4. Road Map Update

Because this is the first post of this nature, I'll add some basic details.  I will periodically post updates in our process through "Road Map Update" posts.   This post will not only include a road map as shown below - with status bubbles - but also expenses incurred so far.   I will also provide Update Summary listing everything substantial which took place since last update. 

Note:  All expenses are shown in USD. 

Update Summary: 

• Registered for IELTS for myself and spouse.  Received test date for exactly after a month.
• Registered for WES ECA services for myself and spouse. 
• Requested transcripts from my and my spouses's college. 

3. Thinking behind The Road Map

The entire process to apply for Canadian Permanent Resident via Express Entry may come across as convoluted and overwhelming.  But it is straightforward if you divide your process into relevant parts and stay vigilant of certain deadlines.  Our road map is designed by keeping such aspects in mind (Caution: our road map is specific to our requirements and hence you may have to tweak this to best fit your needs). 

There are THREE parts to this process:  

1. Submitting Express Entry Profile 

2. Waiting for ITA 

3. After ITA, responding to ITA (i.e. applying for PR)

Now let's get into each of these in detail and finally reveal our road map. 

1. Submitting Express Entry Profile 

The two most important things that you will need to do before you may submit your Express Entry profile is give Language Test (IELTS in our case) and get your educational credentials evaluated.   

We have chosen to opt for IELTS.  Both of us have no French skills (other official language of Canada than English).  Since we're in United States, paper-based IELTS is the only option.   Based on my research, there are only two dates available each month!   The results according to IELTS website will be available within 13 days.

In addition to booking a date for the test (I have to do for both myself and my spouse), let's get ECA (Education Credentials Assessment) performed by an accredited organization.  This may take almost a month, if not over!   Remember, you will have to ALSO request official transcripts from your school (ECA organization will NOT do it for you!).  So let's get this going. 

2.  Waiting for ITA

Now that you're content with your language test results and have received proper ECA reports,  you may submit your Express Entry profile.  Please note that I will go into each of these processes as I experience them and will highlight any blind spots. 

As soon as you have submitted Express Entry profile, start gathering documents because some of them will take time.  The most important ones (and trickiest) are criminal background clearance and reference letter from work. 

I have been in US since 20 years, therefore, all I need is FBI clearance.  And based on my research, this process has been recently streamlined and results may be available within a matter of days, if not sooner!   However, my spouse, because she had been in India within the past 10 years (see rules for police certificates), has to obtain police clearance from there in addition to from FBI.  

In addition to references from work, get other critical documents in order.  At this time I do not have the document checklist (you receive one after submitting Express Entry) but birth certificates, marriage certificate, immigration documents of country of residence (if country of residence is different from country of citizenship - like in our case!), etc. 

The bottom line is that as soon as you receive an ITA, the only thing that should be left is to schedule an appointment for your medical exam and get that done.  You should be in a position to upload ALL requirement documents (remember you will have a checklist as soon as you submit your profile into Express Entry) the day you receive your ITA. 

3. Responding to ITA (applying for PR)

Once you receive your ITA, by that time you should be near the goalpost!.   You have 60 days to respond to ITA.  Looks like this duration has been updated to 60 days from 90 days as I have seen the latter mentioned in most YouTube tutorials.  

Schedule your medical exam.   Based on my research,  I have seen only two clinics in neighboring state that are qualified.    

I have not included PNP component to my road map at this time.  If PNP gets involved, I will update my road map as well. 

Next post will be about the actual Road Map.   Road Map will contain tasks, status, and timelines.  I will update road map periodically as we move through the timeline.  

2. About the Program and THREE STEPS for readiness

A little about the program for those who are unsure.   To meet their economic needs, Canada has an Express Entry path for skilled workers to immigrate under three programs as a permanent resident:

Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSW) 
Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST) 
Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

Each program has minimum requirements for eligibility.  If you meet the requirements for any one of them, you may apply for Canadian PR via Express Entry.  Click on each of the programs to evaluate whether you qualify under that program or not. 

Therefore, first and foremost, check your eligibility. I am fortunate to be qualifying under Federal Skilled Workers Program.   And, based on my research, this is the most popular among the three. 

If you qualify, congratulations!   We must understand, however, that immigration to Canada is not a right and is driven by economic / social need of the country.  Therefore, once you enter Express Entry "pool" - more on this in a moment - you must wait for an Invitation to Apply (ITA).   

ITAs are managed through bi-weekly (roughly speaking) rounds of invitations to select top ranking candidates in the pool based on round's quota.   For example, if this week the quota of invitations is 3500, then top 3500 candidates in the pool will receive ITAs (there are tie breaking rules, but we don't need to worry about them at this stage). 

You are ranked based on Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).  This is NOT the same as eligibility criteria for one of the three programs.  This ranking system is more comprehensive and largely designed to invite people that the government believes will most successfully settle in Canada. 

To understand where you stand, second step should be do get your estimated CRS score.  Note:  select No for Provincial Nomination and Job Letter (assuming, you don't have either at this time).  It is best to use this link which is the official government tool instead of those from third party.   Not only because the shifting score criteria can be represented most accurately by a government tool, but some third parties are immigration attorney offices and their tools are usually rigged to give you a more generous evaluation than what it should be.  This is obviously to lure more clients because their hefty fee is regardless of the outcome of your application! 

Once you get your score, compare that to lowest scores (cut-off) that got invitations in recent rounds.   The reason this step is critical is to make sure that you're spending your time, money and resources on the most important tasks to make your application successful.    

• If your score is above the recent cut-off, you are ready for the next step!  
• If it is on the borderline, i.e. 5-7 points lower than recent average cut-off, go ahead with the next step unless you can think of something that may be done in near future to increase your CRS score (about to finish a higher degree, better language results, additional year of experience, etc.).  
• But don't sweat too much because you may qualify for Provincial Nomination.  I will write a separate blog just for this, but generally speaking, each Province in Canada has certain specific demands (like tech experience, etc.) and to meet those they sift through Express Entry candidates and may send a Notification of Interest to some of them.  If you happen to receive one of them and ultimately through their SEPARATE application process gets accepted into a Provincial Nomination Program (PNP), you will get enough points to almost certainly receive an ITA in the next round!   I don't like to bet all my money on PNP and that is the reason at this time I won't go into it. 
• If your score is significantly lower than the recent cut-off (let's say more than 20), work more on increasing your score.  I like to be optimistic and won't discourage anyone from applying, however, relying solely on PNP rather than working to increase your CRS score may not be the best use of your time.  

CRS cut-off has been increasing in the past few months (late 2019s to early 2020s) for various reasons.  Therefore, don't get discouraged if you don't get ITA immediately after entering Express Entry. 

For folks whose score is either above or on the borderline of cut-off (like me), you are ready for the third step.  This is where you will develop a road map (or follow mine with caution risen out of its bespoke nature!) to get things going.  Next Blog on this! 

1. Backstory

Almost 20 years ago, in my early teens, I came to United States.  I was raised by uncles and aunts, socialized by cousins and family friends.   With starry-eyed dreams to become a filmmaker and a writer, I went on to pursue a "safer" career path in Mechanical Engineering from an Ivy League school.  After graduating with a masters degree, I landed a job with a handsome salary from which, for the next seven years, I would go onto chip in around USD 230,000 to US Treasury in tax receipts.  

I find myself, today, planning to leave US to migrate to Canada in order for me to become a permanent resident of the Home Up North.  This rather peculiar, and yet oddly inevitable once you get to know the whole spiel, decision is a result of series of disappointing and hopeless events.  I won't go into them.  To be curt, I came to US as a minor and, unbeknownst to me, overstayed my visa to become undocumented.  My papers were missing but experience was wholly American.  To protect folks like me from deportation and give them a chance to a dignified life by allowing us to work legally, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was instituted of which I had been a beneficiary for the past seven years.  

For few years, I had forgotten what suffocation felt like.  I could breathe.  I could go about my life.  I could make mistakes.  I could visit places.  I could plan.   I could wonder.   I could live.  But today DACA is on life support, possibly taking its last breath before Supreme Court pulls the plug (if you are interested in "why" and "how" of all this, I have posted some relevant links below). 

Today when I have a life partner, tenuous nature of the ozone layer of DACA over me and the freedoms it gave and the freedoms it just couldn't afford have never been clearer to me.   Traveling outside of US, though possible earlier but still tricky, is prohibited now.  By its very temporary character,  long term investments in home, business, retirement - stuff that gives an illusion of stability - was never more than a firefly trapped in a fist.  Such inequities weighed less than staying in US.   But today, in my early 30s, and my hand in hers, scale has tipped... finally. 

WE... want to visit our home country, meet our family, have a homestyle wedding, smell those streets, visit Europe, Australia, South America and what not, work fearlessly, have a voice.  WE... want to live. 

It is a sad commentary on the part of US that because of political toxicity, I am almost asked to leave.  It goes as "take your tax dollars, take your education that you got from us, take your norms that we imbibed in you, and please go to Canada and be a permanent resident there." 

I don't want you to think that it's all dark and gloomy.  The scale has tipped.  I am looking forward to all the things on the other plate, for they hold the promise of life, a world experience, and... most importantly, beginning of forming a legacy. 

With nostalgia that comes with leaving a home and excitement of entering a new one, I am starting this blog to document our journey to applying for Canadian immigration.  We hope that anybody interested in immigrating to Canada will have some use of this. 

Related Links

DACA Litigation Timeline (National Immigration Law Center)