They CAN get Z visas. They just DON'T. They were told by the cops during one of the raids that they needed to have at least 2 Z visas per center, as like a sign of good faith, I guess. Larry turned that into "we are only allowed to have 2 Z-visas per center." They don't really have a lot of people who qualify, regardless. But for those who do, if they don't have the police breathing down their necks, they aren't going to get you one. For a little while there, last summer, they were kind of desperate to retain people (they aren't getting a Z-visa for someone with a month left in their contract, without a new contract) who could get one. They did get one for my supervisor.

Oh shit, I forgot the best part of the not-giving-Z-visas thing. On an F visa, you aren't supposed to even be eligible to pay Chinese income taxes. Yet every month they'd deduct taxes from people's paychecks. I didn't realize it was illegal until like 7 months in. A little while after that, after people started making noise about it, and after the first immigration raids on Best Learning, our principal sent out an email explaining it. The money isn't being taken for TAXES (like it says on the pay stubs) but in order to pay bribes to police. (Rumor had it they paid 50,000 kuai in the raid on HQ) Oh, well, that's okay then...we thought it was just going to Audi payments.

But Larry denied that (only after I explained the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to him). He said it was being taken to "balance the books." I couldn't make any sense out of that. How do you need to take money from the teachers, money they've entitled to according to their contract, to "Balance the books?" I presume he means to make it look like money was being deducted for taxes...but that STILL doesn't require actually taking that money. He asked me why I was complaining, as I was being paid the same as if I had a Z visa.

I don't mind paying taxes. I DO mind NOT paying taxes but still having the money taken from me. I also had to make 2x as many visa runs for not having a Z visa, at my own expense. AND any experience I had not under a Z visa was of questionable value for any legal purposes such as getting a new visa. A Z visa has a LOT of value for anyone looking to stay in China for more than 6 months.

Best Learning is run by ASSHOLES. If you speak with anyone who works at HQ and is not a teacher, you can be absolutely assured that they are lying to you about SOMETHING at all times. (And some of the teachers at HQ are a little sketchy, too.)

On the bright side, they have their shit together regarding curriculum and lesson planning. That's as far as my praise for the school goes.