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

[ice-qube 648]

On 7/3/2022 at 1:34 PM, deep2ca said:

I had 3 updates in the month of June, first sign of progress this year. I am hoping the end is near, but I wonder how its going to work with the expired medical. How about you Ice Cube? Any updates on yours?

None. No updates since June 3. And that was when they responded to an email i had sent, so I know that was nothing.

[herecomestherain 77]

Hi, I see a lot of newbies here. If you want to be added to the spread sheet please reach out in a DM. I found it very helpful to know where I was compared to the backlog.

 

Honestly for the newbies, if it’s been over 4 months, file a WoM. The embassy has been slammed with lawsuits and they’re going to be prioritizing these cases (hopefully/finally).

 

If you’re not quite ready to cough up the money yet, set a date and start putting money aside a little at a time. It will do your mental health wonders.

Edited July 5, 2022 by herecomestherain

[ice-qube 648]

250 Days since submitting the DS-5535, and no news-- such a nice round number! how shall I celebrate this distinctive anniversary??

 

[herecomestherain 77]

23 minutes ago, ice-qube said:

250 Days since submitting the DS-5535, and no news-- such a nice round number! how shall I celebrate this distinctive anniversary??

 

God how crazy. I’m sorry this is happening to you.

 

I know you didn’t ask my opinion but out of concern for you and your family I’ll say this: I think WoM is the only answer to ending your nightmare. It’s the key to moving on with your life. You may get an answer in under 2 months.

Parting with the money and the principle of the matter… “why should I have to sue to get an answer?” is difficult to reconcile. In the end, the indignation we all feel in AP, and the sting of paying a large sum of money, will be a far distant memory when we are reunited with our loved ones.

 

Money comes and goes, time with our loved ones does not.

 

Edited July 5, 2022 by herecomestherain

[ice-qube 648]

Just now, herecomestherain said:

God how crazy. I’m sorry this is happening to you.

 

I know you didn’t ask my opinion but out of concern for you and your family I’ll say this: I think WoM is the only answer to ending your nightmare. It’s the key to moving on with your life. You may get an answer in under 2 months.

Parting with the money and the principle of the matter… “why should I have to sue to get an answer?” is difficult to reconcile. In the end, the indignation we all feel in AP, and the sting of paying a large sum of money, will be a far distant memory when we are reunited with your loved ones.

 

Money comes and goes, time with our loved ones does not.

 

It's not that I disagree with your assessment--I do agree that is likely to be the only answer. Do I want to do it? Not at all. For the moment, I will try to save some money up and play for time, and hope somehow for a miracle.

[herecomestherain 77]

Just now, ice-qube said:

It's not that I disagree with your assessment--I do agree that is likely to be the only answer. Do I want to do it? Not at all. For the moment, I will try to save some money up and play for time, and hope somehow for a miracle.

You are really strong. Seriously, I commend you because I think you have shown a lot of grace throughout this ordeal.

[ice-qube 648]

3 minutes ago, herecomestherain said:

You are really strong. Seriously, I commend you because I think you have shown a lot of grace throughout this ordeal.

Well I thank you for the compliment. I am not trying to be a hero, but I am very stubbornly attached to principles sometimes. In addition to the whole larger principle,  there is also a principle related to sound financial practices here too: I am not going to borrow money for this, it is a red line for me. I am not going load upon myself with consumer debt for a lawsuit--so it is going to have to be cash or nothing. I don't carry balances on credit cards anymore, I pay it in full. 

[herecomestherain 77]

Just now, ice-qube said:

Well I thank you for the compliment. I am not trying to be a hero, but I am very stubbornly attached to principles sometimes. In addition to the whole larger principle,  there is also a principle related to sound financial practices here too: I am not going to borrow money for this, it is a red line for me. I am not going load upon myself with consumer debt for a lawsuit--so it is going to have to be cash or nothing. I don't carry balances on credit cards anymore, I pay it in full. 

I totally feel you on that.

[deep2ca 77]

On 7/3/2022 at 3:17 PM, BatmanFlow said:

That’s pretty exciting! Did you contact the embassy? Just wondering if the date changes coincide with contacting the embassy or if they are genuine updates 

I did not contact the embassy. They are genuine updates. 

[PZibran325 112]

On 6/23/2022 at 7:53 AM, LAMA9 said:

Hi @Mary184 I just DM'd you the link to the video recording.  While I don't believe anyone here is going with these particular lawyers or participating in a group WOM suit, there is still some valuable information in here regarding how WOM suits work.  Let me know if you have any trouble accessing it.  

I'd be grateful for this recording as well. Please do share it with me too.

[PZibran325 112]

On 6/29/2022 at 8:42 AM, herecomestherain said:

Thanks. It improved my mental health a lot just knowing we have a plan.

 

We decided on July because we are both becoming more and more upset. We just want this done with so that we can move on with our lives. We’ve been waiting almost 2 years.

I see. Well let us know how the lawsuit goes. I hope you get positive results. Though we shouldn't have to take the government to court just to be reunited with our spouses. But unfortunately, this is what some of us will have to do. I have followed your advice and set a deadline for end of October, meanwhile I have started saving up a pot of money for this purpose, just in case. I hope I won't have to use it because it is going to cause me to go into debt a little even with trying to save up but I can't be without my husband, we have already waited 3 years and I am unwilling to wait anymore.

 

 

[herecomestherain 77]

25 minutes ago, PZibran325 said:

I see. Well let us know how the lawsuit goes. I hope you get positive results. Though we shouldn't have to take the government to court just to be reunited with our spouses. But unfortunately, this is what some of us will have to do. I have followed your advice and set a deadline for end of October, meanwhile I have started saving up a pot of money for this purpose, just in case. I hope I won't have to use it because it is going to cause me to go into debt a little even with trying to save up but I can't be without my husband, we have already waited 3 years and I am unwilling to wait anymore.

 

 

Good for you for making this decision! You two deserve to be together. No more waiting for answers. October is a great timeline.

 

If you have the bandwidth, see if you can pick up some gigs or waitress and grind it out. Years ago I did waitressing for 3 months and it helped me get out of debt probably faster than I ever imagined. You can put all your cash tips in your WoM fund and just keep setting aside.

[Rosinasaur 58]

I visited my fiancé in the US last week and got through the border no problem. The customs agent asked me where I was going and who I was meeting. ('Florida and my fiancé). He asked me if we were applying for the K1. I said yes. He clarified if we were planning on getting married during this trip. ('Absolutely not"). He asked how long I planned on staying.

He then gave me a recommendation of a bar to visit at my destination,  which I later discovered was a bikini bar lol. Either way, he sent me through and we had a great vacation together!

 

I just wanted to share the positive outcome so others may also feel comfortable visiting while still in AP!

[cherrykixs 0]

Question: K1 visa is under DS5535. Can I apply for TN Visa as health care provider while waiting?

[PZibran325 112]

18 hours ago, herecomestherain said:

Good for you for making this decision! You two deserve to be together. No more waiting for answers. October is a great timeline.

 

If you have the bandwidth, see if you can pick up some gigs or waitress and grind it out. Years ago I did waitressing for 3 months and it helped me get out of debt probably faster than I ever imagined. You can put all your cash tips in your WoM fund and just keep setting aside.

*Warning this is long and no one needs to read this beyond the first paragraph because the rest of it is just venting 😁

 

Not much of bandwidth with my current job. But definitely that advice is something to keep in mind. I appreciate it. I make a good salary but currently I am paying off other things. My father passed away last year and one of my half brother's passed away this year. Neither of them were expected and neither had anything saved for funeral costs etc. These two back to back deaths took a toll on my mother's health and so we had increased health costs for a bit. All of that compounded to be a pretty significant financial burden and so I am already paying off some debt from that and then adding a cost of a lawsuit where I will have to pay both our fees so it'll be at least $10k for me is not going to be an easy task, but being without him is not easy either. I am not getting any younger and would like to start my life with my husband but also I am taking care of a whole household by myself and I really need his emotional support.

 

I'm sorry, I'm just venting, I make a good amount of money but there were just some pretty big difficult things that came up that none of us were prepared for. Like one of the other members here, I have never carried debt until last year when my dad passed away and we had no way to pay the full funeral costs and then this year when my half brother passed away and there we still hadn't yet pulled ourselves out of the financial cost of my dad's funeral when we had to shell out money from that and then dealing with emotional toll it took on my mother it has all been too much.

 

I am not complaining but I sometimes feel like I'm hanging on by a thin thread and the only person that is able to keep me sane and grounded is my husband. He has a calm and soothing effect on me. I have yet to figure out how, but he has always known what I need to keep my sanity, even when I don't know what I need myself. From the first day we met, it was like we had known each other forever, I understood him. But more surprisingly, because I never thought anyone could understand me, he understood me better than anyone then and there's still no one else in the world who understands me the way he does or supports me the way he does. He says the same thing about me, but I know that I am the blessed one. So it's frustrating to be in this situation. It's even more concerning and disheartening when I come here and read about people who are even in worse situations than us like ice-qube. And hearing that no one (that we know of) has been approved since march without a lawsuit. We have only been in AP since this June, so I am not necessarily complaining about us yet. I am complaining about the people who have been in this situation much longer than us and how that makes me feel depressed even though for me it;s not even been a full month yet. I understand the need to vet immigrants, I also understand the compounded backlog due to the trump administrations restrictive immigration policies, and then covid, but that no approvals since March is really unacceptable. It's unacceptable that people are waiting years for familial reunification (re: ice-qube). The fact that we have to resort to law suits to get people who are funded by taxpayer dollars to do their jobs is even more concerning. Despite its issues and imperfections, I really love my country, but the I find it inhumane that families are kept apart like this and people's lives are on hold and it makes seeing cases who have been in this situation much much longer than some of us who haven't been in AP for too long is really concerning especially when there haven't been approvals without a lawsuit for three months at least in the small sampling we have here on VJ.