Disclaimer: I am not an "expert," nor an immigration lawyer, nor any sort of official-- I'm just a regular person like you who had to figure this stuff out on my own. Please don't ask me questions about your application. I probably don't know the answer. 
I got my PPR after 44 days of processing and I wanted to share what my application was like to help people understand what goes into it and in case other people are in the same kind of situations.
In general, my application was processed very quickly and although I was anxious throughout, I got very lucky that I did not have to submit any additional documents (no ADR) and that I did not have to wait longer. For the most part, I had a very simple, straightforward application.
Also, a reminder that IRCC states that they aim to process 80% of applications in 6 months or less. If you are within this timeframe, you're doing okay. Every case is different and your unique situation will affect your processing times.
Timeline (2018):
Documents that I uploaded with my application (one PDF per section):
Documents in pink were explicitly required. Documents in green are not explicitly required but recommended to be included. Documents in black are supplementary evidence that I provided at my own discretion.
Things I explained in my LOE:
Name variation: My full name is Xxx Yyy Zzz, but my passport only reads Xxx Y Zzz, where my middle name (or second given name) is abbreviated. I just explained why it was like that and what my full name was in my LOE. I did not need an affidavit, but I did complete my application with my name exactly as listed in my passport. Other documents that I submitted listed my middle name fully or omitted it completely; no issues.
Bank letter/POF: I have several bank accounts at various banks, but I only used one bank at which I have a CD, a savings account, and a credit card. I used the savings account specifically as my sole POF, although the CD and cc were mentioned in the bank letter. My bank issued its letter unsigned on letterhead but in black and white, using only the last 4 digits of my bank accounts. I was afraid that this wouldn't be taken seriously by itself, so I included 6 months of online bank statements (identical to physical statements I've received in the past) to address this.
My most recent statement also only went up to March of 2018, so I included a printout of the online balance history for the past 6 months. I have large transactions to and from outside banks, but the dollar amount in the account was never below the POF threshold, so I don't think it mattered. I never explained these transactions in my LOE.
Travel history: My travel history had 10 entries, each of which was to somewhere in Europe, Peru, or Canada, usually for about a week (Peru was longer). I mentioned a few things in my LOE:
Work experience: I drafted the letter myself in order to be sure that it contained all the necessary information. HR had no issue with my letter. I included my most recent 3 pay stubs and original job letters as further evidence that I did indeed work at that company in that specific role.
I left out my older work experience and just put it in the personal history section. I explained that it would be too difficult to acquire a letter from them and that I didn't need it in order to qualify anyway, so I left it out of my work experience section.
Helpful links:
General application information (very helpful!)
CRS tool (to estimate score)
FSW six selection factors (to calculate FSW score)
Find your NOC
CLB language equivalency (CELPIP/IELTS/TEF)
How to read your ECA (tells you what education you can list based on what it was rated in ECA)
Proof of Funds requirements
Police clearance certificates
I got my PPR after 44 days of processing and I wanted to share what my application was like to help people understand what goes into it and in case other people are in the same kind of situations.
- US resident/citizen
- Single applicant (not married or common-law, no dependents)
- Federal Skilled Workers (FSW) category
- Age: 20-29
- CRS: 456
- NOC 2112: 2 years of work experience at one job
- Modest travel history (10 entries)
- M.Sc. in chemistry from a US university, evaluated as masters by CES
- Paid RPRF upfront
- No serious medical issues
- No consultant
In general, my application was processed very quickly and although I was anxious throughout, I got very lucky that I did not have to submit any additional documents (no ADR) and that I did not have to wait longer. For the most part, I had a very simple, straightforward application.
Also, a reminder that IRCC states that they aim to process 80% of applications in 6 months or less. If you are within this timeframe, you're doing okay. Every case is different and your unique situation will affect your processing times.
Timeline (2018):
- ITA: May 9
- AOR: June 12
- MEP: June 26
- IP1: June 27
- IP2: July 10
- Ghost update: July 26
- PPR: July 26
Documents that I uploaded with my application (one PDF per section):
Documents in pink were explicitly required. Documents in green are not explicitly required but recommended to be included. Documents in black are supplementary evidence that I provided at my own discretion.
- Passports/travel documents:
- Passport bio page
- Passport contact info page
- Pages 8-15 (pages with stamps)
- Police certificate:
- Police clearance certificate PDF from FBI (2 pages)
- Proof of medical exam:
- eMedical information sheet (2 pages)
- Education (diplomas/degrees):
- Master of Science degree (front only)
- CES Assessment of degree (2 pages - front and back)
- Academic transcript for M.Sc. (2 pages - front and back)
- CELPIP exam results (front only)
- Employment Records:
- Letter of experience signed by HR
- Job offer letter from when I was first offered the job (3 pages)
- June 1 paystub
- May 18 paystub
- May 4 paystub
- First page of original job posting that I applied to listing anticipated job duties (couldn’t find the second page)
- Proof of Means of Financial Support ("Proof of Funds" = POF):
- Letter from Bank (2 pages, received in black and white, just signed “customer service")
- March 2018 statement (3 pages, covers 3 months)
- December 2017 statement (3 pages, covers 3 months)
- Past 6 months account history printed from website
- E-mail correspondence with the bank regarding bank contact information
- Digital photo:
- 35:45 self-taken digital image (JPG, not PDF) cropped using epassportphoto.com
- Letter of explanation (3 pages)
Things I explained in my LOE:
Name variation: My full name is Xxx Yyy Zzz, but my passport only reads Xxx Y Zzz, where my middle name (or second given name) is abbreviated. I just explained why it was like that and what my full name was in my LOE. I did not need an affidavit, but I did complete my application with my name exactly as listed in my passport. Other documents that I submitted listed my middle name fully or omitted it completely; no issues.
Bank letter/POF: I have several bank accounts at various banks, but I only used one bank at which I have a CD, a savings account, and a credit card. I used the savings account specifically as my sole POF, although the CD and cc were mentioned in the bank letter. My bank issued its letter unsigned on letterhead but in black and white, using only the last 4 digits of my bank accounts. I was afraid that this wouldn't be taken seriously by itself, so I included 6 months of online bank statements (identical to physical statements I've received in the past) to address this.
My most recent statement also only went up to March of 2018, so I included a printout of the online balance history for the past 6 months. I have large transactions to and from outside banks, but the dollar amount in the account was never below the POF threshold, so I don't think it mattered. I never explained these transactions in my LOE.
Travel history: My travel history had 10 entries, each of which was to somewhere in Europe, Peru, or Canada, usually for about a week (Peru was longer). I mentioned a few things in my LOE:
- I've been to Canada 5 times in the past year and a half, but they've never stamped my passport. I'm a US citizen so this is typical, especially in recent years.
- I also never got stamped upon exiting the EU during one of my trips.
- I have an "extra" stamp from a layover during one of my trips to South America. I never technically stayed in the country aside from the airport, so I just explained that that was why I didn't list it separately in my travel history.
Work experience: I drafted the letter myself in order to be sure that it contained all the necessary information. HR had no issue with my letter. I included my most recent 3 pay stubs and original job letters as further evidence that I did indeed work at that company in that specific role.
I left out my older work experience and just put it in the personal history section. I explained that it would be too difficult to acquire a letter from them and that I didn't need it in order to qualify anyway, so I left it out of my work experience section.
Helpful links:
General application information (very helpful!)
CRS tool (to estimate score)
FSW six selection factors (to calculate FSW score)
Find your NOC
CLB language equivalency (CELPIP/IELTS/TEF)
How to read your ECA (tells you what education you can list based on what it was rated in ECA)
Proof of Funds requirements
Police clearance certificates
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