Hello all. I thought it would be good to give this information to anyone interested in traveling to China for employment or schooling. If you want to take your family with you, you must have a copy of your children's birth certificate(s) and/or marriage license authenticated by the Chinese embassy/consulate in your jurisdiction. These documents must first be certified by the Secretary of the state that issued the original document. The easiest thing to do is to go to the state's website. You can usually order the necessary document online. Believe me, it is a pain in the rear, but if we did not do it, Amelia and Sarah would not be able to get residence cards in China (They would have to go home after two months!).

The other annoyance was getting the visas. You have to personally go to the consulate, or you can pay a visa agency to do it for you. We used a company called Travisa (travisa.com). It cost $50 for each visa in addition to the regular fees and postage (a grand total of $400!). I should not complain. People trying to come here have to go through a much more arduous process.

For those of you who will be traveling to China to visit us (hint, hint), you will need a visa. At least you will have a place to stay!