The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal. Post here and support each other (PART 2)

[emergence 47]

How long does it typically take to get a response from the consulate? We emailed them on the 14th to confirm they have received my fiancé’s medical (one of the reasons we received the 221(g)), but we still haven’t heard back from them. Telus hasn’t been able to reach them either. It’s likely that this isn’t the only reason we received DS-5535, but it would be really nice to get it cleared up!

Edited September 26, 2022 by emergence

[throwitaway 189]

2 hours ago, emergence said:

How long does it typically take to get a response from the consulate? We emailed them on the 14th to confirm they have received my fiancé’s medical (one of the reasons we received the 221(g)), but we still haven’t heard back from them. Telus hasn’t been able to reach them either. It’s likely that this isn’t the only reason we received DS-5535, but it would be really nice to get it cleared up!

I think in the past it’s taken six weeks to get a response after sending in a missing document. May be longer now.

[emergence 47]

11 minutes ago, Throwitaway1988 said:

I think in the past it’s taken six weeks to get a response after sending in a missing document. May be longer now.

Yikes. 
 

The especially annoying aspect of this is that Telus swears the consulate got his medical a solid week before his interview, but the consulate claimed they don’t hate it. They use an electronic platform, so it’s difficult to see how it could’ve gotten lost. 

[ohmygod 60]

On 9/16/2022 at 6:40 PM, Bog-can said:

@ohmygodI was asked for a new medical this week.  They asked for my passport a few weeks back but in the meantime my medical expired.  Doesn’t the medical get sent electronically from the doctor?  

yes, medical gets sent electronically. It is almost three weeks since they received all the requested documents including passport. 

[SalishSea 16,904]

16 hours ago, emergence said:

It’s likely that this isn’t the only reason we received DS-5535

Being asked to do the DS-5535 is not related to having gotten a 221g for a missing medical.

[emergence 47]

9 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Being asked to do the DS-5535 is not related to having gotten a 221g for a missing medical.

I’m aware, thanks. We received both. Finally got an answer back from Telus today that they accidentally sent a partial medical and sent the rest over the day after his interview. Now all we can do is wait out the DS-5535.

[SalishSea 16,904]

Just now, emergence said:

I’m aware, thanks. We received both. Finally got an answer back from Telus today that they accidentally sent a partial medical and sent the rest over the day after his interview. Now all we can do is wait out the DS-5535.

Sorry to hear.  Hopefully your AP will not drag out like it has for most on this page.   Good luck.

[jgauthi242 35]

At the end of August, I'd reached out to a reporter at Bloomberg who reports on immigration. He'd written me back that he'd like to write a story once he cleared a few things off his plate.

 

He wrote me this morning asking for people who'd like to be interviewed (names off the record). If anybody here would like to tell him their stories, please let me know and I can put you in touch.

 

My wife's visa has been stuck in AP (interview at Frankfurt) since May 2022 and we filed mandamus/APA this past Wednesday. Will keep everybody updated on how that goes!

 

Please PM me your email address, how long you've been waiting, etc., and I'll put you in touch.

Edited September 27, 2022 by jgauthi242

[addpeace 40]

Just now, jgauthi242 said:

At the end of August, I'd reached out to a reporter at Bloomberg who reports on immigration. He'd written me back that he'd like to write a story once he cleared a few things off his plate.

 

He wrote me this morning asking for people who'd like to be interviewed (names off the record). If anybody here would like to tell him their stories, please let me know and I can put you in touch.

 

My wife's visa has been stuck in AP (interview at Frankfurt) since May 2022 and we filed mandamus/APA this past Wednesday. Will keep everybody updated on how that goes!

Id be happy to help for sure. 

[jujubemom 0]

Hi, I was put on administrative processing on July 15th and still no reply. My case was updated on Aug. 18th, Sep. 09th, and Sep. 21st, but nothing happened. 

I realized that my police certificate will expire soon, should I apply for a new one? 

[jgauthi242 35]

On 9/26/2022 at 8:58 AM, emergence said:

How long does it typically take to get a response from the consulate? We emailed them on the 14th to confirm they have received my fiancé’s medical (one of the reasons we received the 221(g)), but we still haven’t heard back from them. Telus hasn’t been able to reach them either. It’s likely that this isn’t the only reason we received DS-5535, but it would be really nice to get it cleared up!

More often than not, the consulate will not respond stating they received your documents. In our experience, the consulate never responds to my wife (who the visa is for). The only time they respond is when I email them.

 

Therefore, I would recommend that you wait two weeks, then have the US citizen reach out and ask them to confirm that they have everything they need, and to confirm that they do not need anything else.

 

If you received any automatic responses, make sure you read the email in its entirety to check for verbiage relating to them deleting your email. Some consulates use a strange Google Form thing you need to fill out prior to sending them an email (otherwise they just delete your email and you get an automated response).

[herecomestherain 77]

Hi Everyone,

 

A while back I scoured the interned and I created a spread sheet to keep track of everyone's cases with the Montreal embassy.

I am opening it up to be edited by the pubic so if you don't see your case on here, please add it! It helps everyone get a sense of what is going on with AP.

I had removed usernames for everyone's privacy. If you'd like to add your user name instead please feel free to do so.

 

I couldn't keep up with maintain it so much so I apologize for missing some cases. I won't be maintaining the spread sheet so feel free to save backups incase anything gets altered or ruined (hopefully not).

 

I hope this spreadsheet helps you feel a sense of control or understanding on what is going on with your case. Love you guys; remember you're not alone.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g46wosHKeoKufm2FbiFok6AGf5dc-OOznMOXxpEBc90/edit?usp=sharing

[Siarg 72]

Hey everyone, good news! We FINALLY got our issuance and crossed the border last night to get the visa stamped. I will give a rundown here because VJ doesn't have a category for Diversity Visa on the timeline. I also understand that many people have been waiting longer than us, but please realize that Diversity Visas are only able to be issued until September 30th for each year, after that you are unable to obtain the visa and have to enter the lottery again. We entered for the 2022 DV in 2020, so we have been waiting 2 years for this.

 

Interview: June 9th 2022, Principal applicant was issued, beneficiary (Canadian citizen spouse) was Refused/221g/AP/DS-5535.

 

There was no obvious reason for why the "extreme vetting" was required, as with many people in this forum. No criminal history, no TAL degree or job, no travel history. It is possible there was a name check match as they have a common spanish last name.

 

We realized through this group that DS5535 can take an unlimited amount of time, and even worse: Montreal had a 50-60% AP refusal rate per interview. Yes, that's right, for every DV interview montreal did, there was a 50% chance of being placed on AP. We figured this out from the CEAC data collected for DV by consulate on xarthisius' website. Anecdotally in Montreal DV group chats, every person we spoke to except for 1 had been given the DS535. Many are Canadian citizens.

 

We hired a cheap lawyer (do not reccomend) and filed a Writ of Mandamus in July, thinking it would be a backup if they delayed until September to get us an issuance before the cutoff time. That first case was a mess, was transferred between courts and largely ignored by the government. It literally just showed up in a new district yesterday. Through this whole time we got the standard template emails of "We cant tell you anything just wait" when we tried to contact Montreal. The only variation we received was a recommendation that I activate my visa without my spouse. I don't think they understand how emotionally devastating this process is, and the lack of transparency could make anyone go insane.

 

We had spent the last 4 months heavily researching everything we could about 9FAM, 5535, lawsuits, INA sections etc and had talked to other lawyers about our options. Every lawyer we spoke to in the group chats/forums were quoting us up to 15k USD to do a last-minute lawsuit. I truly believe some of them are preying on people's desperation the closer it gets to the DV deadline. One even quoted us 6k USD, then a week later said "now it is 12k USD".

 

We made the decision to try to find a lawyer that would help us for the original quote of 6k USD. We went on pacermonitor and searched through all of the WoM lawsuits that were filed in DC recently and emailed around 20 with our story, and our budget. We got a few replies, but the fastest to reply was Christopher Casazza from PIC Law. We had a consulatation with him and he agreed to file our Temporary Restraining Order/Writ of Mandamus for us. Please be aware that a TRO is not always applicable, but in our unique circumstance, it was. We had all of our correct documents, one of us was approved, the candian refused and in AP for 4 months, the only requirements to DV eligibility outside of coutnry is high school graduation. If anyone is looking for a lawyer outside of the standard reccomended lawyers, I would really, really, really strongly reccomend this lawfirm (PIC Law). Many of the other lawyers (Goldstein, Hacking, Nimer, Murthy, Raju) seem to be WoM churn firms. No judgement on that, but having filed with Raju, then filing with Chris Casazza, there is a HUGE difference when you pick an attorney that actually cares about your case. If you're like me, I want to be able to talk about the lawsuit, not just file it and forget. PIC Law is a genuine immigration lawfirm and not a WoM churn farm trawling forums for desperate people.

 

Long story short, we filed the lawsuit, and a week later we had the visa approved. The "CLEARANCE RECEIVED" date is September 20th, CEAC updated to issued on September 21st, and on the physical visa it was printed on September 22nd. DOS contacted Montreal and then asked us to dismiss the lawsuit because it was issued. These lawsuits really seem to be what everyone thinks, the case is just sitting there and the lawsuit prioritzes your clearance. 

Once we received the passport in the mail, we went straight to Niagara and crossed to stamp the visa. After 4 months of fried nerves, it is finally over and we can't believe it. Looking at the Montreal issuance rates, with 1 day left (because they're taking a vacation on Sept 30th), it really seems to me that this lawsuit was 100% responsible for us getting our visa approved in time. There are 149 DV Cases issued (249 visas) and 27 cases on 221G/5535 (49 visas). It is very possible that 49 people lose their chance of getting a green card because of Montreal's high 5535 rate. They sped up towards the end of the year, but wow. It is horrific what they are doing, and apparently mostly to Canadian citizens.

 

Once more, I can't thank Christopher Casazza enough. I can't post a link here, but Chris, Alex Isbel (two name partners) and Caitlin Costello all helped with our visa at the lawfirm PIC Law (Philadelphia Immigration Lawyers).

[jgauthi242 35]

3 hours ago, Siarg said:

Hey everyone, good news! We FINALLY got our issuance and crossed the border last night to get the visa stamped. I will give a rundown here because VJ doesn't have a category for Diversity Visa on the timeline. I also understand that many people have been waiting longer than us, but please realize that Diversity Visas are only able to be issued until September 30th for each year, after that you are unable to obtain the visa and have to enter the lottery again. We entered for the 2022 DV in 2020, so we have been waiting 2 years for this.

 

Interview: June 9th 2022, Principal applicant was issued, beneficiary (Canadian citizen spouse) was Refused/221g/AP/DS-5535.

 

There was no obvious reason for why the "extreme vetting" was required, as with many people in this forum. No criminal history, no TAL degree or job, no travel history. It is possible there was a name check match as they have a common spanish last name.

 

We realized through this group that DS5535 can take an unlimited amount of time, and even worse: Montreal had a 50-60% AP refusal rate per interview. Yes, that's right, for every DV interview montreal did, there was a 50% chance of being placed on AP. We figured this out from the CEAC data collected for DV by consulate on xarthisius' website. Anecdotally in Montreal DV group chats, every person we spoke to except for 1 had been given the DS535. Many are Canadian citizens.

 

We hired a cheap lawyer (do not reccomend) and filed a Writ of Mandamus in July, thinking it would be a backup if they delayed until September to get us an issuance before the cutoff time. That first case was a mess, was transferred between courts and largely ignored by the government. It literally just showed up in a new district yesterday. Through this whole time we got the standard template emails of "We cant tell you anything just wait" when we tried to contact Montreal. The only variation we received was a recommendation that I activate my visa without my spouse. I don't think they understand how emotionally devastating this process is, and the lack of transparency could make anyone go insane.

 

We had spent the last 4 months heavily researching everything we could about 9FAM, 5535, lawsuits, INA sections etc and had talked to other lawyers about our options. Every lawyer we spoke to in the group chats/forums were quoting us up to 15k USD to do a last-minute lawsuit. I truly believe some of them are preying on people's desperation the closer it gets to the DV deadline. One even quoted us 6k USD, then a week later said "now it is 12k USD".

 

We made the decision to try to find a lawyer that would help us for the original quote of 6k USD. We went on pacermonitor and searched through all of the WoM lawsuits that were filed in DC recently and emailed around 20 with our story, and our budget. We got a few replies, but the fastest to reply was Christopher Casazza from PIC Law. We had a consulatation with him and he agreed to file our Temporary Restraining Order/Writ of Mandamus for us. Please be aware that a TRO is not always applicable, but in our unique circumstance, it was. We had all of our correct documents, one of us was approved, the candian refused and in AP for 4 months, the only requirements to DV eligibility outside of coutnry is high school graduation. If anyone is looking for a lawyer outside of the standard reccomended lawyers, I would really, really, really strongly reccomend this lawfirm (PIC Law). Many of the other lawyers (Goldstein, Hacking, Nimer, Murthy, Raju) seem to be WoM churn firms. No judgement on that, but having filed with Raju, then filing with Chris Casazza, there is a HUGE difference when you pick an attorney that actually cares about your case. If you're like me, I want to be able to talk about the lawsuit, not just file it and forget. PIC Law is a genuine immigration lawfirm and not a WoM churn farm trawling forums for desperate people.

 

Long story short, we filed the lawsuit, and a week later we had the visa approved. The "CLEARANCE RECEIVED" date is September 20th, CEAC updated to issued on September 21st, and on the physical visa it was printed on September 22nd. DOS contacted Montreal and then asked us to dismiss the lawsuit because it was issued. These lawsuits really seem to be what everyone thinks, the case is just sitting there and the lawsuit prioritzes your clearance. 

Once we received the passport in the mail, we went straight to Niagara and crossed to stamp the visa. After 4 months of fried nerves, it is finally over and we can't believe it. Looking at the Montreal issuance rates, with 1 day left (because they're taking a vacation on Sept 30th), it really seems to me that this lawsuit was 100% responsible for us getting our visa approved in time. There are 149 DV Cases issued (249 visas) and 27 cases on 221G/5535 (49 visas). It is very possible that 49 people lose their chance of getting a green card because of Montreal's high 5535 rate. They sped up towards the end of the year, but wow. It is horrific what they are doing, and apparently mostly to Canadian citizens.

 

Once more, I can't thank Christopher Casazza enough. I can't post a link here, but Chris, Alex Isbel (two name partners) and Caitlin Costello all helped with our visa at the lawfirm PIC Law (Philadelphia Immigration Lawyers).

Damn, that's a wild story. And CONGRATULATIONS!

 

What you said about DVs is really interesting and also backs up my research. My personal opinion is that we won't see any movement until September 30 on any of these cases because they're trying to finish DV (also from years prior). And, it's a big IF that any movement will occur after September 30 passes because of the next problem, which is the huge backlog of people in the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) category, which are people from Afghanistan and Iraq that assisted the US government.

 

Basically, according to Department of State priority tiers, SIV is highest priority, followed by Immediate Relative (IR). But, they have been prioritizing DV over IR recently (started in roughly June of this year) in order to meet the mentioned September 30 deadline.

 

If we look at the last person who went through DS-5535 that got approved in the spreadsheet, it looks like it was December-ish last year, which was coincidentally a few months after we left Afghanistan. They may have realized by then they had no way to get through the SIV backlog (it's still growing from what I can tell in the publicly available SIV reports) and then basically told the people who work on these cases at the different government agencies (FBI is the main one) not to process any AP case unless if it was for an SIV visa.

 

Unless you sue their sorry asses.

 

To explain further, you can end up in AP, but get out quickly. I think the reason some people get stuck in AP forever is because when the FBI runs the "name check", if your name is similar to somebody in their database, they basically throw your application in a stack that they won't look at for a very long time. I found one person at Frankfurt consulate who went into AP on July 15 and got out at the end of August. They were also asked for travel history (DS-5535). But, they originated from India and those names tend to be more unique than other countries (i.e., the name check didn't return any names that were similar).

Edited September 28, 2022 by jgauthi242

[ideep29 12]

On 9/27/2022 at 11:08 AM, jgauthi242 said:

At the end of August, I'd reached out to a reporter at Bloomberg who reports on immigration. He'd written me back that he'd like to write a story once he cleared a few things off his plate.

 

He wrote me this morning asking for people who'd like to be interviewed (names off the record). If anybody here would like to tell him their stories, please let me know and I can put you in touch.

 

My wife's visa has been stuck in AP (interview at Frankfurt) since May 2022 and we filed mandamus/APA this past Wednesday. Will keep everybody updated on how that goes!

 

Please PM me your email address, how long you've been waiting, etc., and I'll put you in touch.

Id be interested.  I have been in AP since Feb.

 

Started this journey in sept 2020