In all likelihood, it will be a lot easier for you to get a visa to visit her.

If the girl is Chinese
1.To apply and get a passport is easy in China for every Chinese.
Go to local PSB(Public Security Bureau). It takes a week to get it done after submitting the application and all documents required.
2.To apply and get a visa to the States is hard though.
She needs to go to American Embassy in China for detailed information. You can log on their website to study more.

she doesnt know? ok ok just go to her and help her get a visa

She shouldn't even try.

You should go see her.
When you are both ready to get married then start the paperwork.
If you are lucky, she will be able to come here within a year.

This is late since the original posting, but one can get lucky if you try.

Some have tried, got approved and just went for a tour of the states. But if she states she is visiting to visit you to immigration, she will most likely be denied. US immigration may feel she will try to stay in the country and not leave.

But seriously, dude... YOU are the man. Why are you requesting a woman to come visit you?

derek, there are several ways you can accomplish the task and your location helps as well. one way is via a government authorized tour group and almost all groups spend time in LA. another way is via a student visa, although this method requires that the chinese citizen produce a healthy bank account to the tune of more than 100000 RMB. glad to give you some other hints since i also live in LA. a visit to one of the american consulates in china may be required and you surely want to be fully prepared before your appointment.

well, it could be easier for you to come down to china. however, it also not so difficult to get a visit visa for her to usa under your being her sponsor. there are several travel agency doing this in china, just those expense are expensive. if on cost wide, it would be better for you to visit china. wish you have a nice meet!

I've done this before, with a visitor visa for a Thai woman in Bangkok. But then, I used to deal with US immigration issues for foreign visitors; that was my job at a university. So I know how visa officers and customs officers think.

First go to the US embassy's web site and fill out the form for your girlfriend (I'm talking about a Visitor visa now). You must have your girl online with you at the same time so you can garner all kinds of information you might not expect such as parents' names and dates of birth, her passport number, etc. etc.

By the time you complete the online form, your girl should have at least three documents from you; (1) your letter of sponsorship, stating that you will be responsible for her during her visit, including all finances (unless she is fairly wealthy herself), and confirming that she has every intention of returning to China (and WHY); (2) your passport or other ID copy, and (3) your financial statements (again, unless she has plenty of her own money).

When you're done with the online form you will be given several interview appointments from which to choose and for which you pay online with a credit card. The next step is for your girl to proceed to the consulate at the appointed date and time for the interview. She will be notified of the success or failure of her bid on the spot (I believe) and following that she will receive her visa in the mail in about 10 days.

This was the procedure in Bangkok. My apologies if it's different in China.

Final tips--Women over 40 have a better chance of getting a visa. During the interview just be honest, and answer questions without volunteering a lot of information. If applying for a visitor visa she should NEVER say she is engaged to you! A visitor visa is strictly for tourist/leisure purposes. My Bangkok friend was a government officer in Thailand; perhaps that helped. When they asked who was paying for the trip, she said "my boyfriend." They liked the honest answer, even though she was still married (separated) to a Thai man.

One thing that neophytes tend not to realize is that every visa officer in every consulate in the world of any country has the absolute and arbitrary right to deny anyone a visitor visa. They might not like her looks. They might not like her haughty demeanor (should she have one). They might not like her "Chairman Mao is Always Correct!" t-shirt. Whatever. That's the way it is.

When arriving at the airport, she may be taken aside for a Homeland Security interview. My respectable Thai gf was. But they were nice to her and since she didn't have anything to hide and was convincing about the truth--which was that she had no intention of overstaying her visa--they granted her a ten-year multiple entry. Good luck.

An update, now that my Dalian gf is applying. The procedure is similar to my previous Bangkok one, including the online form, but everything is spelled out in Chinese (translation link provided at the top of each page). There are seven steps. She must complete them all herself.

http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/ds160onlineapplication.html explains everything step by step.