Hey there,
I have received PPR after going through the process with New York - VAC (CSC) and can help here. I agree, the instructions are a bit confusing but CSC NY VAC was helpful to answer my questions via email.
It seems this CSC VAC has only recently started processing for PR/COPR and that's why most of their instructions are not specific to us.
My experience/suggestions :
What i sent to NY :
1. Passport
2. Printout of PPR letter from CIC (the revised one which states to send your Passport to NY office)
3. 2 photos per CIC specifications
4. Signed Consent form (on the CSC VAC website)
5. This one is a suggestion - Take a copy of the cashier's check (described below), both front and back (if you do not include this - not a big issue, you will be requested to email a scanned copy anyway once your passport etc. have been received by NY VAC and they review your docs and start case processing)
6. Prepaid return envelope with tracking etc.. (USPS express priority mail) - included this so NY VAC uses this to return the passport and COPR to me
What i sent to Philadelphia Lockbox address :
1. Cashier's Check for CSC - This one goes in a separate mail to Philadelphia with the Cashier's check for required amount as per website (this is required from CSC VAC to continue processing) ; Make sure to write your full name in PENCIL on the back of cashier's check.
2. A Cover sheet which had my applicant name, UCI #, EE Profile # and the NYC VAC Case Tracking # (more on this below).
Note:
1. My revised PPR letter from CIC (the one they uploaded on my account after i requested the VO change to NY) did NOT contain the "Annexe form" that was on my original PPR email. Hence i did not send that to NY VAC. In the end, it was not required for me.
2a. The NYC Case Tracking number will be assigned to you once CSC NY VAC has received your mailing packet with passport and other documents. This is something that i would suggest to include on the cover sheet in the mail to Philadelphia so that they know which case this check is for. Also, whenever you email CSC NY VAC this # should be included on all email subject so they can respond to your queries.
2b. As per 2a above, what i did was send the first packet to new york and then wait for the tracking # and then sent the check to philadelphia the following week. If you don't want to wait you could mail it at the same time as well. (guess either works - but this is what i did)
3. If you have an issue, i would suggest email as a medium to contact them (you can use the email address that they first contact you from). They are pretty responsive to questions and tended to respond the next business day afternoon.
4. They only used one photo on the COPR and returned the other photo in the end, this is normal, so not to worry.
5. I used USPS because my PPR email said only use that. Since these are important documents, i used priority mail express envelope for fastest delivery and tracking. My suggestion is to use that even though its more expensive.
6. I am a single applicant so my documents might vary from yours if you have family/dependents etc.
7. While processing is taking place, as you continue to track the case status with your tracking number on CSC tracking website, you will notice that application type/visa type will be listed as "PRTD". Do not worry... they are processing your COPR/Visa but they do not have a status defined in their system as they have only recently started handling PPR requests and hence they just use "PRTD" as that's their only option available.
Can't really think of anything else at this time. Just make sure you include everything mentioned in your PPR email as there's a chance it could be different for each of us.
Good Luck !