The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal. Post here and support each other (split)

[ice-qube 648]

Well another day down with 17 days to medical expiry. No changes in "Last updated" since Feb 24. No response to public inquiry. No word from congressional member's office. Really, I am struggling to try to reconcile myself to the likelihood that I may spend an indefinite number of months more in this. And for what.

[UiiiU 7]

3 hours ago, Hello100 said:

When they email you "a Consular Officer is currently reviewing your case," is that also generic, or is that more positive than the usual "you're currently under AP" type of thing?

I got the same message as well 😕

[UiiiU 7]

3 hours ago, DamAk said:

I believe that's one of their generic responses, esp if you got it from OP03.

Their response to each of my inquiries (up until last week) was "Your case is pending to be reviewed by a consular officer" aka it still hadn't been touched since my medical was received. I think yours is a lot more of a positive response since it's being handled by someone.

Thankfully it changed to "we are looking into your case" this week.

My husband and I emailed them. I got the "we are looking into your case" and my husband got the "Your case is pending to be reviewed by a consular officer." Literally confused at this point. 6 weeks since I gave in my update medical and nothing yet.

Edited March 3, 2022 by UiiiU

[GraceFace33 35]

1 hour ago, ice-qube said:

Well another day down with 17 days to medical expiry. No changes in "Last updated" since Feb 24. No response to public inquiry. No word from congressional member's office. Really, I am struggling to try to reconcile myself to the likelihood that I may spend an indefinite number of months more in this. And for what.

Not sure this would be helpful but has your wife been sending in emails/public inquiries as well? My husband (the Canadian citizen) and I (USC) both sent in inquiries but we’d alternate. I wrote and email stating I was not understanding why as an American citizen, I was not getting a response from the consulate. Not that anyone else is less important by no means, but I put that sentence in my inquiry. I also bolder and highlighted “Medical expires in X days, on (date)”. Who knows, but this may have helped ouch ours through right in time (along with our super responsive Congress office).

[ice-qube 648]

9 minutes ago, GraceFace33 said:

Not sure this would be helpful but has your wife been sending in emails/public inquiries as well? My husband (the Canadian citizen) and I (USC) both sent in inquiries but we’d alternate. I wrote and email stating I was not understanding why as an American citizen, I was not getting a response from the consulate. Not that anyone else is less important by no means, but I put that sentence in my inquiry. I also bolder and highlighted “Medical expires in X days, on (date)”. Who knows, but this may have helped ouch ours through right in time (along with our super responsive Congress office).

My wife hasn’t sent, no, but i definitely have sent emails with header emphasizing the medical expiry, and the congressperson’s office did inquire. I don’t know man.

[DamAk 33]

14 minutes ago, ice-qube said:

My wife hasn’t sent, no, but i definitely have sent emails with header emphasizing the medical expiry, and the congressperson’s office did inquire. I don’t know man.

Although im not a USC, I also wrote something similar in my email to the consulate as @GraceFace33 to get the "we're looking into your case" response.

My exact inquiry was: "In the last email, you mentioned that my case was still pending to be reviewed by a consular officer. I'm simply requesting some transparency as to why we keep getting skipped since the only thing that was requested of me was the medical report. Can you please look into this?"

I was also super emotional when I wrote that email and mentioned some personal things to put in to perspective for them that there is a human on the other side, not just a case number.

We definitely deserve to know why our case is hanging in limbo, esp @ice-qube and @BatmanFlow and others who have been waiting forever, and I think its a valid question for the consulate as well.

[ice-qube 648]

2 hours ago, GraceFace33 said:

Not sure this would be helpful but has your wife been sending in emails/public inquiries as well? My husband (the Canadian citizen) and I (USC) both sent in inquiries but we’d alternate. I wrote and email stating I was not understanding why as an American citizen, I was not getting a response from the consulate. Not that anyone else is less important by no means, but I put that sentence in my inquiry. I also bolder and highlighted “Medical expires in X days, on (date)”. Who knows, but this may have helped ouch ours through right in time (along with our super responsive Congress office).

I also have to add: the congressperson's office answered the next day and seems to be legit that they sent the inquiry. It just didn't do anything, is all.

[ice-qube 648]

2 hours ago, DamAk said:

Although im not a USC, I also wrote something similar in my email to the consulate as @GraceFace33 to get the "we're looking into your case" response.

My exact inquiry was: "In the last email, you mentioned that my case was still pending to be reviewed by a consular officer. I'm simply requesting some transparency as to why we keep getting skipped since the only thing that was requested of me was the medical report. Can you please look into this?"

I was also super emotional when I wrote that email and mentioned some personal things to put in to perspective for them that there is a human on the other side, not just a case number.

We definitely deserve to know why our case is hanging in limbo, esp @ice-qube and @BatmanFlow and others who have been waiting forever, and I think its a valid question for the consulate as well.

I wish I believed that adding a "human" element to your communication did something. I would love to believe it, and I understand why that gives you hope, that you could appeal to the human instincts of whoever is on the other side reading it (if a human is, indeed, reading it, or even just half-reading it). Forgive me my cynicism, but these people that work at the consulate, when they enter the consulate for the day, are functionaries in a machine. They are doing a *job*, and I could very well imagine from their perspective that our emotional concerns, while valid on face, are neither here nor there to them as they go about their day and doing the job that bureaucratic functionaries do, even if they do empathize (if they stopped a moment to think about that angle--and I am sure maybe sometimes they do). It is an administrative machine staffed and created by human beings, but at the end of the day, none of them are above it nor are they accountable to us *in practice*, even if formally and at the most abstract level are, legally (arguable) or morally. Their job is to carry out the administrative policies, and to do that as rigidly as possible. And that is why I doubt that appeals to human emotion work for much in this process. I am with you, however, in being frustrated and otherwise just plain emotional. I am personally infuriated. 

[ice-qube 648]

OP11 responded today with the following:

 

Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately, your case is currently under administrative processing. As soon as the administrative processing is complete, the Visa Unit will advise of the next steps and updated documents required to continue processing the case.  

 

Granting admission to the United States is the exclusive discretion of the Department of Homeland Security/Customs and Border Protection (DHS/CBP) officer at the Port of Entry. Please contact CBP for further inquiries on U.S. border crossing requirements http://www.cbp.gov/contact 

 

Although there is no provision in U.S. law that specifically precludes issuance of a nonimmigrant visa or admission to the US for an applicant with a pending immigrant visa case, such an applicant must still demonstrate clear ties to a continuing life overseas and evidence of an intent to remain only temporarily in the United States.  Nonimmigrant applicants who intend to wait for or seek immigrant status while in the US may be denied a nonimmigrant visa or entry into the United States.  

 

We hope that this information is helpful in replying to your inquiry.  

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. 

[ice-qube 648]

As you can see above, there is no indication they are interested in approving me in any imminent sense. It almost reads like "we plan to have your medical expire and keep this going for a while yet."

 

 

[john1231 6]

@Hello100 @ice-qube, looks like we are getting censored by the Great Firewall ;)) 

 

I honestly think this AP process is based on pretty loose technical ground and anything such as common names, an accent on the last letter of your name, a suspicious name of your dog in FB post, and many other random facts could trigger it. Alas, we will never know if it was the dog's name or cat's name the main culprit:))

 

In terms of being from Canada, it might not make much sense to see the border and wait 2yrs to cross it but who told life is fair. In terms of risks, there are 45 other countries out of 93 that are ranked better than Canada in terms of Overall Terrorism Index Score and I am sure US gov knows about this:  https://www.visionofhumanity.org/maps/global-terrorism-index/#/

 

Anyway, no point to be mean or angry about others as many are going through this hell. My visa is in AP for 150 days now and my medical is expiring in a week. Multiple follow ups from me, my petitioner, and a US senator office are not helping at all. It seems like the follow ups are not doing anything.

[ice-qube 648]

1 minute ago, john1231 said:

@Hello100 @ice-qube, looks like we are getting censored by the Great Firewall ;)) 

 

I honestly think this AP process is based on pretty loose technical ground and anything such as common names, an accent on the last letter of your name, a suspicious name of your dog in FB post, and many other random facts could trigger it. Alas, we will never know if it was the dog's name or cat's name the main culprit:))

 

In terms of being from Canada, it might not make much sense to see the border and wait 2yrs to cross it but who told life is fair. In terms of risks, there are 45 other countries out of 93 that are ranked better than Canada in terms of Overall Terrorism Index Score and I am sure US gov knows about this:  https://www.visionofhumanity.org/maps/global-terrorism-index/#/

 

Anyway, no point to be mean or angry about others as many are going through this hell. My visa is in AP for 150 days now and my medical is expiring in a week. Multiple follow ups from me, my petitioner, and a US senator office are not helping at all. It seems like the follow ups are not doing anything.

No, life is not fair. I will hope anyone will agree with this cliche, but true point. However, the fact remains that there is no country in the world which has greater degree of information sharing with the US than Canada does, so the idea that Canadians should be held up in this sort of process for this long is a *legitimate* point of contention. Put more directly, it is easier for American government authorities to find and to trust information from Canadian sources than anywhere else, even other close peer countries. Thus, it is *especially* galling that you, for example, should be in AP for 150 days. 

[Hello100 50]

From what I gather on the spreadsheet, most of whom have been approved were those who needed to provide a document, namely the medical. Has anyone in this group sued, or has everyone just waited?

[ice-qube 648]

Just now, Hello100 said:

From what I gather on the spreadsheet, most of whom have been approved were those who needed to provide a document, namely the medical. Has anyone in this group sued, or has everyone just waited?

I don't think anyone I know on here has sued, could be wrong. I don't know who has this money to throw around casually like that on a wing and a prayer. If one does, maybe they should have elected to do the E-2 investor visa instead...

[DamAk 33]

My visa is issued!!! OMG!

It was issued in AP since yesterday, and final processing today. Exactly 6 weeks after my interview, and 5 after my medical.