How to request U.S non-criminal record?

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With the development of economic globalization, more and more people choose to seek employment in China. When going through the work procedures, individuals are often required to show evidence of No Criminal Record in the U.S. Following are some cases where non-criminal background check is required.

  1. U.S. citizens intending to work in China for request of work visa or work permit in China.
  2. U.S. citizens who apply for permanent residence in China.
  3. Individuals who is U.S. citizens or have lived in the United States for more than 6 months applying for a third-country visa or immigration.

The U.S. non-criminal record certificate needs to be legalized by the Chinese consulate for use in China. The specific certification of non-criminal record involves several steps:

  1. Get the non-criminal background check notarized by the U.S. Notary Public.
  2. Get the documents authenticated by the U.S. Secretary of State.
  3. Have the documents legalized by Chinese Embassy or Consulate in the United States.

Types of non-criminal record：

FBI non-criminal record

 State-based non-criminal record

There are three types of non-criminal records in the United States:

  1. City-level criminal record
  2. State-level criminal record
  3. FBI national wide criminal record

Generally, when it comes to immigration to China, you need to provide a federal-level non-criminal record certificate, that is, an FBI non-criminal record certificate; when it comes to employment and residence procedures in China, a city-level or state-level non-criminal record certificate will suffice.

Consular legalization of non-criminal record

The United States is a member of the Hague Convention countries, while China is not a member of the Hague Convention countries. Therefore, the United States non-criminal records for use in China must be legalized by Chinese Embassy or Consulates in the United States.

Authentication and legalization Procedures: 

  1. The documents are notarized by a local notary public.
  2. The notarized documents are submitted to the Secretary of State for authentication.
  3. Send the authenticated documents to the Chinese Embassy/Consulate in the United States for consular legalization.

Required documents and processing time：

Required documents for request of non-criminal record certificate:

  1. Scanned copy of the passport photo page.
  2. Fingerprint card. (If applicable. Some states do not require fingerprint collection.) 
  3. Application form for non-criminal record.

Processing time for request of non-criminal record certificate：

FBI non-criminal record: 5-7 working days
City-level or State-level non-criminal record: 1-2 weeks