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

[Filcan 7]

10 hours ago, WishIWasntHere said:

Y’all, we did it! We got the visa, now on to prepare for our move.

 

I really wish each and every one of you luck and speediness in the process. 
 

 

Congrats man!! Did your status change to ‘Issued’?  Did you get an e-mail when your visa was approved?

[WishIWasntHere 53]

Just now, Filcan said:

Congrats man!! Did your status change to ‘Issued’?  Did you get an e-mail when your visa was approved?

We only got an email with the tracking number, and on that day it changed to issued, showed up the next day at the post office for pick up 

[US2197 9]

On 9/10/2022 at 7:02 AM, WishIWasntHere said:

Y’all, we did it! We got the visa, now on to prepare for our move.

 

I really wish each and every one of you luck and speediness in the process. 
 

 

How many weeks did the WOM approval take? 

From filing to approval? 

 

 

[WishIWasntHere 53]

5 minutes ago, US2197 said:

How many weeks did the WOM approval take? 

From filing to approval? 

 

 

Filed on June 10, just approved on Wednesday.

[Ontarkie 13,943]

~~One post removed as requested~~

[Bill22 8]

Hi all, just a quick update of my WOM I filed with Hacking, if anyone is thinking of filing through them:

 

- Aug. 3, 2022: Sent all required docs

- Aug 19. 2022: Draft received for review

- Aug 21, 2022: Returned draft with comments (make sure to double check as we found a few typos, and we suggested to add another point).

-  Sept 1, 2022: Lawsuit on file, summonses issued.

-  Sept. 12, 2022: Last defendant served. Now the wait begins! (Or should I say, the wait continues lol)

[Filcan 7]

7 minutes ago, Bill22 said:

Hi all, just a quick update of my WOM I filed with Hacking, if anyone is thinking of filing through them:

 

- Aug. 3, 2022: Sent all required docs

- Aug 19. 2022: Draft received for review

- Aug 21, 2022: Returned draft with comments (make sure to double check as we found a few typos, and we suggested to add another point).

-  Sept 1, 2022: Lawsuit on file, summonses issued.

-  Sept. 12, 2022: Last defendant served. Now the wait begins! (Or should I say, the wait continues lol)

Good luck. Hope all goes well!!

[emergence 47]

Well, unfortunately we seem to be joining this club. 

 

My fiancé had his interview today and two strange things happened. He was issued a 221(g) because, according to the consulate, his medical was missing. We got it done almost two weeks ago and Telus told us it had been uploaded on the 6th. We called them to confirm after the refusal and they swore up and down that the consulate had it. No idea what to make of that.
 

They also told us that he would be receiving additional questions over email, which makes me think he will be issued a DS-5535. He’s only ever traveled to the US and Canada - the only possible thing we can think of is he was flagged due to the TAL.

 

 

We haven’t received anything from the consulate yet, but after reviewing the Technology Alert List, we think it’s likely that he was flagged due to working in Information Security/cryptography related positions in the past. 
 

Is it clear when you receive DS-5535 if it is related to TAL? Does anyone have experience being sent to administrative processing for this reason?

[candyg 33]

Hello everyone, 

 

I just wanted to see if anyone had any recent updates? My last update was Jan. 7, 2022. Nothing moved at all and have been stuck for more than 9 months. Hbu?

[Siarg 72]

5 hours ago, emergence said:

 

Is it clear when you receive DS-5535 if it is related to TAL? Does anyone have experience being sent to administrative processing for this reason?

No they won’t ever tell you why, it’s just an email with the questions on it. They give this to children, babies and people who have never travelled, so the original use case for national security concerns doesn’t hold much weight anymore. It appears to be sent whenever there is any delay, 221g for a missing document or for an SAO like TAL, or name match in CLASS etc.
 

Most people in this group have no idea why they received it, we’re just all trying to guess and make sense of it. It is used significantly more at Montreal than most other countries and Montreal Consulate has an international reputation for AP delays and 5535.

 

Best thing you can do is have him fill it out and send it in ASAP after he receives it (he can even prepare in advance by googling the form and preparing his answers ahead of the email). The next thing to do is start setting aside money $5-8k USD for filing a Writ of Mandamus.

 

If he’s lucky they will “find” the medical and then issue the visa - but if they send the 5535 off to DOS for a security clearance, they can’t issue the visa until he receives clearance. so I would visit the doctor and either get some kind of proof of submission or ask for a physical sealed envelope and deliver it yourself. 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Siarg

[Filcan 7]

12 hours ago, candyg said:

Hello everyone, 

 

I just wanted to see if anyone had any recent updates? My last update was Jan. 7, 2022. Nothing moved at all and have been stuck for more than 9 months. Hbu?

When was your interview?

[candyg 33]

2 hours ago, Filcan said:

When was your interview?

November 3, 2021

[ohmygod 60]

On 9/10/2022 at 10:57 AM, Sat2022 said:

Congrats on the approval .Did you filed the WOM and yes with whom ?

About how long does it take to issue visa after the 2nd medical and police clearance sent ? 

[emergence 47]

18 hours ago, Siarg said:

No they won’t ever tell you why, it’s just an email with the questions on it. They give this to children, babies and people who have never travelled, so the original use case for national security concerns doesn’t hold much weight anymore. It appears to be sent whenever there is any delay, 221g for a missing document or for an SAO like TAL, or name match in CLASS etc.
 

Most people in this group have no idea why they received it, we’re just all trying to guess and make sense of it. It is used significantly more at Montreal than most other countries and Montreal Consulate has an international reputation for AP delays and 5535.

 

Best thing you can do is have him fill it out and send it in ASAP after he receives it (he can even prepare in advance by googling the form and preparing his answers ahead of the email). The next thing to do is start setting aside money $5-8k USD for filing a Writ of Mandamus.

 

If he’s lucky they will “find” the medical and then issue the visa - but if they send the 5535 off to DOS for a security clearance, they can’t issue the visa until he receives clearance. so I would visit the doctor and either get some kind of proof of submission or ask for a physical sealed envelope and deliver it yourself. 

Thanks for the information. We did indeed receive the DS-5535 today. 
 

After doing some research, I am absolutely appalled to see the DS-5535 is being used this way and with this frequency, particularly because there was a 2021 proclamation from the White House specifically mentioning that its use and efficacy should be reevaluated. 
 

Is there any information available on what percentage of cases are being hit with this? Is there a source on Montreal’s infamy? How much more often is it issuing DS-5535s in comparison to other consulates?

 

This seems like an absolutely gross misuse of a process that was designed to vet those who could present real national security issues, not infants.

 

Has anyone gotten in touch with a journalist who might be interested in taking on a story about this issue? 

[throwitaway 189]

15 minutes ago, emergence said:

Thanks for the information. We did indeed receive the DS-5535 today. 
 

After doing some research, I am absolutely appalled to see the DS-5535 is being used this way and with this frequency, particularly because there was a 2021 proclamation from the White House specifically mentioning that its use and efficacy should be reevaluated. 
 

Is there any information available on what percentage of cases are being hit with this? Is there a source on Montreal’s infamy? How much more often is it issuing DS-5535s in comparison to other consulates?

 

This seems like an absolutely gross misuse of a process that was designed to vet those who could present real national security issues, not infants.

 

Has anyone gotten in touch with a journalist who might be interested in taking on a story about this issue? 

The best stats for this are the DV cases which are easily accessible if you google it.