Expats in Asia > Obstacles for an Expat in Asia

US Embassies and announcements.

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Pineau:
One thing I did when I first began my journey was to go to the US Department of state and Register with them as a traveler in foreign countries. I also identified the places where I could be found.

By doing this you have peace of mind , knowing that your Government has knowledge of your whereabouts.  You will receive all alerts and announcements relevant to you and the country where you are staying.  I have not kept mine up to date since I left China so I continue to get announcements and warnings relevant to China and Asia.

To register Go here.  https://step.state.gov/step/

Pineau:
Message for U.S. Citizens: U.S. Mid-term Elections - Register to Vote Now!

Your vote counts!  Did you know that many recent U.S. elections have been decided by a margin smaller than the number of ballots cast by military and overseas voters?  All states are required to count every absentee ballot as long as it is valid and reaches local election officials by the absentee ballot receipt deadline. 

Follow a few simple steps to make sure that you can vote in the 2014 U.S. elections:

Registering to Vote:  Complete a new Federal Post Card Application (FPCA).   Even if you have voted by absentee ballot in the past, you must complete a new Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) to vote in the 2014 elections.  The FPCA is accepted by all local election officials in all U.S. states and territories.  It allows you to register to vote and to request absentee ballots for all regular, primary, run-off, and special elections for federal offices (President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives) during the course of the year in which it is submitted.

You can complete the FPCA onlineat FVAP.gov.  The online voting assistant will ask you questions specific to your state.   It will tell you if your state allows the FPCA to be returned electronically or if you must submit a paper copy with original signature. 

Receiving Your Ballot:  Request Electronic Delivery!  States are now required to send out ballots 45 days before a regular election for federal office (President, U.S. Senate or U.S. House of Representatives) and states generally send out ballots at least 30 days before primary elections.  No matter which state you vote in, we encourage you to ask your local election officials to deliver your blank ballots to you electronically (by email, internet download, or fax, depending on your state).  Be sure to include your email address on your FPCA to take advantage of the electronic ballot delivery option.  You can now also confirm your registration and ballot delivery online for most states.

Researching the Candidates and Issues: Online Resources.  Check out the FVAP links page for helpful resources that will aid your research of candidates and issues.  Non-partisan information about candidates, their voting records, and their positions on issues are widely available and easy to obtain via numerous websites such as Project Smart Voter.  You can also read national and hometown newspapers on-line, or search the Internet to locate articles and information.  For information about election dates and deadlines, subscribe to FVAP's Voting Alerts (vote@fvap.gov).  FVAP also shares Voting Alerts via Facebookand Twitter.

Returning Your Completed Ballot: Other Options.  If your state requires you to return paper voting forms or ballots to local election officials, you can do so free of charge at the nearest embassy or consulate.  They must be in either postage paid return envelopes or in envelopes bearing sufficient domestic U.S. postage, and must also be addressed to the relevant local election officials. 

If you would like to drop off your completed FPCA or ballot for delivery to the United States via diplomatic pouch free of charge, you can drop off your completed voting forms and ballots, addressed to your local election officials, at the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou’s American Citizen Services Unit located at 43 Hua Jiu Road, Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District, Guangzhou , China 510623.

Business Hours:

08:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Mondays – Fridays (except on holidays and Wednesday afternoons.)

Normal transit time from the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou to the United States is 20 business days.  Voting assistance is also available during these hours.

No reservation is required to drop off you forms or ballots or to request voting assistance.  Please present your passport to the guards and visit us at the American Citizen Services unit on the second floor of the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou.

If it’s more convenient for you, you can also return your FPCA or ballot to your local election officials via international mail or professional courier service at your own expense. 

Learn more at the Federal Voting Assistance Program's (FVAP) website FVAP.gov.  If you have any questions about registering to vote overseas, please contact U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou’s Voting Assistance Officer at (86-20) 3814-5775, or at VoteGuangzhou@state.gov.

Pineau:
American Citizen Services Now on WeChat

 

U.S. Consulate GeneralGuangzhou’s American Citizen Services Unit (Guangzhou ACS) is proud to announce we are now broadcasting information for U.S. citizens on WeChat! Please look for username GuangzhouACS or scan the QR code below with your mobile device for the latest regarding travel alerts, ACS services, and more.

 

By using social media, we hope to reach out and provide useful and timely tips and information for American citizens in our consular district. As always, if you have a question about a specific case, feel free to email us at guangzhouacs@state.gov.

 
We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in China enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at http://www.travel.state.gov/. STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency.  If you don’t have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

Current Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution are all on the State Department's website, including the Country Specific Information for China.  For additional information, please read “A Safe Trip Abroad.”

Contact the U.S. embassy or consulate for up-to-date information on travel restrictions.  You can also call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries.  These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and download our free Smart Traveler iPhone App to have travel information at your fingertips.

The U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou is located at 43 Hua Jiu Road, Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China  510623 and is open from 8:00 a.m. to12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at (86)(20) 3814-5775.  If you are a U.S. citizen in need of urgent assistance outside of business hours, the emergency number for the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou is (86)(010) 8531-4000.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China
No. 55 An Jia Lou Road, Chaoyang District
Beijing 100600
Telephone:  (86) (10) 8531-4000
Emergency after-hours telephone:  (86) (10) 8531-4000
The Embassy consular district includes the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin and the provinces/autonomous regions of Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, and Xinjiang.

The U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu
Number 4, Lingshiguan Road, Section 4, Renmin Nanlu
Chengdu 610041
Telephone:  (86)(28) 8558-3992
Emergency after-hours telephone:  (86) (10) 8531-4000
This consular district includes the provinces/autonomous region of Guizhou, Sichuan, Xizang (Tibet) and Yunnan, as well as the municipality of Chongqing.

 

The U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou
43 Hua Jiu Road, Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District,
Guangzhou 510623
Telephone:  (86)(20) 3814-5775
Emergency after-hours telephone:  (86)(010) 8531-4000
This consular district includes the provinces/autonomous region of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, and Fujian.

 

The U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai
Westgate Mall, 8th Floor, 1038 Nanjing Xi Lu
Shanghai 200031
Telephone:  (86)(21) 3217-4650
Emergency after-hours telephone:  (86) (10) 8531-4000
This consular district includes Shanghai municipality and the provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang.

 

The U.S. Consulate General in Shenyang
No. 52, 14th Wei Road, Heping District
Shenyang 110003
Telephone:  (86)(24) 2322-1198
Emergency after-hours telephone:  (86) (10) 8531-4000
This consular district includes the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning.

 

The U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan
New World International Trade Tower I
No. 568, Jianshe Avenue
Hankou, Wuhan 430022
Telephone:  (86) (027) 8555-7791
Emergency after-hours telephone:  (86) (10) 8531-4000

Pineau:
Voting Message for U.S. Citizens

Be an Active Voter by taking the necessary steps to vote in the 2014 U.S. elections!
in many states, the voter registration deadline for the November 2014 elections is October 6.  For some voters this might mean their paper voter registration and absentee ballot request must reach their local election officials by October 6.  In order to vote in the November 2014 elections, all overseas U.S. citizens need to have completed a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)in 2014.  Whether you are a first-time voter or have already received ballots and voted absentee in past elections, you must complete an FPCA each year to ensure you are able to participate in elections as an overseas absentee voter. 
http://www.fvap.gov/links
VoteGuangzhou@state.gov.vote@fvap.gov
http://www.fvap.gov/citizen-voter/registration-ballots
http://www.fvap.gov/citizen-voter
 
 
If you have already completed a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)in 2014 and requested electronic delivery of your ballot, you will be receiving your blank ballot or instructions for how to access your ballot soon if you have not already received it.  If you are not sure about the status of your absentee ballot request you should contact your local election officials in the United States or check the status of your registration via your state’s voter registration verification website.

You can get voting assistance from the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou or drop off your completed voting forms and ballots, addressed to your local election officials, during the following hours:8:30 to 11:30 a.m. or 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday(except on holidays and Wednesday afternoons).
Normal transit time from the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou to the United States is 20 business days.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT OVERSEAS VOTING

Vote with white background

Please help spread the word to your friends, family, and colleagues that now is the time to start thinking about overseas voting.  Consider posting to your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or other social media account that you are an active voter and will be dropping off or mailing your Federal Post Card Application or completed ballot.  Use #ProudOverseasVoter to help get the word out about voting.

If you have never voted while overseas before, it’s not too late. The process is easy ­-- just follow these steps:


1.     Complete a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)
 
Whether you are a first-time voter or have voted absentee in past elections, complete an FPCA to receive your ballot this fall.  It allows you to register to vote and request absentee ballots for all elections for federal offices (presidential and state primaries, run-off, special, and the November general elections) during the course of the year in which you submit the FPCA.  Local election officials in all U.S. states and territories accept the FPCA.

The online voting assistant available at FVAP.gov is an easy way to complete the FPCA.  It will ask you questions specific to your state and tell you if electronic ballot delivery is possible.  No matter which state you vote in, we encourage you to ask your local election officials to deliver your blank ballots to you electronically (by email, internet download, or fax, depending on your state).  Be sure to include your email address to take advantage of electronic delivery.  The online voting assistant will generate a printable FPCA, which you can then print and sign.

2.     Submit the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)

If you would like to drop off your completed FPCA or ballot for delivery to the United States  free of charge, you can drop off your completed voting forms and ballots, addressed to your local election officials, at the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou’s American Citizen Services Unit located at 43 Hua Jiu Road, Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District, Guangzhou , China 510623.

If it’s more convenient for you, you can have a friend or family member drop off your FPCA at the consulate, on your behalf or you can send your FPCA or ballot directly to your local election officials via international mail or professional courier service at your own expense. 

3.     Receive Your Ballot

After submitting your FPCA, most states allow you to confirm online your registration and ballot delivery selection.  States are now required to send out ballots 45 days before an election for federal office(President, U.S. Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives) to any overseas U.S. citizen who has completed an FPCA. 

4.     Return Your Ballot

 

As with the FPCA, you can return your voted ballot to your local election officials free of charge via the consulate or mail it directly at your own expense.

Your Vote Counts

Many U.S. elections within the past ten years have been decided by a margin of victory of less than 0.1%.  All states are required to count every absentee ballot as long as it is valid and reaches local election officials by the absentee ballot receipt deadline (differs by state). 

Be an educated voter.  Check out the FVAP links page for helpful resources that will aid your research of candidates and issues.   You can also read national and hometown newspapers online, and search the Internet to locate articles and information. 

To receive information by email about election dates and deadlines, subscribe to FVAP's Voting Alerts (vote@fvap.gov).  FVAP also shares Voting Alerts via Facebookand Twitter.

If you have any questions about registering to vote overseas, please contact U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou’s Voting Assistance Officer at (86-20) 3814-5775, or at VoteGuangzhou@state.gov.

Pineau:
American Citizen Services is on WeChat

U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou’s American Citizen Services Unit (Guangzhou ACS) is proud to announce we are now broadcasting information for U.S. citizens on WeChat! Please add username GuangzhouACS to follow us for the latest information regarding travel alerts, ACS services, and more.

By using social media, we hope to reach out and provide useful, timely tips and information for American citizens in our consular district. For questions regarding a specific case, please email us at guangzhouacs@state.gov.

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