Wow, I definitely feel like an idiot posting this after I asked for advice on apartment hunting yesterday.

Here's the deal:
Im an American currently teaching in GZ, have a legal Z visa, residency permit, etc. I signed a contract with a school in KM to begin in March, submitted all the paperwork, including a legit criminal record check from the state in which I previously lived before coming to China. I get word a few days ago that everything passed, only to receive an email today stating

"Your documents are passed by yunnan foreign expert bureau. But when we submitted them to the exit and entry bureau, they required:

1) FBI no criminal check

2) guang Zhou local police station issued no criminal check( as you live in Guangzhou for more than 6 month)"

The GZ check is no problem, but seeing as the FBI check has been known to take a while, am I screwed? Also, Im returning home for winter break and already have my flights scheduled, though my current residency permit doesnt expire until after I return (but I was planning on getting my new Visa while home). Still, there is not nearly enough time to get all this done now, has anyone dealt with this before?

Also, I ran a search but everything I found was pretty inconclusive, I guess Im looking for stories of people who came KM and Yunnan in the last year - did you have to deal with this?

why cant the school in GZ just transfer your stuff to the new place? depending on how long you've been in GZ I thought the police check from there would be enough but i guess that's up to the PSB/E&EB. would have been nice if the school had given you more notice. seen as this isn't really your fault I'd hope that they would at least keep the job open for you.

We discussed transferring but decided there wasn't enough time between when my current contract ends and when Im set to fly back to the states. At the time I didn't care because I was just going to get the Visa while I was home, and now I'm wondering if it's still a viable option or if the FBI check will be requested either way. The school is supposed to dig into it more tomorrow and get back to me so I guess we'll see.

Yunnan seems to be marching to a different drummer. If it was me, I would investigate jobs in other cities as a backup. Other cities are not requiring FBI checks, which can take several months.

I very recently submitted a letter from my LOCAL (hometown) police, saying I had no criminal record, and it was accepted with no problem. No FBI involved or required.

You have got a problem. First there is no such thing named "FBI no criminal check". You have an official asking you for a nonexistent, not required document which will take months to get even if you figure out how to get it. Your first problem is that you can't tell them this as it is a second hand request to you. Getting a "FBI Identity History Summary Check" done not easy. It requires you to be fingerprinted, not easy while in China. Go to this link for a start:

. www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks

There is a lot in play here including 面子of petty officials. Be precise in your statements and questions. Be cool and tread lightly. Remember you need help,... please.

Wow....
First, there is a such thing as an FBI criminal history check.

They are not hard to get but seeing that you are in China and it will take to time mail paperwork and what not you need to get on it now. You likely have enough time to get it done.

I literally walked into an office in Washington, DC, waited about 5 minutes, then walked it to another office and got it stamped and certified. No problem. Very easy. But again, you being here means mailing and what not so more time is required.

Also, the requirement to have this is a new requirement that began a few months back and is required for all visas now except tourist visas. It is not a kunming only thing.

Wow!

I am impressed. Getting fingerprinted usually takes a few minutes. I guess electronic fingerprints are handled a lot faster these days.

Here is a notice on the above link:

"On September 7, 2014, CJIS installed a new IT system. As a result of this installation, we are experiencing delays in processing. Please be assured that each issue is being identified and resolved as quickly as possible, but at this time anticipated processing time for an Identity History Summary is approximately 14-16 weeks. Allow additional time for mail delivery."

What office did you go to in DC?

Just a comment. It sounds like you are talking about different things.

Ha, wow all around. Ive actually never heard of being able to get the FBI check done in person and have never ever heard of it taking a reasonable amount of time. Still, it doesnt matter as Im not going to mess with it anyway.

Heard from the school today, they said in lieu the FBI check, the govt will accept a copy of the official non-electronic state version. Just to clarify, my state is SC and they are one of the few to offer an official background check online (SLED Catch), which I thought was pretty awesome. That's what I used initially and was told it would be fine, but now they want one that was not delivered in an email. Same system, same results, but they want it to have been applied for in person or via mail. The kicker - once I have the physical version, they said I can scan and email it to them. I just hope the physical one looks different than the electronic one.

So yes, there is a workaround and it seems to match what @neddy said.