How to enter work experience when there is a 2 year gap in between jobs

[dr10]

Hi,

This is my first post here so please forgive me, if this has been addressed before but a quick search did not yield me any relevant results so I'm posting my question here instead.

I just received my ECA and IELTS results and am starting to create my EE profile. I have 2 very important questions regarding work experience that I'm hoping someone can help me with.

I first joined my company through Agency A here in the US in Sep 2011 and continued to work until Jan 2014 when I had to leave the country since my H1B application did not get picked in the lottery and my OPT period was ending. I then went to India, where I did an internship for 3 months initially and then spent time from Jan 2015 to Mar 2016 trying to establish a business that did not work out. In the mean time, I got my H1b in the next round and moved back to the US for the same company but through a different agency this time and have been working in the same role since. I am unlikely to get a letter from the company I did an internship for in India and therefore I am excluding that from my work experience for EE.

So in short, I have a total of 3 years and 8 months as work experience in the same role. However, it is split into two periods of 2 years and 4 months (Sep 2011-Jan 2014) and 1 year and 4 months (Apr 2016-Aug 2017) with a gap of a little over 2 years.

My first question is, does the long break mean my experience cannot be treated as "continuous" according to the canadian immigration system or can I still enter the total of 3 years and 8 months?

I also worked part time as a research student during my Master's and was paid for 20 hrs a week. Is there anyway I can include that in my work experience?

Thank you in advance. This forum has come through for me on several occasions and I'm hoping it will this time too.

 

[DelPiero07]

1 - You only need a year of continuous work experience to be eligible under the FSW program.

2 - Yes but you're already getting the maximum CRS points for foreign work experience, unless you need further points under the six selection factors to be eligible under the FSW program there isn't much benefit in adding it.

 

[dr10]

1 - You only need a year of continuous work experience to be eligible under the FSW program.

2 - Yes but you're already getting the maximum CRS points for foreign work experience, unless you need further points under the six selection factors to be eligible under the FSW program there isn't much benefit in adding it.

@DelPiero07

thanks for the quick response. really appreciate it.

wrt my first question, what I was trying to ask was if the break meant that I can or cannot list my total work experience as 3 years 8 months for the purpose of maximizing my CRS score. In other words, does the term continuous mean I can include only my current job and therefore 1 year and 4 months as total work experience or does the break not have any effect in calculating my work experience for CRS purposes. I'm asking since, although I will be eligible under both circumstances, my CRS will be higher if its 3 yrs, 8 months vs 1 yr, 4 months.

on a side note, I was a huge fan of pinturicchio growing up as well

 

[DelPiero07]

Basically once you meet the requirement of a year of continuous work experience you can add all other skilled work experience even if they are gaps in between.

Therefore yes, you can count your 3 years 8 months of work experience and you'll get the maximum CRS points for foreign work experience.

 

[Trusty]

Hi,

This is my first post here so please forgive me, if this has been addressed before but a quick search did not yield me any relevant results so I'm posting my question here instead.

I just received my ECA and IELTS results and am starting to create my EE profile. I have 2 very important questions regarding work experience that I'm hoping someone can help me with.

I first joined my company through Agency A here in the US in Sep 2011 and continued to work until Jan 2014 when I had to leave the country since my H1B application did not get picked in the lottery and my OPT period was ending. I then went to India, where I did an internship for 3 months initially and then spent time from Jan 2015 to Mar 2016 trying to establish a business that did not work out. In the mean time, I got my H1b in the next round and moved back to the US for the same company but through a different agency this time and have been working in the same role since. I am unlikely to get a letter from the company I did an internship for in India and therefore I am excluding that from my work experience for EE.

So in short, I have a total of 3 years and 8 months as work experience in the same role. However, it is split into two periods of 2 years and 4 months (Sep 2011-Jan 2014) and 1 year and 4 months (Apr 2016-Aug 2017) with a gap of a little over 2 years.

My first question is, does the long break mean my experience cannot be treated as "continuous" according to the canadian immigration system or can I still enter the total of 3 years and 8 months?

I also worked part time as a research student during my Master's and was paid for 20 hrs a week. Is there anyway I can include that in my work experience?

Thank you in advance. This forum has come through for me on several occasions and I'm hoping it will this time too.

I will explain what I did, as long as timelines and details are clearly mentioned in the job experience letters and your application, everything should be okay.

My 1st job - lasted 9 months - US Company "A".
H1B did not work, quit the job and unemployed for 7 months (In personal history, I mentioned this period as "unemployed" to leave no gaps.
2nd job - same company after H1B approved - 3+ years duration & current job, same NOC code as 1st job, slightly different job title.
Plus, during 2nd job I took 6months unpaid leave of absence again due to H1B stamping drama, could not work remotely but stayed on payroll just not paid.

I entered each job separately in Express Entry profile. The unpaid leave period was stated in the job letter.

I got two letters from my Company, one for 1st job with all details, one for 2nd job with all timeline and details.
In the letter for 2nd job, I had my manager clearly mention the time period in which I took unpaid leave, as long as the unpaid leave is not in the past year, it should not impact CRS scores that much. I already got the max points for my job experience, adding any more time would gain nothing.

///

If I were you, I would still do the same thing I did already. Enter each job separately in the EE profile, get two letters (one for each job period) and then everything is clear for CIC to process the application without asking for explanations.

In personal history, any time period you did not work should clearly state what you did in that time. In most cases it is "unemployed" or traveling or whatever reason is available from the options they allow in Express Entry. You can always attach additional information for explanations to avoid getting another query from CIC for the same.

I did not mention any part-time jobs or internships during study period because I didn't gain any extra points for it and since I was full time student in that entire period, it was all counted as study period in my personal history and educational history timelines.

Part time jobs and work done during full time studies is not treated the same way as full time job by CIC.

You can include all the jobs and internships in your resume when you are looking for jobs. For PR purposes you should be getting max points already with just the full time jobs. Everything else if done during study period, can be ignored since that entire time you were a student and the timeline should clearly show what you were doing in that time period, that is - "Education" or "Studies".

BTW, there is no harm in giving all the information but make it easier for the CIC officers to understand your entire timeline of personal and work history. If it gets confusing for them with many overlapping activities or gaps in personal history, they will ask you again to fill out Schedule A Personal History and submit as additional document, it just delays processing. I suggest all new applicants to submit a full personal history and travel history since age 18 even if it is longer than past 10 years, it just makes it easier for CIC to understand what you did and where you were since age 18 and avoids the extra weeks of delay when they ask you to submit it again and pause processing until you submit it.

If you put the entire period as employment and later unable to prove that you were working and paid continuously, it will look like you are trying to manipulate timelines and claiming experience for time period where you didn't actually work, it is not worth the risk.

My PR application is in final stages and my passport is with CIC for stamping now. The GCMS notes show that CIC officer commented about the unpaid leave etc in thier internal communication with other CIC officers and they calculated the timelines and found the points I claimed were valid based on job experience proof submitted.

Sorry for the long post.

 

[dr10]

Basically once you meet the requirement of a year of continuous work experience you can add all other skilled work experience even if they are gaps in between.

Therefore yes, you can count your 3 years 8 months of work experience and you'll get the maximum CRS points for foreign work experience.

Oh. I didn't know that for certain before. Thank you so much for clarifying that. Really appreciate your help. If I can press you for one last question, the EE profile I started building had no option to choose 3-4 years as work experience. The nearest options (for me) available were 2-3 and 4-5. Since my total falls between the two ranges at the moment, which would you advise me to choose?.

I will explain what I did, as long as timelines and details are clearly mentioned in the job experience letters and your application, everything should be okay.

My 1st job - lasted 9 months - US Company "A".
H1B did not work, quit the job and unemployed for 7 months (In personal history, I mentioned this period as "unemployed" to leave no gaps.
2nd job - same company after H1B approved - 3+ years duration & current job, same NOC code as 1st job, slightly different job title.
Plus, during 2nd job I took 6months unpaid leave of absence again due to H1B stamping drama, could not work remotely but stayed on payroll just not paid.

I entered each job separately in Express Entry profile. The unpaid leave period was stated in the job letter.

I got two letters from my Company, one for 1st job with all details, one for 2nd job with all timeline and details.
In the letter for 2nd job, I had my manager clearly mention the time period in which I took unpaid leave, as long as the unpaid leave is not in the past year, it should not impact CRS scores that much. I already got the max points for my job experience, adding any more time would gain nothing.

///

If I were you, I would still do the same thing I did already. Enter each job separately in the EE profile, get two letters (one for each job period) and then everything is clear for CIC to process the application without asking for explanations.

In personal history, any time period you did not work should clearly state what you did in that time. In most cases it is "unemployed" or traveling or whatever reason is available from the options they allow in Express Entry. You can always attach additional information for explanations to avoid getting another query from CIC for the same.

I did not mention any part-time jobs or internships during study period because I didn't gain any extra points for it and since I was full time student in that entire period, it was all counted as study period in my personal history and educational history timelines.

Part time jobs and work done during full time studies is not treated the same way as full time job by CIC.

You can include all the jobs and internships in your resume when you are looking for jobs. For PR purposes you should be getting max points already with just the full time jobs. Everything else if done during study period, can be ignored since that entire time you were a student and the timeline should clearly show what you were doing in that time period, that is - "Education" or "Studies".

BTW, there is no harm in giving all the information but make it easier for the CIC officers to understand your entire timeline of personal and work history. If it gets confusing for them with many overlapping activities or gaps in personal history, they will ask you again to fill out Schedule A Personal History and submit as additional document, it just delays processing. I suggest all new applicants to submit a full personal history and travel history since age 18 even if it is longer than past 10 years, it just makes it easier for CIC to understand what you did and where you were since age 18 and avoids the extra weeks of delay when they ask you to submit it again and pause processing until you submit it.

If you put the entire period as employment and later unable to prove that you were working and paid continuously, it will look like you are trying to manipulate timelines and claiming experience for time period where you didn't actually work, it is not worth the risk.

My PR application is in final stages and my passport is with CIC for stamping now. The GCMS notes show that CIC officer commented about the unpaid leave etc in thier internal communication with other CIC officers and they calculated the timelines and found the points I claimed were valid based on job experience proof submitted.

Sorry for the long post.

Thank you so much Trusty. The length of your post only makes it more informative and thorough for me so no worries there.

I have more clarity now than I did a few hours earlier thanks to both you guys. I will list my two full time jobs here in the US alone as you suggested since that's what I had in mind to begin with.

If you can, I'd appreciate your response to the question that I've asked DelPiero07 above.

"The EE profile I started building had no option to choose 3-4 years as work experience. The nearest options (for me) available were 2-3 and 4-5. Since my total falls between the two ranges at the moment, which would you advise me to choose?"

 

[DelPiero07]

2-3 years.

 

[dr10]

2-3 years.

Great!. Thank you once again!

 

[Trusty]

Oh. I didn't know that for certain before. Thank you so much for clarifying that. Really appreciate your help. If I can press you for one last question, the EE profile I started building had no option to choose 3-4 years as work experience. The nearest options (for me) available were 2-3 and 4-5. Since my total falls between the two ranges at the moment, which would you advise me to choose?.



Thank you so much Trusty. The length of your post only makes it more informative and thorough for me so no worries there.

I have more clarity now than I did a few hours earlier thanks to both you guys. I will list my two full time jobs here in the US alone as you suggested since that's what I had in mind to begin with.

If you can, I'd appreciate your response to the question that I've asked DelPiero07 above.

"The EE profile I started building had no option to choose 3-4 years as work experience. The nearest options (for me) available were 2-3 and 4-5. Since my total falls between the two ranges at the moment, which would you advise me to choose?"

Your total foreign work experience is 3 years + x months but below 4 years, so you select 2 -3 Years, you still get the max points for foreign work exp already. 4 -5 Years would be an option for anyone with work experience 4 Years + x months but not less than 4 years.

Below is just bla bla suggestions:

Since, you are at the beginning stage you don't need to create explanation letters or LOE just yet because nobody will be reading your profile until you get an ITA and submit a full PR application post-ITA. Only then will someone from CIC actually open your file to verify your information and details and whether points you claimed are all valid or not ( but once you get an ITA, you cannot change anything in terms of dates, NOC codes, etc). You can always add more explanations to support the details you entered in your original EE profile that received the ITA.

Just make sure you get the job letters or CAN get the job letters with all details as needed for EE (dates of employment, job duties to match NOC code, current or last earned salary for that job period, name of supervisor, addresses, email, phone numbers, website if any, mention that the job was "working in full time, permanent job position as XYZ... from XX-XX-XXXX to XX-XX-XXXX". They don't call every office, most of the time they are checking online to see if they can find some evidence that you worked there or whether such company even exists, etc. The more easier you make it for them to verify the better, I attached W2s and recent pay stubs making it easier for them to confirm.

Make sure your EE profile entries match all details with job letter dates and NOC code matches job duties, if you can ask your manager or HR to modify the job duties wording to match closest to the NOC code job duties is helpful, as long as the meaning remains the same, nothing fraudulent or misrepresented.

When you get the ITA and submit the final documents/application. Add letters of explanation for the time gap between jobs explaining how you quit the first job for self-development or family or self-training whatever and then returned to work later. Gap period will be "Unemployed" status and thus there will be nothing to prove and no points claimed for this time period. Just write in the letter of explanation whatever you did during this period so they don't ask you again.

Leave no gaps in personal history or any history. If one period ends in AUG 2016, next period or activity should begin in AUG 2016 leaving no gap, since most likely things begin and end in middle of the month, not always the 1st or last day of a month.

Keep a copy of everything you enter in your EE profile, once your profile is locked and submitted after ITA, you can't see most of the items you entered in the EE profile as they will be hidden, like family details, address or personal history, etc. In case you need to submit explanations later, you can refer to what you submitted so you don't submit any variation of the previously submitted info, making sure you get the dates and details right is the key to being consistent throughout the process.

Post-ITA, I would also suggest filling out Form Schedule A Background Declaration IMM 5669 with additional pages/spreadsheet tables attached with your EE identifier info on top of each additional page to give them full address history since age 18, personal history and all details needed in Schedule A. Since you have gaps and not straight forward, they will most likely ask you to fill this out anyway, rather do it upfront and attach as additional document when you get ITA, not yet.

Get into the pool ASAP and then the waiting begins. If your score is close enough to get an ITA soon, apply for FBI police certificate ASAP as they have a backlog of months usually. Get the Indian PCC from consulate if you are overseas, it will be valid as long as you don't go back to India before you submit the application.

 

[dr10]

Your total foreign work experience is 3 years + x months but below 4 years, so you select 2 -3 Years, you still get the max points for foreign work exp already. 4 -5 Years would be an option for anyone with work experience 4 Years + x months but not less than 4 years.

Below is just bla bla suggestions:

Since, you are at the beginning stage you don't need to create explanation letters or LOE just yet because nobody will be reading your profile until you get an ITA and submit a full PR application post-ITA. Only then will someone from CIC actually open your file to verify your information and details and whether points you claimed are all valid or not ( but once you get an ITA, you cannot change anything in terms of dates, NOC codes, etc). You can always add more explanations to support the details you entered in your original EE profile that received the ITA.

Just make sure you get the job letters or CAN get the job letters with all details as needed for EE (dates of employment, job duties to match NOC code, current or last earned salary for that job period, name of supervisor, addresses, email, phone numbers, website if any, mention that the job was "working in full time, permanent job position as XYZ... from XX-XX-XXXX to XX-XX-XXXX". They don't call every office, most of the time they are checking online to see if they can find some evidence that you worked there or whether such company even exists, etc. The more easier you make it for them to verify the better, I attached W2s and recent pay stubs making it easier for them to confirm.

Make sure your EE profile entries match all details with job letter dates and NOC code matches job duties, if you can ask your manager or HR to modify the job duties wording to match closest to the NOC code job duties is helpful, as long as the meaning remains the same, nothing fraudulent or misrepresented.

When you get the ITA and submit the final documents/application. Add letters of explanation for the time gap between jobs explaining how you quit the first job for self-development or family or self-training whatever and then returned to work later. Gap period will be "Unemployed" status and thus there will be nothing to prove and no points claimed for this time period. Just write in the letter of explanation whatever you did during this period so they don't ask you again.

Leave no gaps in personal history or any history. If one period ends in AUG 2016, next period or activity should begin in AUG 2016 leaving no gap, since most likely things begin and end in middle of the month, not always the 1st or last day of a month.

Keep a copy of everything you enter in your EE profile, once your profile is locked and submitted after ITA, you can't see most of the items you entered in the EE profile as they will be hidden, like family details, address or personal history, etc. In case you need to submit explanations later, you can refer to what you submitted so you don't submit any variation of the previously submitted info, making sure you get the dates and details right is the key to being consistent throughout the process.

Post-ITA, I would also suggest filling out Form Schedule A Background Declaration IMM 5669 with additional pages/spreadsheet tables attached with your EE identifier info on top of each additional page to give them full address history since age 18, personal history and all details needed in Schedule A. Since you have gaps and not straight forward, they will most likely ask you to fill this out anyway, rather do it upfront and attach as additional document when you get ITA, not yet.

Get into the pool ASAP and then the waiting begins. If your score is close enough to get an ITA soon, apply for FBI police certificate ASAP as they have a backlog of months usually. Get the Indian PCC from consulate if you are overseas, it will be valid as long as you don't go back to India before you submit the application.

Hi Trusty,

Thank you sooo much for that detailed post. I have just begun the profile creation process and felt a little overwhelmed cos, based on what I've read from the forums so far, it appears that any wrong/incorrect information that I enter now could affect me adversely later on, even if the information itself is truthful!. So any advise such as what you just offered goes a long way in setting up my profile right. Really appreciate that.

I hope to have my profile completed in the next couple of days. Hopefully, everything will go well.

 

[ahmedmorra]

I will explain what I did, as long as timelines and details are clearly mentioned in the job experience letters and your application, everything should be okay.

My 1st job - lasted 9 months - US Company "A".
H1B did not work, quit the job and unemployed for 7 months (In personal history, I mentioned this period as "unemployed" to leave no gaps.
2nd job - same company after H1B approved - 3+ years duration & current job, same NOC code as 1st job, slightly different job title.
Plus, during 2nd job I took 6months unpaid leave of absence again due to H1B stamping drama, could not work remotely but stayed on payroll just not paid.

I entered each job separately in Express Entry profile. The unpaid leave period was stated in the job letter.

I got two letters from my Company, one for 1st job with all details, one for 2nd job with all timeline and details.
In the letter for 2nd job, I had my manager clearly mention the time period in which I took unpaid leave, as long as the unpaid leave is not in the past year, it should not impact CRS scores that much. I already got the max points for my job experience, adding any more time would gain nothing.

///

If I were you, I would still do the same thing I did already. Enter each job separately in the EE profile, get two letters (one for each job period) and then everything is clear for CIC to process the application without asking for explanations.

In personal history, any time period you did not work should clearly state what you did in that time. In most cases it is "unemployed" or traveling or whatever reason is available from the options they allow in Express Entry. You can always attach additional information for explanations to avoid getting another query from CIC for the same.

I did not mention any part-time jobs or internships during study period because I didn't gain any extra points for it and since I was full time student in that entire period, it was all counted as study period in my personal history and educational history timelines.

Part time jobs and work done during full time studies is not treated the same way as full time job by CIC.

You can include all the jobs and internships in your resume when you are looking for jobs. For PR purposes you should be getting max points already with just the full time jobs. Everything else if done during study period, can be ignored since that entire time you were a student and the timeline should clearly show what you were doing in that time period, that is - "Education" or "Studies".

BTW, there is no harm in giving all the information but make it easier for the CIC officers to understand your entire timeline of personal and work history. If it gets confusing for them with many overlapping activities or gaps in personal history, they will ask you again to fill out Schedule A Personal History and submit as additional document, it just delays processing. I suggest all new applicants to submit a full personal history and travel history since age 18 even if it is longer than past 10 years, it just makes it easier for CIC to understand what you did and where you were since age 18 and avoids the extra weeks of delay when they ask you to submit it again and pause processing until you submit it.

If you put the entire period as employment and later unable to prove that you were working and paid continuously, it will look like you are trying to manipulate timelines and claiming experience for time period where you didn't actually work, it is not worth the risk.

My PR application is in final stages and my passport is with CIC for stamping now. The GCMS notes show that CIC officer commented about the unpaid leave etc in thier internal communication with other CIC officers and they calculated the timelines and found the points I claimed were valid based on job experience proof submitted.

Sorry for the long post.

Hello,
I have similar situation. I have worked from 2006 to 2015 and I took 3 years leave for getting PhD. This unpaid leave period will not affect my score. Should I put it as one period from 2006 to 2015? OR Should I split it into two periods? But if I split my employment period into two periods, I will need to add two experience letters while my company gives me only one letter and this unpaid leave is mentioned in the letter. Can you please suggest for me what to do?

 

[Trusty]

Hello,
I have similar situation. I have worked from 2006 to 2015 and I took 3 years leave for getting PhD. This unpaid leave period will not affect my score. Should I put it as one period from 2006 to 2015? OR Should I split it into two periods? But if I split my employment period into two periods, I will need to add two experience letters while my company gives me only one letter and this unpaid leave is mentioned in the letter. Can you please suggest for me what to do?

If your letter has starting date as 2006 and ending date in 2015, with 3 yrs unpaid leave mentioned. Both ways will work but they might need more explanation. If you do it all in one, the system will calculate 3 yrs extra and then the immigrant analyst will need to deduct those years manually and might ask you for an explanation if they don't understand upfront. As long as you were on company payroll from 2006 to 2015, even if with 3 yr leave in between.

Since the letter covers the entire period, you can enter the employment history in two separate entries (not counting the 3 yrs) and attach the same letter to both, PLUS attach a letter of explanation in your profile explaining why you split employment into two different entries and that the same employment letter covers the entire period. All this is only applicable if the job NOC code and hours/week remained the same for the entire period.

Splitting them will keep the calculations correct and the analyst just has to verify that the dates you mentioned are correct according to the letter. This way your personal history can be also separated into work-study-work periods matching with two employment entries.

As long as all information you are providing is legitimate and honest, there will always be a way to explain it to them even if it takes a week extra if they have issues on how you entered it on the profile.

 

[ahmedmorra]

If your letter has starting date as 2006 and ending date in 2015, with 3 yrs unpaid leave mentioned. Both ways will work but they might need more explanation. If you do it all in one, the system will calculate 3 yrs extra and then the immigrant analyst will need to deduct those years manually and might ask you for an explanation if they don't understand upfront. As long as you were on company payroll from 2006 to 2015, even if with 3 yr leave in between.

Since the letter covers the entire period, you can enter the employment history in two separate entries (not counting the 3 yrs) and attach the same letter to both, PLUS attach a letter of explanation in your profile explaining why you split employment into two different entries and that the same employment letter covers the entire period. All this is only applicable if the job NOC code and hours/week remained the same for the entire period.

Splitting them will keep the calculations correct and the analyst just has to verify that the dates you mentioned are correct according to the letter. This way your personal history can be also separated into work-study-work periods matching with two employment entries.

As long as all information you are providing is legitimate and honest, there will always be a way to explain it to them even if it takes a week extra if they have issues on how you entered it on the profile.

Thanks a lot.Can I split it into two periods in my PR application even if I entered it as one period in my EE profile? Please note that both ways will give me the same number of points, splitting will not affect my points. What do you think?

 

[Ronypony14]

I am interested for moving to canada.
But i have 6 companies work experience within a span of 5 years i.e. 1 yrs , 1yrs., 1yrs , 1yrs, 0.6yrs, 0.6 yrs.
If i put my profile and other criteria i meet.. will i my pr get rejected because of this?

 

[PV_Ganesh]

Hi,
Sorry I am reviving this old thread.. My wife has 5.5 years experience from same employer where she worked for 2.5 continuously any case... But after marriage she came with me abroad there was 8 months gap where no salary employment continued... again she worked for year then come maternity break of 10 months...

No gaps are mentioned in her experience letter.. it simply says she worked from Date X to Date Y

When I applied for OINP I mentioned in LoE about the breaks... I hope it is suffice.. but what would you suggest?

Thanks.

Regards,
Ganesh