The law says that you must be in China for at least 9-months of each of the 5-years prior to the application being made. The D visa cannot be applied for by her, but rather her parents. Once issued, the D visa is a lifetime visa. You never apply for a visa in China again. The PR card, is valid for 10-years and thereafter it can be renewed. The biggest delay is the processing time and the FBI fingerprint checks that China sends to the USA. They don't use the damn instant scans for that, but instead they use the old roll out ink prints. Then they get mailed to the USA. It took us about 7-months to get the PR card after the application was done. This might change in some major city like Shanghai where they have more foreign affairs police, etc. I can work on my PR card and usually don't need an FEC although I did need an FEC in one city once. I don't see any real value other than not having an employer control your Z visa and the annual visa fees. Other than that, its a nice novelty ID card to show your friends. Some hotels understand what it is, and some airports understand what it is, some don't. Most cops in small towns never saw one and you end up waiting around as they call it in. Going in and out of HK is much easier with it. Most employers in China don't know what to do with it, or they seem reluctant to hire because they lack control over someone that has a PR card. When you tell an employer that you don't need a Z visa and have PR, their control is taken away. It is funny for the first few times and after that a person still needs to work. Having it has become a coin toss in some respects.