yuehan123

I know of parents who came for a visit and stayed forever. I know of parents who came for a visit and left a week later. I expect it is much easier to get parents to stay in downtown LA's China town than it is in Nowhere, USA. Immediate family relations and customs for USA families versus Chinese family relations and customs are culturally as far apart as the two countries. The key is to find a compromise that everyone will accept. If they can come to USA, at all, you are way, way ahead of many other wives. If you can go home often, you are indeed very, very lucky. If your husband goes with you, you really won the lottery. So, do both as often as you are able, as suggested above.

Reckon 300-350 means dollars. Try this, it is what my wife does. Have someone in China shop for and purchase the discounted air fare for the PVG-NNG r/t e-ticket. Why? 1. USA based web site prices are always outrageously higher and you will rarely, if ever, see the discounted fares. 2. The e-ticket puchaser must receive a cell phone based, texted confirmation number from the airline. My wife has not been successful using a USA based cell number to receive this code. The code is required to pick up the e-ticket. 3. Tickets purchased from within China by telephone Credit card purchase requires you to enter your cc number, expiration date and cvc code when the agent on the other end tells you to. This system has failed to work 100% of the time my wife tries to buy the ticket from USA. Oh, there is an exception, but not from USA. My wife talked the ticket agent on the China into entering the data for her on that end. Only worked once though. Yes, a big security risk giving out all 3 numbers. Wife doesn't care so much. Not much money in that account, anyway. So, get somebody over there to buy the discounted ticket(s) and give you the redemption confirmation code.

Why the topic switch from qq problems to you eventually want to try to get wechat? What does the first- qq, have to do with the other- wechat? And, what does "...I actually did get it..." You got qq or you got wechat? I have qq on my desktop, on my laptop, and on my (bought in China) Samsung phone. I have wechat on the Samsung. There is no correlation, that I know of, between the two. As for the rest- what Randy said. My wife is in Nanning now and we have wechatted by text and by audio. We chat video is also now available, I've been told.

If you have television service watch the Food Channel or the Cooking channel. Learn new words and new 'western' dishes. My wife cooks all kinds of food including Italian, Chinese, Western, and Mexican. I don't have a single favorite, I love almost all of them. Right now we are eating zhongsa- mostly mung beans with side pork wrapped in Bamboo leaves and cooked in a boiling pot of water. Last week she made purple potato (Asian yam) moon cakes. I love hot pot, anything with noodles either as soup or dry, sipcy tofu, fritattas (think of an omellete only finish baking in the oven), We almost never eat a raw salad. We also avoid beef and store bought bacon. Except, she smokes her own bacon using slabs of side pork (pork belly) on the BBQ as a smoker. Works great for smoky flavored fish. she makes our own low fat sausage using fresh ground low fat pork and turkey. Sometimes she makes them Italian flavor by adding Romano or Parmesan cheese parsley or other herbs of choice. Our Alaska caught Halibut omelets are great, so are anything made with Salmon patties or scallops. We like to 'alternate' what we eat. Mexican tacos or burritos for any meal. Pancakes, waffles, French Toast. Experiment with different kinds of bread. Panera seems to make a good, fresh bread without all those store bought bread chemicals. Try crepes, and I really like the microwaved Chinese style fresh noodles once in a while. These noodles are soft and white color. Maybe they are made from rice flour. Have fun learning new things!

I agree with both points. Specifically, "don't ask and don't tell" the locals anything AND "be aware" of the spoon that stirred the pot to raise the rumour(s) in the first place.

Thank you for the link and the search ideas.

There is also a high speed train that goes from the PVG terminal to somewhat near 'the other' airport. Take a taxi the rest of the way. We studied this in the past and decided "no thanks." My wife, who is home now (and also from Nanning), says this: 1. It is too dangerous to fly into Nanning and then try to go downtown after 10:30 pm. 2. In her words "...there are a ton of airlines flying from Shanghai." (PVG) to Nanning (NNG) "Go to the ticket counter and buy a ticket direct from PVG to NNG." She is confident you will not pay much (if any) more than trying to book ahead of time on line. 3. Spend the night in the Shanghai airport Hotel. They have two. Then, fly out the next day, arriving in Nanning during daylight hours. (yes, we have stayed there once).

Yeah, uh-huh and 4 hours layover minus Shanghais's long airport taxi time, minus possible late arrival, minus the Immigration (usually long lines) time, minus customs time (usually none), minus find the right bus stop, (you are by yourself, right?) minus wait for the bus time, and then- are you travelling at rush hour in Shanghai in order to arrive at Nanning at 0100 and still counting on only 1 hour bus ride? Yep, been there, done that! As with all things travel- smooth as silk (when the wife is with me) ranging to all messed up, especially when travelling alone. Well, one miserable bus ride was at rush hour with frequent construction delays due to closed lanes. But, we had more like 7 hours between flights. Hah, doesn't matter much, the flight to Nanning was cancelled by the time we got to Hongqiao. (more than once.) Also, it is often clear as mud if your domestic flight leaves, or will still leave (as alledged) from Pudong. Find out for sure when you land. Good luck.

And, now, the saga continues. That is, it is still "somebody said." According to this guy, his mom, a US Citizen now, returned to China for a visit. While there she wanted to cancel her retirement. So, the son did some reserch (the son = this guy). Background- the son (also now living in the US ) alledgedly went to college in China and obtained a degree having to do with Customs and Immigration. According to his research, (no, I don't know any details) he said that lately there have been articles in the Chinese media with two themes: 1. newspaper articles 'encouraging' readers to to report former Chinese with foreign Citizenship still in possesion of local ID. 2. newspaper articles discussing the Chinese Government led effort to 'link' local Police Station data with Immigration data. Supposedly, it has been 'the law' for a long time that surrender of local ID is required upon attaining foreign citizenship. Yeah, and registering with the local Police during every visit is also 'required.' Penalties available for failure to do either. The notion(s) being severa;- loss of ID, loss of Retirement, pay a big fee for 'foreign' ownership or 'foreign' transfer of ownership of property. Anybody seen said articles?

From a site called Nerd Wallet- "Redemption Options As we said above, CapOne’s a bit evasive about its No Hassle Miles program until you’ve already got a card. A login is required to view the redemption options, and the rewards program description is vague, but this is how we determined the 100-miles-per-dollar reward rate: Travel – According to CapOne, “add two zeros to the price of your travel purchase, then trade in that number of miles to pay for it”. For example if your statement shows a $109 hotel bill, trade in 10,900 points. Or for a $224 plane ticket, trade in 22,400 points. You can either book the travel on your own, and then redeem points for a statement credit against your travel expenses, or you can book through Capital One’s Rewards program. Generally speaking, we prefer to find the cheapest flight first using sites like (omitted) rather than rely on a non-transparent travel agent." Therefore, as stated above, 20,000 earned points gets you a $200 ticket. Said in a way I understand- A $1,500 r/t ticket to somewhere would require a credit card mileage program redemption of 1,500 (the cost of the ticket) plus 2 zeros = 150000. Sounds like $150,000 in spending to me. By contrast, Alaska airlines will give you 25,000 miles plus maybe a bonus of 2,500 miles on approval right now and guess what? You can fly to China r/t for: 70,000 miles and $64 on almost any chosen day in Nov 2014. Oct too. Sept too. Which card is in your wallet? where to look? http://www.alaskaair.com/planbook?lid=nav:planbook-flights And yes, Delta credit card gave my wife 50,000 bonus miles after meeting the spendiing/time requirement. She found a r/t ticket to China, on Delta, for 67,000 miles, as I recall. Travel time sucked, of course. Southwest just gave us 50,000 points on approval. enough to fly several places free on SWA.

With the exception of a few, and far between cases, who gets a Tourist Visa is directly correlated to How Much Money they have. Oh, sure, the naysayers will, and have, declared "my inlaws, family, (whomever) are not rich." Nonsense. Get to the bottom of it: success = money in the bank, deposited regularly, for a long period of time from a job still held, or a good government job or in retirement from same with a documented income stream. Furthermore, an initial denial will be likely continue to be upheld until there are 'substantial changes' to the applicants situation (think money). As stated, your promise to pay trip expenses and/or to 'guarantee' non-immigration is irrelevant. Why do I say that? Because the Chengdu Consulate said so in their response(s) to my queries about multiple in-laws' denials.

To answer Lee's questions, in a reverse sort of order- After becoming a US citizen, the first time a Chinese Visa is requested for a 'new' US Passport, the 'old' Chinese Passport must be submitted. In every case, but one, that I know of, the Chinese Passport has been returned unusable. I have yet to learn of a 'documented' case where a local ID was confiscated from a US Citizen. However, as for a naturalized Chinese National now a US citizen travelling on a Chinese Passport, I can only report that as Randy shared, it is impossible. At least for my wife. Note that although not shown, the passport front cover page has ben cut and the page shown has been cut and stamped "cancelled." edit- well, it beats me. I am unable to insert, paste or otherwise get the page to show up even though it shows in the initial 'reply' When I took the bus from Hong Kong to Guangzhou some years ago, one fellow did not rejoin the bus on the Chinese side of the border. Why? He had more than one passport in his possesion and that fact was discovered during the Customs search.

Here is an example of the Alaska flight availability and miles reddemed (=Dollars spent plus Bonus and actual flown miles). edited: flights are available in June for 35,000 miles plus $18. Well, it started as a nice chart. Sadly, it did not paste as a nice chart. you can find it at Alaska Air.

My wife usually books US to Shanghai (PVG) or Beijing (PEK) because in our experience Guanzhou (CAN) and Hong Kong (HKG) are usually more expensive. My wife is always better off booking her own flights to Nanning. Better off, for her, means cheaper, not less travel time. For her, money trumps time. On the other hand, she has her own inside China credit card and someone who can receive the required Airline "purchase code" on a local cell phone. It is darn difficult to get to Nanning from USA without layovers. For what it's worth, Alaska Airlines will 'give' you 25,000 miles on Credit Card approval. Alaska code shares with either American or Delta and right now a one way trip to PEK or PVG is 35,000 miles plus $18. No good this June, may be useful next time. I've heard all the arguments- high fees and or 1% or 1.5% cash back is better. Tell you right now- to each their own.

From what you're showing here - that's 100% consistently the 2nd Wednesday of every month - Sounds like they follow that schedule pretty rigorously. Well, shucks, that would make my wife correct.... the part about, 'gee honey., you really are dumber than a rock!'

6/12/2013 7/10/2013 8/14/2013 9/11/2013 10/9/2013 11/13/2013 12/11/2013 1/8/2014 2/12/2014 3/12/2014 4/9/2014 My recent SSA electronic deposits have been received by the bank on these dates. "They" said, 'you'll get a check on the 10th.' It has been my exerience, for the last 11 years, or so, that I cannot predict the date.

Two more things- 1. don't even try to bring the fruit you just picked up on the plane. 2. Sometimes "they" get fussy about this part of the Customs Form: a. "Read the instructions on the back of this form. Space is provided to list all the items you must declare." b. "U.S. Residents- declare all articles that you have acquired abroad and are bringing into the United States." Why? for Item 1. I was pulled aside for inspection. for Item 2. either my wife or I have been 'delayed' on more than one occasion when they asked "What are you bringing in? Please fill out the back of the form." In other words, they have no clue if you acquired cigarettes or alcohol, so tell them: clothes, shoes, hats, socks, whatever. Put something in the blank spots to explain the $1200 you plan to declare. or $100. No matter. It lets them know you read and understood the form. And, it's easy to do. One form for the entire family. Not a commercial plug but it does show both sides of the form in print large enough to read http://www.immihelp.com/immigration/sample-us-customs-declaration-form-6059b.pdf

maybe the latest Custom's form has changed. I 'found' this wording online at http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/sample-declaration-form the above link has been 'shortened' and leads to a page not found url. "15. If you are a U.S. resident, print the total value of all goods (including commercial merchandise) you or any family members traveling with you have purchased or acquired abroad (including gifts for someone else, but not items mailed to the United States) and are bringing into the United States. Note: U.S. residents are normally entitled to a duty-free exemption of $800 on items accompanying them." I reckon what is being said is that everything your family brings back you also took over with you. Therefore, you did not purchase or acquire anything overseas. This would require that nothing remain in the original overseas packaging, if there are any such items. ( a defensive move should you undergo Custom's inspection). I have always declared that I purchased at least something. After 2.5 months I won't try explaining that I did not buy anything.

I'll try and remember the exact China flights that don't have to take the bus ride when we go over later this year....but will probably forget and pick an airline that gives us the bus ride....lol tsap seui Well, as it turns out, I don't remember squat either. But I can tell you this. We know somebody. Don't you love the somebody said stories...? Well, here goes, the former Shengyan lady College chemistry teacher who now lives in our town flew back to Shenyang for the New Year. Her husband said.......drum roll here, please....' She Did Not Have to Pick Up baggage in Beijing, it went straight to Shenyang.' Oh, yeah, no terminal change either. And so it goes.

Really? http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/skymiles/earn-miles/earn-miles-with-partners/airlines.html Well, you go ahead and pay. My wife and I will continue to not pay.

Below is ..... NOT- I give up. I'm not high tech enough to successfully either link, copy or paste the table.... a table detailing the baggage allowances for my wife's current trip. Please note that she is none of these: "At the time of check in with Delta, SkyMiles Medallion members, SkyTeam Elite & Elite Plus, Alaska MVP & MVP Gold and active US Military personnel are eligible for fee waivers and other benefits." Her baggage allowance: She is flying on a mileage ticket, in coach, which makes her status lower than dirt. Please know there is an ironic discrepancy- from Tampa to New York she has to pay for a 2nd bag. From JFK to China via Narita, Japan she gets two free bags on each leg. The return- more irony. She is authorized one free International bag from Beijing to Detroit and two free bags from Detroit to Tampa. Go figure. Further, my wife has found that it is required, within China, to have this baggage table printed out and in-hand with your ticket information. Then, when you get to the check in counter in your small Chinese town, you will invariably be forced to speak to a supervisor for two reasons. 1. Your International flight is within 24 hours (must force them to acknowledge time and date change on the inbound domestic portion). This gets you 2 free bags domestically. 2. You need to show, in writing, what your bagge allowance is. You must prove that you are allowed 2 free bags Internationally. Why- Because she always wins the argument and gets her two free bags domestically. missing table was to be here..... 1On Delta operated flights, you may carry on one bag and a small personal item at no charge. Carry-on allowances may differ and fees may apply for flights operated by carriers other than Delta. Contact the operating carrier for detailed carry-on limitations and charges. BusinessElite/First/Business Class weight allowance reverts to 50 lbs for all checked bags beyond regular free allowance. At the time of check in with Delta, SkyMiles Medallion members, SkyTeam Elite & Elite Plus, Alaska MVP & MVP Gold and active US Military personnel are eligible for fee waivers and other benefits. For more details, visit delta.com/baggage. Basic Cardmembers with a Gold, Platinum, or Reserve Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express are eligible for the first bag fee waiver. More details on the program can be found at delta.com/firstbagfree. A standard checked bag with Delta may be up to 50 lbs and 62 linear inches (per piece). Additional fees apply for oversize, overweight, and/or additional pieces of checked baggage. Please review Delta's baggage guidelines for details. Weight and size restrictions may vary when checking baggage on carriers other than Delta. Contact with the operating carrier for detailed checked baggage allowances. Please note that this a customized baggage allowance taken directly from her ticket purchase confirmation e-mail. It is not from any Delta sponsored web page.

It is not always necessary to change terminals in Bejing. My wife is in Beijing right now, on her way to Nanning. She asked about this 3 hours ago when she landed. The answer? It depends on which airline you are flying domestically. Specifically, International flights arrive at Terminal 1. Both China Eastern and China Southern also use Terminal 1 for their domestic flights. End result- No terminal change required. any other airline? Couldn't say, my wife suggested to me, "look it up on the Beijing Terminal map." Naw, I'm not flying. I don't care.

I recently called Comcast with the 'Can I buy my own modem?' question. Answer- as stated above, BUT. But what? I bundle my Comcast. This means that my TV, Internet and nationwide free calling Telephone are all included in one 'bundle'. The BUT is that since my phone goes through the modem my 'new' purchased modem must be Comcast voice compatible. Comcast tech told me, "Go to Best Buy, tell them you want a Modem compatible with Comcast Voice, there is only one, and have the Best Buy Tech set it up for you before you take it home. No, I have not done it. Yet. As far as renting being an advantage for technology upgrades? That benefit is not apparent to me since Comcast has not changed my modem in years.

"...something unforeseen happens that results..." The whole point of this exercise, actually. It matters not to how many of you nothing ever happened. What are the consequences when something does happen? No, I haven't registered either, except the one time. And now for the rhetorical question- What are the chances of a non-US Citizen getting a repeat US Visa if they are caught over staying their visa or otherwise violating Immigration Law? See any parallels to Chinese Visitors' Visas? We've seen excerpts of the Chinese Law noted above. Fines, detainment, big hassles, at the least and, then- No more visitor's visa because you just became an unwelcome visitor. Discus that with your wife when she says, as mine does, "Register? What for, you don't need to!"

The question was about registering with the PSB. The discussion revolved around 3 ways to go- 1. your way 2. The other half's way 3. The legal requirement way. Let the voting begin. A joke because a vote should be in another forum. I have two short stories. First story- I went to China and stayed with my wife's family. A local security officer hounded my wife and mother-in-law saying, 'where is he (me, the foreigner) staying? He is not registered here. I see him here everyday.' Bottom line? I can neither translate nor interpret how they replied. He carried on. They carried on. I did not register. Later, I left China. My meaning? It is possible you might be questioned about your registration. The seocnd, and more serious story is that I needed a visa extension after staying unregistered almost one month. I went to the local Exit/Entry Bureau for a Visa extension. They replied, 'sure, no problem.' And then they said, "give us your Passport and your Registration from the local Police Bureau.' Uh, oh. Trouble now. Skip a lot of talk. Go to the local station, "sorry we cannot register you now, you are already in violation, blah blah blah." travel.gov has this: Whether you are traveling to or living in China, you must register with the police within 24 hours of your arrival in the country. Even foreigners with residence permits are required to register after each re-entry. If you are staying in a hotel, the staff will automatically register you. However, if you are staying in a private home with family or friends, you should take your passport to the local police station to register. Failure to do so could result in fines and detention. Chinese law requires that you carry a valid U.S. passport and Chinese visa or residence permit at all times. If you are visiting China, you should carry your passport with you, out of reach of pickpockets. If you live in China and have a residence permit, you should carry that document and leave your passport in a secure location, except when traveling... When you overstay in China, you may be detained for various amounts of time, as well as fined up to RMB 10,000. You must apply for a visa extension from the Entry/Exit Bureau before attempting to leave the country. So, you throw the dice and you take your chances.