K.M.

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.

Filed I-130 directly with USCIS in GUZ and everything went very smoothly. It was approved quickly and sent to the consulate where we just had visa interview yesterday. After the interview the consular official stated they could not approve the visa unless a co-sponsor was obtained. Asking someonme to be a co-sponsor is highly intrusive and I just don't get even why that is necessary. I submitted, according to instructions, a letter stating that for the last 2 years I was not required to file a 1040 with the IRS because I did not meet the income threshhold. On the I-864 it states that I need to show 125% of poverty guidelines (approx $25k) x three since beneficiary is spouse. We showed approximately $200,000 in cash assets verified by US bank statements. Why wouldn't that be sufficient? Is there any way to appeal this action or any other suggestions?

Actually, it is not only 70-year terms. Some are for 60 and some are for even less. And since the lease terms begins to run when the developer first obtained the land and there is generally a multi-year lag between when the land is obtained by the developer and when any property built, if any, is available for sale, you may find your actual term several years less than what it would ordinarily be. Also, as previously pointed out, about 4 years ago the Property Law was upgraded to allow people to own urban residential property in perpetuity. There may be a small and relatively insignificant fee / tax, but they cannot just take away your property and leave you homeless. The law of eminent domain, though, is alive and well in China. Aside from how farmers can get shafted when their farmlands are taken for industrial use, most urban residential property owners are treated more or less fairly if their land is taken for public purposes.

If an expat, you cannot purchase residential property unless you have already lived in China for at least one year on either a student or work-related residence permit. In some cities it is even more restrictive for Chinese people who are not official residents of the city. I would be careful if buying a property for investment purposes. The one property you are allowed to purchase must be your principal place of residence so if you ultimately decide to turn it into a rental property you may experience difficulties. In any event, the property market now has shown signs of slowing. Not sure if this is true in every city, but in the three major cities there has been an actual drop, albeit slight, in property prices and sales are down.

Reading carefully, it is not just evasion of the tolls -- although that in and of itself to the tune of over 3.5 million RMB is not like stealing a bottle of milk -- but he did so by impersonating military personnel. He's damned lucky they didn't give him the needle.

Oh, well ... Surprising? Not really. Retarded? Of course.

It's called a residence permit and not a residence visa. The only residence visa is the "D" visa, but that only allows you entry into China and then once you obtain your green card it is cancelled. With an "L" (tourist), "Z" (work) or "X" (student) visa, once you enter the country on that visa you go through the formalities to obtain a residence permit which then functions as a visa. The residence permit you obtain on an "L" visa though does not allow you to work. There is a somewhat new policy that allows those with relatives in China to obtain a residence permit for the purpose of staying with those relatives. You cannot work and the residence permit may be for as long as several years, though in the beginning they usually only give you one year. After 5 consecutive years one may be eligible for permanent residence in some cases.