What you can do when you are awaiting your ITA

After you have submitted the Express entry profile, you need to wait for the invitation to apply. However, in the meantime you can prepare for the next steps. Express entry draws happen every 15 days and after you get the invite you get only 2 months within which you have to procure all documents.  You have to plan on these aspects. Please remember that these documents should be procured after you get the invite and not before. So timing is critical. While most of them are straightforward, others require planning.

1. Proof of funds - You need to identify the institutions that you would need to approach for the letter. You need to get ALL assets that you have with the institution on that letter with the 6 month average balance. In our case, we chose ICICI bank in India and BOFA in USA. While BOFA was very easy,  ICICI was painful. It would be good to figure out the procedures for these institutions.
•  If you have to provide proof of funds then please be aware that CIC officials can contact the finance institution for verification. So please choose the institution accordingly!
2. Employment history proofs - You need to get letters from your current employer and previous employers in the last 10 years. This one is tricky because some employers are averse to providing the same. For previous employers there may be policies and procedures for you to get the letter. Figure out the contacts, who you might have to approach for the same.
• You should line up the references from previous and current work places. In some cases, CIC officials try to contact the references you provide for verification. 
3. Police clearance - You need police clearance from the countries you have been since the last 10 years or since the age of 18 if you are younger than 28. This is the very 1st check that the authorities do. Make sure that you have the correct certificate else you can get a decline. Find out the procedure for the various countries you were in, if applicable and plan accordingly.

• For USA, you need to get a clearance from FBI. The procedure is online now.
• For India, you can get it from the embassy, if you are outside of India. But again the Indian embassy may not be close to your residence and you may have to plan for it.
• For Australia, the process isn't fast. You might have to file for it on the very 1st day.

      4. Get your address history for the last 10 years. This can be tedious if you have moved a lot.
      5. Get your travel history. You need travel history for trips, that are other than your country of birth and country of residence. Verify this with your passport stamps.

      6. Inspect your documents for the name and check if you need to submit an affidavit.

      7. You should be good at creating and editing PDFs. Here is my blog to give you an idea of what is involved with different documents.
   
Hope these steps get you a headstart on your application.

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