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

[ice-qube 648]

2 hours ago, throwitaway said:

Not for long at least

I honestly wish i had that optimism at this point. The US govt were served, they now have till Jan 14 to respond. Based on what i have been seeing, there is a trend for them to continue throwing every delay tactic (extensions, motions to dismiss, etc) in the book rather than adjudicate, soooo…at this point it looks to me that i will continue to languish many more months. And i can’t tell you it feels great.

[Mmk2112 34]

6 hours ago, candyg said:

Yes,  I sent an email to follow up because I did not have an update for more than 10 months

what was the embassy email you used

[LAMA9 118]

14 hours ago, ice-qube said:

I honestly wish i had that optimism at this point. The US govt were served, they now have till Jan 14 to respond. Based on what i have been seeing, there is a trend for them to continue throwing every delay tactic (extensions, motions to dismiss, etc) in the book rather than adjudicate, soooo…at this point it looks to me that i will continue to languish many more months. And i can’t tell you it feels great.

@ice-qubedon't lose hope and you have many reasons to be optimistic!  You have your decision date!  Most people now are getting a ~60 day length of time for decision date 1 (myself included) and everyone is getting a second decision date (mine was another 60 days! but only 2 weeks of that second extension was used).  Even with all the case motions, the consulate is still requesting documents and the cases are still going through in an average of 90-130 days of filing.  The suit is doing its job.  The WOM is not as fast as it used to be as Montreal has been slammed with them and they can't keep up - but they are still working and we have yet to see a denial coming out of our VJ group of applicants (so much for real security threats - lol).  You have to keep the faith!  What you have invested in is WAY better than still sitting in limbo wondering if your file has even been opened in over a year, which is likely the reality you could still be languishing in had you not filed.  Given the data, you will very well have your passport in hand by end of January/early Feb!  You've got this.  If you can go spend the holidays in sunny Florida and get excited for your new life out of this dismal weather and concrete jungle!  

[candyg 33]

13 hours ago, Mmk2112 said:

what was the embassy email you used

Oh, sorry I misunderstood you. I used their general email. You're most likely going to get a generic response too.

Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov

[Rosinasaur 58]

I got tracking information yesterday saying my visa is on its way!

October 4, 2021: Interview. Informed we would get questions by email.
October 10th, 2021: DS5535 Submitted

December 2021 - May 2022: Multiple emails exchanged with consulate saying we were still in administrative processing

March 2022: Congresswoman's office give us a lot of false information and then ghosts us a lot. We also mailed our senator and they never got back to us.

June 2022: Started Lawsuit Process with Goldstein

July 14, 2022: Lawsuit filed

Aug 4, 2022: Lawsuit served

Sept 19, 2022: Motion filed to dismiss lawsuit

Early October: Goldstein submitted counterargument

November 16, 2022: CEAC updated to Approved
Nov 18, 2022: CEAC now Issued, tracking received

 

I would not really recommend filing with Goldstein. We never spoke directly with a lawyer. Our questions were mostly ignored by email or answered incorrectly ("we don't know" would have been a better and acceptable answer tbh). We had to fill in many forms stating what hardship we've been through which took ages. 

 

I'm glad we're almost at the other side. I wish the best of luck to all of you!

[Waitinghere 0]

Hello everyone,

 

I was looking for some help here. I had my interview in October and had my passport taken, with officer giving me instructions on what to expect after having visa approved. Later that day I was phoned by embassy informing me that I am to undergo administrative processing with no further requests made. Since then I have been placed under this status, with no passport and no updates to be given. I am now wondering if anyone else had a similar situation, also, can I request to have my passport back and is it a possibility to try to cross the border again with a  while waiting in AP.

 

sorry for the many questions, just a confused person here. It definitely has been a long frustrating journey…

[Tiabeanie 39]

10 hours ago, Waitinghere said:

Hello everyone,

 

I was looking for some help here. I had my interview in October and had my passport taken, with officer giving me instructions on what to expect after having visa approved. Later that day I was phoned by embassy informing me that I am to undergo administrative processing with no further requests made. Since then I have been placed under this status, with no passport and no updates to be given. I am now wondering if anyone else had a similar situation, also, can I request to have my passport back and is it a possibility to try to cross the border again with a  while waiting in AP.

 

sorry for the many questions, just a confused person here. It definitely has been a long frustrating journey…

Hi there I'm going through the same situation as yourself. I had my interview the end of October and was told I was being placed in administrative processing and they kept my passport and police certificate. The last update on CEAC was the day of my interview. I'm frustrated and feel left in the dark. Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in this experience and I'm hoping we get back our passports soon.

[dennisv 23]

11 hours ago, Waitinghere said:

Hello everyone,

 

I was looking for some help here. I had my interview in October and had my passport taken, with officer giving me instructions on what to expect after having visa approved. Later that day I was phoned by embassy informing me that I am to undergo administrative processing with no further requests made. Since then I have been placed under this status, with no passport and no updates to be given. I am now wondering if anyone else had a similar situation, also, can I request to have my passport back and is it a possibility to try to cross the border again with a  while waiting in AP.

 

sorry for the many questions, just a confused person here. It definitely has been a long frustrating journey…

You're not alone @Waitinghere. I had my interview early November, sent back the DS5535 questionnaire within 48 hours but it was a struggle to fill in the 15 yr travel history. I got my passport back, and the only update I have on CEAC is Nov 16 (a week after my interview) so someone opened my file to take a peek or do something.  

[BatmanFlow 481]

On 11/19/2022 at 12:35 PM, Rosinasaur said:

I got tracking information yesterday saying my visa is on its way!

October 4, 2021: Interview. Informed we would get questions by email.
October 10th, 2021: DS5535 Submitted

December 2021 - May 2022: Multiple emails exchanged with consulate saying we were still in administrative processing

March 2022: Congresswoman's office give us a lot of false information and then ghosts us a lot. We also mailed our senator and they never got back to us.

June 2022: Started Lawsuit Process with Goldstein

July 14, 2022: Lawsuit filed

Aug 4, 2022: Lawsuit served

Sept 19, 2022: Motion filed to dismiss lawsuit

Early October: Goldstein submitted counterargument

November 16, 2022: CEAC updated to Approved
Nov 18, 2022: CEAC now Issued, tracking received

 

I would not really recommend filing with Goldstein. We never spoke directly with a lawyer. Our questions were mostly ignored by email or answered incorrectly ("we don't know" would have been a better and acceptable answer tbh). We had to fill in many forms stating what hardship we've been through which took ages. 

 

I'm glad we're almost at the other side. I wish the best of luck to all of you!

congrats! such great news with holidays around the corner

[BatmanFlow 481]

11 hours ago, Waitinghere said:

Hello everyone,

 

I was looking for some help here. I had my interview in October and had my passport taken, with officer giving me instructions on what to expect after having visa approved. Later that day I was phoned by embassy informing me that I am to undergo administrative processing with no further requests made. Since then I have been placed under this status, with no passport and no updates to be given. I am now wondering if anyone else had a similar situation, also, can I request to have my passport back and is it a possibility to try to cross the border again with a  while waiting in AP.

 

sorry for the many questions, just a confused person here. It definitely has been a long frustrating journey…

 

1 hour ago, Tiabeanie said:

Hi there I'm going through the same situation as yourself. I had my interview the end of October and was told I was being placed in administrative processing and they kept my passport and police certificate. The last update on CEAC was the day of my interview. I'm frustrated and feel left in the dark. Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in this experience and I'm hoping we get back our passports soon.

did you both get an email for DS 5535 from embassy? they ask for more stuff including 15 years of travel history, social media etc. if you did in fact were given DS 5535 then you will need to fill that out and send it back to them. The wait times for those are long. There is an email that was provided in the previous page if you want to request your passport back. takes one week to get a response.

 

however if you werent given DS 5535, then maybe you are in some other AP and that shouldnt take too long? Maybe just regular AP checks. worth following up again next week if you dont receive any updated or an email from them for DS 5535. And also you should hope you dont get DS 5535 cause we've seen that it can taken more than one year for embassy to process those.

[Waitinghere 0]

1 hour ago, Tiabeanie said:

Hi there I'm going through the same situation as yourself. I had my interview the end of October and was told I was being placed in administrative processing and they kept my passport and police certificate. The last update on CEAC was the day of my interview. I'm frustrated and feel left in the dark. Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in this experience and I'm hoping we get back our passports soon.

 

48 minutes ago, dennisv said:

You're not alone @Waitinghere. I had my interview early November, sent back the DS5535 questionnaire within 48 hours but it was a struggle to fill in the 15 yr travel history. I got my passport back, and the only update I have on CEAC is Nov 16 (a week after my interview) so someone opened my file to take a peek or do something.  

I’m sorry you guys are also going through this confusing situation. Not that it already took such a long time for us to be at this stage, now to get trapped into a black hole of uncertainty. Thanks for sharing your experience

2 minutes ago, BatmanFlow said:

 

did you both get an email for DS 5535 from embassy? they ask for more stuff including 15 years of travel history, social media etc. if you did in fact were given DS 5535 then you will need to fill that out and send it back to them. The wait times for those are long. There is an email that was provided in the previous page if you want to request your passport back. takes one week to get a response.

 

however if you werent given DS 5535, then maybe you are in some other AP and that shouldnt take too long? Maybe just regular AP checks. worth following up again next week if you dont receive any updated or an email from them for DS 5535. And also you should hope you dont get DS 5535 cause we've seen that it can taken more than one year for embassy to process those.

Thanks for responding. I did not get the DS 5535 form. In fact I inquired multiple times via email if there is anything more that I have to submit. Just a generic response of you are under AP and consulate will contact you for any further information. Given that Dec it will be two month since my interview. Is it possible that they forgot to send me the DS 5535? if you dont mind me asking, how long after your interview were you sent one? 
 

also, can I attempt to cross the US border while in AP?

 

 

[dennisv 23]

5 minutes ago, Waitinghere said:

 

I’m sorry you guys are also going through this confusing situation. Not that it already took such a long time for us to be at this stage, now to get trapped into a black hole of uncertainty. Thanks for sharing your experience

Thanks for responding. I did not get the DS 5535 form. In fact I inquired multiple times via email if there is anything more that I have to submit. Just a generic response of you are under AP and consulate will contact you for any further information. Given that Dec it will be two month since my interview. Is it possible that they forgot to send me the DS 5535? if you dont mind me asking, how long after your interview were you sent one? 
 

also, can I attempt to cross the US border while in AP?

 

 

@Waitinghere I got my DS5535 email like 3-4 hours after my interview, while I was sitting at the airport thinking. I sent it back within 48 hours.

I haven't tried crossing while on AP, but I heard mixed info regarding outcomes.

[Tiabeanie 39]

20 minutes ago, BatmanFlow said:

 

did you both get an email for DS 5535 from embassy? they ask for more stuff including 15 years of travel history, social media etc. if you did in fact were given DS 5535 then you will need to fill that out and send it back to them. The wait times for those are long. There is an email that was provided in the previous page if you want to request your passport back. takes one week to get a response.

 

however if you werent given DS 5535, then maybe you are in some other AP and that shouldnt take too long? Maybe just regular AP checks. worth following up again next week if you dont receive any updated or an email from them for DS 5535. And also you should hope you dont get DS 5535 cause we've seen that it can taken more than one year for embassy to process those.

No I wasn't given a DS 5535. When I had my interview, the officer only mentioned that I would be placed in administrative processing. No mention of a questionnaire. I was given a 221g slip and the officer checked off the box on the sheet that said "Additional processing is required. We will contact you when this is complete". It's been exactly 3 weeks since I've had my interview. I did email the consulate last week hopefully I get back a response sometime this week. I wasn't missing any documents when I had the interview, I didn't think it would take this long truth be told.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Tiabeanie

[BatmanFlow 481]

11 minutes ago, Waitinghere said:

 

I’m sorry you guys are also going through this confusing situation. Not that it already took such a long time for us to be at this stage, now to get trapped into a black hole of uncertainty. Thanks for sharing your experience

Thanks for responding. I did not get the DS 5535 form. In fact I inquired multiple times via email if there is anything more that I have to submit. Just a generic response of you are under AP and consulate will contact you for any further information. Given that Dec it will be two month since my interview. Is it possible that they forgot to send me the DS 5535? if you dont mind me asking, how long after your interview were you sent one? 
 

also, can I attempt to cross the US border while in AP?

 

 

got it the next day. my mom was told at the interview she will need to provide more info and wait for the email. however i have seen people here get approved at the interview and get the DS 5535 email the next day.

maybe you are just in regular AP and nothing else is needed. maybe get your congressperson involved.

 

and yes you can cross while on AP. my mom crossed and stayed with me for a few weeks this year while we continue to wait for her visa. the border agents asked for nothing but they could ask about your visa and we were prepared to answer about her AP situation

[PZibran325 112]

On 11/18/2022 at 11:49 AM, ice-qube said:

I guess I am really last man standing here, huh?

No we are also still in limbo. I wonder if I should go ahead and file the WOM at this point since it has been 5 months since the interview