@jadorechocolate, I'm a Thai citizen. Such a painful process that I ever encountered. I've started the process at the end of Sep'16 until now I'm not even a halfway through this.
This is my case; I'm in the process of applying for FEC; both of my BA and Criminal Background Check need to be verified the authenticity by my government and then Chinese Consulate in my home country. All of this happened after the whole month of waiting, the government told us that they need the verification. So begin again...
Maybe it depends on your nationality, just my assumption but make sure you get the right info. from the right source before submitting the paperworks.