Perhaps this all is overkill - what did we do without IPADS? Regardless, activities must be planned, and as they get older the planner gets harder - oh I yearn for the days when traveling with a 6 month old...milk, sleep, diaper --- ! Enjoy your trip all is good!!!

Anecdotal answers to some of the implied information: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/transportation/top-10-most-congested-cities-in-us/1026 Anecdotal Stories to above: (1) My friend retired from the Pentagon based on Washington D.C. Northeren VA. traffic after he left the Pentagon one afternoon because of a snowstorm, abou the time he got to the beltway at 7 PM, he parked his car on the side of HWY 95, walked home - got home about 1:00 AM, prompltly turned in his retirement papers as soon as he could retrieve his car - some four days later. (2) I had a meeting at IBM Gaitherburg in the 80's, sleet/rain on the 270 - I had a plane to catch at National Aiprort - 5 hours later I arrived in City Center - of course plane is still there - because they can't take off.....this all prompted me, when I had to move to Washington, to buy a Condo in Crystal City, eventually Run my business in an office in Crystal City, and take the Metro everywhere I went in the DC area, during the winter. I complain about traffic in Honolulu - but in short it is mild compared to other regions and the worst of it is because of "Over Curtious" drivers. They will actualy stop on the highway to let someone enter the road...from a 90 degree 50 foot merge lane. This has the exact effect one would anticipate - stop and go, the second issue is too many cars, too few roads, and no alternatives. Bottom line, I really enjoy my 5-6 months a year in my Reno/Lake Tahoe house - which has Zero Traffic, wide lanes, efficient lights, and FAST drivers. (Not to mention the cheap Electric and Natural Gas Utility Rates)

Another of your great threads updating money transfers PRC/USA Some of the best info on CFL, IMHO. Is it your opinion that B of C is the best conduit for this? For instance, several years ago, HSBC very much wanted a piece of this action --- any thoughts about other ways to get money converted--- and out of China? Sorry - I was traveling and didn't see this. No, I don't think Bank of China has any special characteristics in this regard. When I lived in China, I interviewed the HSBC folks, specifically for their Premier Accounts - which I viewed as being the easy way to do anything. They stopped me "DEAD IN MY TRACKS", with - you must deposit $50K US, and you get no INTEREST on the money -- all to be with their Premier group which was touted to be a breeze for money movement. My friend, who also uses HSBC (But doesn't move large amounts) was required to put $100K in the HSBC account in Wuhan, but he is a medical Dr. and didn't seem to be concerned with any of the details other than he has an account that he can access world-wide- I can't report on larger sums of money via HSBC, but I believe it to be the same limits - only slightly easier. When living in CHina I also used CCB, (The BofA link) and they were no easier or harder to work with than BofC, and my wife has all of our utilities paid via auto pay with them - again, they all seem to be playing with the same set of banking rules. What I think is a varying component is the "type of services" and "types of Automated accounts" that can be accessed via the internet. This was important for me as the passbook only account tools just didn't get it when it came to tax time or transaction time. Other ways to get money out of CHina. There are several schemes that have been posted on some of the Ex-pat web-sites. They have varying degrees of of "gray" in the transactions. After all my research, living in China, and moving what I would consider "larger sums" to and from China, I see only 4 viable ways of getting money "out" of China (1) Bank WIre transfers, as outlined in this thread, (2) Chinese BANK world-wide UNION PAY ATM (Current Limit $20K year), (3) Having a wife - convert whatever amount - and hand carry each time she visited (Must report to US at POE amounts over $10K USD - no real limit), (4) Work a FOREX scheme via Shenzhen-Hong Kong Banks (too fast for my slow old brain). For me I needed a low cost, legal, easy, and "farm logic" way to get the money moved. Wire Transfers via the Chinese Bank gave me the greatest level of comfort. Take Care.

My wife has between $80,000 and $95,000 in a Bank of China account back in China. She will be returning this summer to visit for a month and we'd like to transfer that money back to the United States at that time. Based on what you've said, she should be able to knock this out in one day if she shows up to the bank with her sister or friend? She can in fact knock it out in one visit. No Problems, as long as neither has converted more than $50K that "Calendar Year". Does it have to be to one of the "linked" Bank of America accounts I've read about, or can it be any valid US account with the proper SWIFT code and account number? If she's standing there nothing special is needed, just her Passbook and ID card, plus the information. She will need ALL of the information required of your US bank/account to get it transferred. This usually includes; 13 or 14 digit SWIFT (i forget exactly), if you have a short SWIFT, just add XXX on the back of it to indicate it is the main branch. I.E. not very many banks in the US have a SWIFT CODE. Our bank does not, but they use Mellon Bank in NEW YORK as the intermediary. So you need the "long swift code", the address of the bank attached to the swift code, if this is not your bank, then you need your BANK's ACCOUNT number at the SWIFT CODE BANK, your Bank's address, and then of course you need you/your wife's BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER, and YOUR ADDRESS. I also stick on PHONE NUMBERS - Just in Case. I would advise your wife to do this early in the visit and not at the last moment, in the event the BANK forgets a valuable piece of information and she has to do it a second time. They have a tendency to skip steps in the chain of transfer - so she has to insure they do it correctly. But, in the end she can do it!

Back in January I wrote a ditty on extracting RMB denominated funds from China. The usual methods of BofA Card, Union Pay, were cited. What was outstanding was whether or not I could successfully move "larger" amounts of USD out of China. I finally am able to report on those efforts. As a review; while my wife and I were visiting China last November, I wanted to try and "update" our banking accounts. For me it was impossible to manage with only a Passbook account and an RMB ATM card. We bank at Bank of China. We opened an ATM account able to hold multiple currencies, with linkages to RMB denominated BOC CD's, with online access and management via the internet. The ATM card was a world-wide Union Pay capable ATM card. The ATM card worked and we were able to convert RMB to USD at "most all" ATM machines and some would give us up to a $1000.00 USD. The cost was nominal but there were conversion fees, about %1, and ATM fees - about $3.00, and a couple of $5.00 hits depending on machine. We are told that one can take up to $20,000 USD a year out of the BOC via this method. What is not clear is if this goes against the $50K USD conversion total for the account holder. What remained was a test to see if we could in fact move larger amounts of money 'out of China - at will'. It appeared that the online access screens would in fact allow one to effect a Wire Transfer between the BOC account and the US account. I was able to input all the information - it all looked great - and when I told it to transfer the money - a final SECURITY screen was presented and it required two pieces of information: (1) A random seed generated from a token and (2) a secret code sent via a text to the phone number of the account holder based in China. Well I thought I was set, I had the TOKEN GENERATOR in my hand and my wife's Chinese telephone in my other hand. I requested the text - and nothing arrived. I sent her phone a text and it was there immediately. Ok, something wasn't working. My wife called the Bank Manager in China - only to be told that the phone text message thingy didn't work and that we should send the ATM card to the brother in China - and he could come in an send us as much money as we wanted - as many times as we wanted. Ok it was a plan. Well, I'm here to tell you that is in fact what has happened. For each Chinese ID card, (his, his wife's, his mother in-law, someone in the bank waiting room, etc) that he stands in front of the window at the bank - they will convert RMB to USD, up to the $50,000 USD limit per year. So, the first conversion and wire transfer test resulted in the following; $50,000.00 Sent, conversion rate on the day of transfer about 6.30+ to 1 USD. Cost at bank to Convert: $285.00 Cost at bank to Send WIre: $ 2.38 Rotten Thieves at Mellon Bank $ 15.00 My Bank $ 0.00 Total Cost to Move $50K $302.38 By anyone's math - it was about .6% to convert and move. A pretty low cost situation. So I've had a couple of shots at this and it all seems to be like getting pickles out of a jar (or going to bed with a women) the first time it is difficult the rest are easy. So the urban legend about the ability to move money out of China has some fact and some fiction. I'm also told, that if you sell something like a house, all you have to do is go to the Bank, show your sales/closing documents, and you can convert the entire amount at one shot with one ID card. And they say MOVE it in one shot out of the country --- only time will tell if this is fiction or fact, or if the rules will change.

Well their goes my "I know everything about taxes syndrome" right out the window! I had never heard of this requirement, yet it makes perfect sense from an IRS revenue perspective. I had taken the approach that my LPR wife, once declared to be treated like a USC for tax purposes would be treated essentially the same way...boy did I miss this one. So I have taken my 2 hours since reading this post initially, read the IRS documentation (clear as mud in some sections) went to some lawyer/tax blogs and it seems like everyone acknowledges it "Must be done" but few, if any, are aware of the requirement or comply with it. For fun, (hindsight is 20/20) I'm sure almost all of us are NON-COMPLIANT with the rule, since we were not aware of it. So, what if I wanted to take my family to China this year? The way I read it, 30 days prior to my wife's departure, and no less than 14 days prior to her departure, she/we go to our local IRS office. I believe the way I read it, that a FORM 2063 is all that is required if you have been compliant with all tax laws prior to the visit -- "And there is no evidence" that you will not pay your taxes, "Whatever that might be". Seems like a simple, pain in the ass requirement that will probably be met with confusion, differing interpretations, and depending on the time of day - a different outcome. For those in a community property state, the issues are exacerbated, especially if you were ever required you to file a 1040-C, the instructions are tantamount to a pro-forma audit defense, with a significant amount of work and gray areas all to render one incapable of complying with whatever instructions, audit or guidance one might receive when standing in front of the IRS agent to gain approval for a Sailing Permit. I think this is one of the TWO most important reasons for an LPR wife to become a USC. The second being the estate laws and the prejudice against non - USC's. I'm thankful that I didn't know about this requirement, as I would've been compelled to comply, but we have no plans to leave the US, while her N-400 is being currently processed. Lastly, thanks for "enlightening" all of us to this requirement, for I was totally in the dark about it. Live and learn!

YES I WROTE A LETTER OUTLINING THE CHOICE, (Got a sample or directions somewhere probably IRS) AND ATTACHED TO THE 1040.

You are not OFF YOUR ROCKER. The choice of FIrst Year Election and to File JOintly, making both of your world-wide Income taxable in the US is a "Choice". We did the exact same thing....and yes I had to list some of her income from China. She entered in Oct and we filed first year with our taxes the following April. Some people report, some take a first year election to be treated that way all year, and some choose to file jointly. It's a personal choice, but some of us make it anyway. There are slightly cheaper ways - in some cases, especially if you don't report the income. However that is not my way. I wanted to have my 2008 taxes, show that we filed jointly, together, and to be treated as residents of the US. Others do not feel as strongly about this as I do. There are exclusions to income as well for some foreign income so they may come into play...as well as the ability to file married and separately. You will have to make the decision based on your individual situation - but know that some, a lot, of us declare "EVERYTHING and thought that filing together in the first couple of years back was important". In hindsight - I sure I overstated the need, but I was in the don't take a chance mode with USCIS. ALSO, to those that I said I would let all know about moving "Larger Sums" of money from China to the US, it's still a work in progress. I was able to get my online account all filled out ready to transfer $50K from the CHina Bank to a US bank, and the computer prompted me for am SMS PIN and a Token Pin. I had the TOKEN generator in my hand, but the SMS was supposed to flow from the BANK to my CHINA TELEPHONE. I push the "Generate Button" and nothing arrived on the phone. I was stuck. My wife called, and the Bank Manager said - OH, that doesn't work anymore, we have changed how it works...you need to send in your ATM card, we need update your ACcount and Card. So I'm in the FEDEX to the Brother mode to get it refreshed to see if I can get it done. I will report the failure or success of larger money moves.

IF it is an IPHONE - Just make sure it's a MICRO SIM CARD. Most SIMS in CHina are the old "Larger ONES". THEY WILL NOT FIT IN An IPHONE. I notice T_smobile here in the US also sells both the MICRO and NORMAL SIM CARDS. FYI - a MICRO sim can be used in a standard SIM CARD but you need a special holder to keep it in the correct position. The reverse is not true...big card no fit in small hole! (FYI - to extract IPHONE SIM, use regular size paper clip - bent to look like needle - insert in small hole on right hand side of IPHONE - push hard and MICRO SIM WILL POP OUT)

It doesn't matter where the expenses took place, just as it doesn't matter where you earn income...both taxes and deductions apply. Be prepared with receipts, in english or interpreted, if you are asked (my biggest problem with house basis cost). The real issue is whether or not you will exceed the 7.5% of gross income for medical expenses to become deductible, i.e. if the total cost is below this percentage, you don't get any deduction. So -- example --- 100,000.00 in income and 7500.00 in medical expenses will net you ZERO. Do the math and then take as appropriate. If it was close I would ignore it. I had two rounds of IVF costs here in the US last year - and it burns me up not to be able to take any deduction - if I had adopted - it would have come right off....perhaps a poor choice to garner a sister or brother for our two year old. Enjoy.

The code that you need for your receiving bank is the "SWIFT code". The sending bank, regardless of where it is located, even China, will charge you money - not only for the "International Wire Transfer" but also to convert Yuan to USD. I find it all about 1%. If everyone wants to wait a couple of weeks I'm going to do exactly what is described - for what I consider to be "a transaction of size" ($50K). I've worked the ATM - issue a $1000.00 at a pop (again with fees), but this is the first time I will try to do a big amount. Our bank that we deal with in China is BOC, but I think they all have slightly differing fees, although not by much. The idea is to make the amount large - so that the International Transfer Fee is a very low percentage. Again $15.00 on a $1000 wire would be considerably different form $15.00 on a $50K transfer. One last comment, the ATM works good but BOC will limit to $20 K a year per account to "extract Yuan/Convert to USD while Abroad". A nice way to get some out but not if it's a significant amount. When and if you go to the bank, you "Must have a Chinese" person with you. Even though I can speak and read "elementary" Chinese - I could'nt manage the complexity of the conversation with the Bank Officer. (I took him to dinner - and filled him full of beer - while I had my wife ask all my questions....of course it will probably be different rules when I need to move large sums) Best of luck.

Just one note on the name change thingy.....If it has been some time since you got married and want to alter her to your last name you will have some difficulty at the SSN office if the marriage occurred more than 2 years ago. It is a classic expiration date on the "chicken and egg" scenario. We are going through the process and SSN sent us packing to get other documents - if you can believe this a "Note from a Doctor" where she has been under his care in the recent past. Then the Marriage certificate is good enough for the name change. If you want, as others have said to change her name to "Rotten Chinese Wife" - then you may need other documentation depending on your state - but as others have said...nows the time to do it. Best of Luck!

Let's see....never worked in tourist industry and never worked in Real Estate....WHERE to start? Certainly not by opening a business. These are not either new ideas or concepts and with no experience don't waste your own money --- let the lady learn on someone else's dime - and if she learns either or both business models and sees opportunity at that point - then launch the business with established, ideas, goals and a business plan based on fact - not dreams and wishes. Best of Luck.

Things have gotten expensive - best to let your wife guide you to "her favorites". When you get hungry for Mexican or Italian - you need to go adjacent to the Marco Polo - Tutto Bene, Lake SHore etc...expect to pay just as much as you would in the US for the food - or MORE. Look on the Xiamen expat - website for all the advertisements - that's your guide to all the "back home food" --- but the best bet is to let the wife take you to the "holes" and pay 15 RMB for noodles etc. Remember - everything is expensive if you want "western style" or "Fancy Chinese". (My favorites Shu You, on Hubin Bei Lu, but they have several around town...this one is the best. The second best one is Bai Lu Zhou in the middle of the park next to the Swan hotel. (Tian E). There are other favorites...Hubin Nan Lu ....has "Dong Bei Cai" (Mao Zhe Dong Fandian) ....these are all from memory...so I might be challenged in the PinYin spelling...but all the cab drivers and the Locals will know the places. Now if you are young and CRAZY they moved all the big glitzy KTV's out on the shore past the University....have fun, you're mileage may very! Gu Long Yu (the island off the downtown) nice places to eat and stroll.....very expensive....but then again I usually just get a beer and an ice cream. Have fun...sorry we're not in our house there...usually only a month or two each year.

My goodness.....as others have said, Fire the Accountant, Pick up PUB17 and do a little reading!

As Credzba says; USD wire transferred to a China Bank is going into a bank account that can hold USD. Most, bank accounts allow holding multi-nation-currency, but it is managed and tracked separately. The total amount, each CHinese Citizen may convert each "Calendar" year is $50K USD. There is a fee to convert USD to RMB and back again....mostly we have seen less than 1% depending on the amount. In the case of selling or buying property, one does not "ALWAYS" need to get relatives and friends to convert. Most Bank Officers can facilitate that, via a set of paperwork linking the sale/buy closing documents and the funds source so that "larger amounts" can be used without the obvious hassle of the friends and family. (If you are selling without paperwork or working some other under the table deal...revert to Friends and Family) BTW - all banks are tied into the same Gov't Computer system that tracks each ID holders USD conversion each year. (Yes I tried 2 banks to see if they were sharp enough to catch us...YES) My personal experience, is that Electronic Funds Transfers are easy, efficient, trackable, and have been flawless between my banks in the US and the Bank Of China. I now have electronic access to the accounts - and I can manage from "AFAR", so it's just like banking in the US to me, except for the subtle differences of when interest is paid etc. One additional note on efficiency, although the BoA ATM card works fine, I like it, it does incur ATM plus conversion costs so it makes it "less efficient" than wire transfers for larger sums of money. But, for small amounts or 'new years" money transfers for family ...events....it works great! (One thing I didn't mention that may change this equation --- I don't have to pay for "international wire transfers" my Bank, USAA, waives the charges....so it is really efficient)

One of my favorite books! ENjoy...

So she is NOT converting from USD to CNY? Is anyone else playing the Yuan currency market with their offshore accounts? It's pretty certain the Yuan will continue to inflate against the dollar, its just a question of how much how fast. Our strategy is to keep her money in Yuan as long as possible and when we travel to China to use US dollars and not the Yuan she has. In fact, using that strategy we should be sending more USD to China and depositing as Yuan at the bank. Right now 1 Yuan will buy you .16 USD, but as it moves more towards the 5-1 ratio, that 1 Yuan will buy you .20 USD later, so as far as investments out there it is probably one of the best you can make right now. The Yuan is clearly undervalued and will continue to push up. Even if the Chinese Govt tries to hold it down, it will still move up virtually through trading power. We have an ability to trade in that market easily due to our/spouses frequent visits to China and easy access to convert via any ATM and drop into spouse's Chinese bank account. Well I wished I knew the answer to this question and other "for sure" responses. I must admit from my perspective it's a world gone mad....in terms of investments. For what it's worth I too - via my wife - have left some money in China. Several issues persist, many have been listed here. There is no assurance that the Yuan and USD will continue to move in the same directions - but I personally think that it will for awhile, with some up's and down's along the way. Who knows what the impact of our Government debt, fiscal policy and tax laws will have in the future. I do know that I'm continually troubled by reporting Chinese income, Chinese accounts, and repatriation of the funds. As I've mentioned in the past if it's under $10K in USD it makes little difference. The issues, at least in my mind, are reporting the accounts and the income every year to the IRS. I suspect that one could work this $10K limit a bit by having multiple accounts - again, at some point it would become unmanageable. So, let's just say that someone has $250K USD converted into Yuan in China. (We all know that 1 person can only convert $50K USD a year - so I assume over time someone put the money there or your wife took 4 cousins to the bank with her). IRS rules say that any account (Investment, Bank, etc) that has more than $10K in it during any point in the year must be reported. Ostensibly if it were a CD/Bank account it's drawing interest and every penny must be reported as income. These troubling things make buying Yuan and holding it in CHinese Banks problematic if it is enough to make it worth the investment risk or reward. Yes my wife holds Yuan in a China bank, yes we report it every year, and yes we report the income every year. I'm not sure that the Government reporting requirements make it worth the 4% we get in appreciation and the 4% we get in interest. A corollary to this is the 1% fee for exchanging money going and coming. Ok, notwithstanding all the negative issues, holding Yuan denominated assets "MIGHT" be a tick above the USD assets over the next few years - but like others have indicated it might not turn out like all have forecast, me included. Here's a thought - To my friends that pushed me towards Chinese investments - the CIS 300 Index - down 27% for the last year - that China investment thingy didn't work out too well for them the last year!!!..... I didn't buy of course I'm much too conservative. So, if you want to play the exchange rate game - I think it only makes sense to play FOREX...but that game is too quick and complicated for me. It all makes a day trader look like they are moving a glacial speed. Someone on CFL had a whole slew of advice on this and was working via a play account - your mileage may vary. Of course over the last several years the play has been on the Swiss Franc and Yen. Hindsight is 20/20. So bottom line, even though I don't like the mechanics, the IRS rules, and the hassle we continue to leave "More" money in China than I'm comfortable with - and I am continually updating my understanding of the rules for repatriation of the funds. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Has anyone on CFL or does anyone know of someone that has sold a "house" in CHina, that their wife or them has called a "personal residence" under the US IRS rules, and avoided the taxes by having lived in it for 2 out of the last 5 years - thus meeting the US rules? Ok, yes -- old, slow, me just realized that my wife lived in her house more than 2 years out of the last 5, and it was her personal residence before we met - and we lived there as well for awhile. My goodness I wished I'd have realized this sooner. Any observations or knowledge would be appreciated. Happy Holidays.

Please log on to the GUZ website and read about Americans using notary services at the Consulate. This is one way to talk and get things into the hands of the GUZ VISA officers. The meeting they have seems to be less productive but perhaps others can give recent information. Please don't take to heart to much of what I say...it's just the ramblings of an old man -- I just don't trust the process at GUZ, and I was trying to discuss alternatives to your worries. Normally, generally, chances are you will have no problems....or perhaps extra effort will sway the vote....whatever makes you feel comfortable. The Lawyer doing something for 13 years doesn't give me any comfort - and if he left something out it was on purpose causes me even more concern. If the lawyer will include things later...what is that process? Makes me wonder how he will ensure things get in front of the VISA slim balls. Remember, many folks here have reported that their loved one...never get's a chance to talk, present, or answer some of the VISA officers. Your mileage may vary. Regardless, happy holidays - and best of luck with the remainder of your process.

Lot's of positive comment's from experienced members....I won't dwell on what you have done correctly, only the things that seem to make you worry and or things that you think are extra good. The real issue is how you can "expand the record" prior to the interview. Yes, I did a K-1 from China, in 2008. Others have questioned the value of a Lawyer - and I couldn't agree more, especially for this endeavor. They can only repeat what you have told them, and they miss a lot of stuff, as well as they might misinterpret what has been said. My first question to you; what are you doing or what have you done to assuage the worry's in your list? Example....you cite 2 years of income requirement and that you don't have it and you worry about it. Well first, I disagree with your assumption that you have to have two years of income to file or to be successful, and secondly "WHAT DID YOUR LAWYER DO TO MITIGATE THIS WORRY YOU HAD?" A simple letter, point paper, or reference in the record (Front Loading) could've eliminated this issue with a simple explanation of graduation from college and new job. Moreover, what is your strategy to correct what YOU perceive as a worry? Ok, I wouldn't worry about the phone calls...but if I had a little worry, I would go to Tel3 Advantage sign up for the 2 or 3 cents a minute connect, load the app on my Iphone, and call her once a day for 10 minutes and provide a record. Tel3 couldn't be easier, nice logs, cheap, and it' an autodialer to China. Fix the WORRY. Secondly, if you think this is a problem, what did the lawyer do for you? How will you get what he recommended, more Skype Logs in to the record? What is your strategy to get this stuff in front of them? NOW FOR DEBUNKING THE MYTH THAT "ALL SHE HAS TO DO IS GET IN FRONT OF THE VISA OFFICER AND SHE WILL DAZZLE THEM WITH HER COMMAND OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND HER GREAT PERSONALITY, not to mention the 10 lbs of stuff she has in roll-on". She may in fact not even get a chance to hand anything in, say much more than her name, or stumble as they hand her a blue sheet. The websites, and this one are rift with similar experiences.....you can either act or not act ahead of the interview...it is your choice. If you have a worry/worries does you Lawyer share your concern? Does he just want to wait and see what happens? I hope my "attack" on the Lawyer makes you see that there are many ways to view his actions and or control your own actions. If you read through this site from end to end you will see lot's of things that people have done to fix perceived shortcomings in their applications or "changed status" BEFORE you let you almost fluent fiance stand in front of one of the slim balls at GUZ. Here is one method, others on this site have suggested others. It is one I used, others mileage may vary. The week, (2 workdays) prior to my Fiance's interview, I made an appointment and went to Citizens Services in GUZ. I insisted that they "notarize" documents and updated my financial statements for current information. They said they didn't need to be notarized, and I said that they required current financial information, and some of the data was not certified, and that I wanted to insure that the documents had my signature on them attesting that they were true. I also submitted an updated EOR, and a few other tidbits that I had "WORRIED ABOUT" over the 6 months that the application was processing. In short, I handed in several documents (about 30 pages). I was lucky.... in that the Visa Officer kept asking me questions - I kept answering them - pretty soon I stated that the questions sounded like the questions my fiance would get at the interview the next week....he said yes, I'll just ask you and then we won't have to ask her!!!! Ok, this is a nice story - but the point is, if you have worry then do something about it. I gave you one strategy, there are others, and many people on this site have discussed them in their after-interview notes....always with the idea of helping the next guy or gal. OH, BTW I only see one "Strong point" in your list of things that you list to be to your advantage, well ok, maybe the fact neither of you have been married and you are near the same age might count as two. EXample, Bought her an engagement ring and she will wear to the interview.....Ok, did you copy the sales receipt and make it part of the package you sent in? Did you take a picture of her receiving it, with family and friends? If you didn't how does GUZ know that she didn't borrow it from a friend or for that matter a person in the interview room? You need to think like a crook to deal with the people at GUZ, because that's what they think you and your fiance are. I"m not bitter - because our interview was a success....I'm just trying to get you to see it from their perspective - which is guilty until proven innocent! If you think my opinion is strong...you should hear from one of the folks that got blue'd and then white'd and waited for years dealing with the inept agency! I was successful, and I still think the prejudice against Chinese is unfair. Ok, I having painted the worry - take care of your worries, strengthen you case, and I"m positive you will be successful. Best of Luck.

Yes, this is a good method. Now if I could only get BofA to remember I use my card in China and not go spastic and freeze my account every couple of months requiring me to call them and again remind them I am in China long-term. I would be careful about following that advice. People's Bank of China / State Administration of Foreign Exchange rules place hard limits on how much cash you can deposit into or withdraw from your foreign currency account per day as well as who exactly -- aside from you -- can make deposits into your account. There are also restrictions on who can electronically transfer foreign currency into your account. Then there is the pesky little issue of only being able to wire only $50k per year out of China. While all banks are supposed to enforce the restrictions, some may look the other way on some. Still, there is a significant chance that all those Chinese friends of yours who each buy $50k for you end up having to keep your money in their account while only being able to withdraw $5,000 per day. With the $5,000 per day deposit restriction, it will take two friends who have each purchased $50,000 for you 20 days of going to the bank to get all that money into your account. The best thing to do if dealing with the proceeds of a home sale is to obtain a waiver from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange so that you can convert the entire amount into, say, US$ in one shot and wire it all out. Surprisingly, the process to obtain the waiver from SAFE is not that bad. Yea, I'm always confused by the difference between (1) Conversion Limits of CNY to USD and USD to CNY and the limits, if any in moving "whatever" from China to US. I had not heard about the requirement to "only" be able to remove $50KUSD a year, as we've got several people here in Hawaii that spent up to $9M for houses/etc and I was told by the realestate folks that it took them a while to "move" all the money because there was an issue of multiple accounts and limits per day/per transaction. I guess I'm going to have to go to the next step and see how all the Chinese are buying houses in Hawaii and around the Pasadena area - a million+ at a shot..and how they "legally" get the money out of China. Again, I was unaware that there was any restriction on wiring out...per the bank manager there is none...but who knows - one always get's differing answers in China. Also, I'm told that the $50K USD is only for the conversion process - and you just line them up and they do it all in your account...at least that what we did with 2 realtives...the money went no-where.....the people just used their ID cards for the conversion process. It's things like this that make me feel uncomfortable with having money outside the US.....but on the other hand....perhaps a slow draw from the ATM might keep me in Beer Money in my old age!

Well I know we've been over this topic, but I've experienced some issues when "extracting dollars" from the US and or sometimes using my Bank Of America Card in China. We just returned from China, and I think I have the answers, according to my unscientific research, and taking the bank Manager out to dinner. I'm sure it will change but it looks to be functional and current at this point. 1. Bank of America ATM Card. As background I had not been able to use my card in China last year when I went. So this year, while on the US mainland (We don't have BofA's in Hawaii) I spent some time at the bank trying to understand why my ATM card didn't work and how BofA would treat a China Construction Bank ATM card. Well it was my "SIMPLE MISTAKE" that prevented me from using the BofA card in China and avoiding any feees from either bank....I simply had not called the BofA card center and told them I would be using the card outside the US. Ok, since I had only used Amex, Visa, MC, I didn't understand that you have to "Unlock and put into service" an ATM card you wanted to use in a foreign country. The card now works in China. And BofA, also does not charge any ATM fees for CCB or vice versa. 2. My BOC account. Since I came back last year, I couldn't get my BOC ATM card to work in the US. WHile in China, I reported it wouldn't even let me do an inquiry. Well as it turns out, I didn't have enough RMB on the card for UNION PAY to execute an inquiry - unlike cards in the US where you can see a balance for free - Union Pay restricts you from looking at balances if you have under 15 RMB or so in the account. SO, I moved RMB to the account tried it in China at HSBC. 2000 RMB out 4 RMB cost from HSBC for the ATM charge. 2000 RMB out at BOC test - no ATM charge. I returned to Hawaii - test 1: I can use the card $100.00 USD out of our CNY ATM Card I got about 98% of the equivalent RMB - ostensibly a currency conversion charge plus a 15 RMB charge for the transaction from BOC. 2nd Test I took out $500.00 and I got about 98.5% charge in CNY with a 15 RMB charge. So all in all below or about the 3% conversion one would expect. Obviously the more you take out.....it appears that there is some "efficiency" in the conversion so more is better. ALl resulting in a handy little way to get RMB in a China Bank converted and delivered to ATMs in the US (or the rest of the world as well) with small charges. Ok, the obvious question HOW MUCH can you take each day, each year...etc? ACCORDING TO UNION PAY: 10,000 RMB per day up to the limits of what the BANK might impose. OK... ACCORDING TO BOC: you can take up to 10,000 RMB per day, 20,000 USD a year via this method. Slight nuances to the question resulted in "questionable answers". ACCORDING TO BOC: the same $50,000 USD conversion limit is in-play under this scenario as well as any other face-to face conversion - no change in the last 5 years. I asked how to move large amounts of CNY to USD? Answer.....bring all these Chinese people at the dinner table to the bank ...each one can convert $50,000 USD, and put it right back into your account in simultaneous transactions...I'll be glad to do it for you. I asked about what if we sell the HOUSE...he said....bring every one you know...we'll convert it and Wire Transfer it to your accounts --anywhere in the world. (Of course I just have to escape the issues on this side) A SIDE NOTE ON THE HOUSE IN XIAMEN: While we in Xiamen, I kept reading - about the housing bubble in China. Ok, some cities yes, some no, some locations yes, some locations no. I read with interest about "LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION", so we talked to several people about what was happening in our little city. In short, the "suburbs" have started using "discounts" on purchasing fees, and they have started reducing "options" in the buildings...think slums. These are the houses where the prices have been reduced and are cheaper. Well this is interesting I thought but that's just like the US, Nevada is a disaster and Hawaii the prices just keep going up - especially for "location location location". I asked about the house my wife had bought before we met. She paid 1.4M CNY for it, put 800K CNY in it to build out and furnish, and the darn thing is 26,000 a square Meter now - 4.5M CNY - time frame 5 years! Just anecdotal information from one city, one location, one point in time - hardly a comprehensive report but at least interesting. Take Care Happy Holidays to all!!! (We're freezing to death here in Hawaii - it's down to low 70's at night)