Confirmed with both company HR and ShanghaiExpat, Maryann needs to go through two steps:

Nationality Authentication

国籍审定

• Birth Certificate

• Baby's passport

• Father's passport

• Mother's ID card and hukou booklet

• An explanation letter by the parents (saying the baby elects to take the nationality as per the passport)

• A few passport-sized photos of the baby

Plus of course photocopies of everything. This year we finally have Jodi's hukou in its own book, separate from her parents's.

Exit Permit

通行证

Apply for the 国籍审定 and 通行证 on the same day at different windows. In 2007 HR said we needed for Charlotte:

1. Original passports of the parents, your wife's ID card, and original 户口本.
2. Original birth certificate
3. Marriage certificate
4. 3pcs of 2 inch color pix of the baby.

I just made double copies of everything we're bringing for the 国籍审定. Plus, like 8 2-inch photos (not the 2x2 "大二" US visa photos, but the small 2-inch Chinese ID photos).

Also, the validity of the Exit Permit is 30 days, so no use applying before December. HR recommends two weeks before departure.

Tourist Visa

Once we're in the US, we'll need to apply for a tourist visa for Maryann to return to China. It's already on my calendar for Monday, December 21. For that application we'll need some more ID photos (remember to print out).

The consulate opens at 9am, so get there around 8:30am.

We got there late, about 9:30am on a Monday morning, waited about 5 minutes in line, and were out in 10 minutes. Much quicker than in the past, great!

Residence Permit

Once we're back in China, I need to contact HR to get Maryann added to my residence permit like Charlotte. They will tell me what documents I need at that time.

Renewing the Residence Permit

I need to check the date that my residence permit expires to make sure it doesn't conflict with CNY or our second trip to the US in February. (It doesn't conflict; it's safely before, which means I need to mobilize Operation Renew soon after returning.)