ice-qube

9 minutes ago, Leo The Great said:

Looks like filing WOM was the only way for you to get out of AP after waiting more than a year. Options for filing WOM are limited now as a lot of WOMs are being dismissed after June.

Yeah, I was afraid of that, because there was a rush to do that at the time based on my observations on VJ, and so basically I was forced into doing it. If you go back in the record and read what I was saying, you will see I was very very hesitant to do it, but I felt there was no choice because this absurd situation had emerged. 

I haven't been caught up reading all this stuff. So is the govt actually taking a lot of the WOM cases to court now?

ice-qube here, been a while since I have been back to check on this stuff since my ordeal that lasted so long. I am sorry to see so many people going through it, I hope you all get out of the nightmare ASAP.

6 minutes ago, Canucklehead said:

I travelled to visit my spouse in USA. I'd suggest not hiding anything if asked/being honest about everything, and obviously make sure to stay within the appropriate timeline (no more than 6 months in USA in a 12 month period) and you should be OK. Ultimately, it is up to the border agent to decide though, so I purposefully packed light, had my existing work contract and tenant agreement ready just in case too.

I second this, always be honest— the only thing to add being: don’t offer up extraneous information without being asked. Answer all questions asked truthfully, but don’t go on a tangent or else they might be inclined to give you more of a hassle just because they don’t understand the specifics of your case. 

1 minute ago, haruharu said:

Just wanted to add on to this question, how long till one can file WOM? People who have taken this route could you share your process? Chris from PIC a seems to be a good option according to previous comments. After consulting with a few lawyers, they suggest to wait 60 days minimum. I read some contradictory material from Goldstein where in one pamphlet he suggests to wait 6 months but in a YouTube video on his channel he states if you’ve already waited 18 months for I-130 you’ve already waited long enough..
FYI another case update today (total of 4 since submission on April 4th) but still says refused. 

That's a matter of debate, actually. Although I am not a lawyer, I have always been skeptical of lawyers who claim you should file it before 6 months. In my (non-expert, but considerably educated layman) opinion, in the event the government decided to push back on a suit that was filed before 6 months, it is likely to me that the court would rule in their favour. And really, then the only one who would have won is the lawyer that took your money; you would be no closer (and also poorer), and the taxpayers also lose the costs of defending it in court.

Just now, justanamericangrl said:

Husband had his interview in Montreal Feb 3rd of this year and got hit with the ds5535 a couple days later. After reading all of these submissions here we decided to just file a WOM with hacking law ASAP. Can’t believe so many people go through this. It seems ridiculous. Even the lawyer said he’s seeing so many more cases out of Montreal. 
 

Anyways does anyone have any recent timelines they could share after filing a WOM? And has anyone’s spouse travelled to the US while in AP?

 

thanks!!

Sorry to hear. It definitely seems Montreal is using this as a strategy nowadays. If it helps, I was a guy who was hit with DS-5535, suffered in AP for over a year, but i travelled to see my wife several times, without problems.

4 hours ago, ShawnK said:

Thank you, I will email them.

 

In the mean time..I have never been religious , always doubted..but I pulled a Bart Simpson prayer(that classic episode where he gets a snow day ), seems like in the darkest times you seek out God. That is all I can do at this point. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep your head up man. I waited a long time for my sojourn in administrative processing to be over, but I managed to do it. I prevailed. And I am sure you will too. 

4 hours ago, Canucklehead said:

I'll take that win! Now for the Raptors to win tonight too... 🦖 

No such luck on that...

3 hours ago, oclus said:

Does anyone have any experience with Montreal on timeline of second medical and issuance of visa? Its been almost 7.5 weeks that they got everything but no visa in hand 🥺

Now the RCMP certificate is expiring in 2 days 😢

@oclus usually after you complete the second medical and all your stuff has been sent in, you have a visa in hand in under two weeks or so. It sounds like your RCMP certificate was very close to the line, do you have any updates for us on this?

2 hours ago, kate777 said:

Yay it was issued today!! Can't really wrap my head around it. It's been almost 2 1/2 yrs since we first submitted the I129F

 

Our timeline was-

 

fiance’s interview 5/4/22
DS-5535 emailed to him 5/5
I contacted my congressman and senator in Aug, not sure if that did anything
submitted WOM paperwork to Hacking Law 9/14 (not sure the exact date they filed but shortly after that)
first lawsuit deadline was 12/17, no case updates during that time so Hacking refiled the case in my home state (they had originally filed in Washington DC)
request for new medical and updated passport pics 1/6/23
extension for lawsuit was requested at the end of Jan and granted until 4/7
CEAC status changed to Application Received 3/7
Approved 3/8
Issued 3/10

Congrats @kate777, your nightmare is ending!

8 minutes ago, Danii said:

So glad I decided to lurk today, many many many congratulations, ice-qube. I'm so happy this is over for you. Wishing the best for you and your wife and hoping that all your journeys from here on out go smoothly with no complications 🙏

@Danii it was a long, long road. Thanks to all of you who were there to listen to my impotent raging along the way! 

42 minutes ago, Evie6366 said:

Wow, @ice-qube congratulations, I've read all the posts...so happy for you! Thank you for giving us some hope... Can you please share the lawyer you used? How long after they submitted the WOM did you get approved? 90 days? 

 

I used Hacking Law. If i recall correctly they submitted October 24. I was approved i believe on or about Jan 30, so that’s pretty close.

25 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Glad you tagged him. I was wondering how his case was going. 

Sorry I have been quiet. I actually just this week did my landing and been visiting my wife for the week. There is still more transitional logistics type stuff to be done before I physically move, but my legal journey with the dysfunctional immigration system is at least done. Thank G-d.

2 hours ago, Evie6366 said:

@ice-qube are you still here? Whatever happened to your WOM case?

Thanks for asking! Actually i have been quiet lately, it’s true. But yea I prevailed using the WOM case, in what has become such a common pattern now: i paid $5000 USD to law firm, they changed names and dates on a template, filed the suit, and whoever just said, k, just give him his visa now. It worked, yes; but forgive me if *even now* I remain no less disgusted by having had to do that than I was originally.

7 hours ago, cdndesro said:

I can tell you I crossed back and forth 8-10 times in the first 5 weeks (first time was 1-day after entry) on just the stamped Visa and then received GC in the mail.  I cross almost every weekend back and forth and have had no issues whatsoever either with visa or GC and have been doing so for 9 months now. 

Good to know. do they question why you are doing that at all?

42 minutes ago, PZibran325 said:

Well I’ve done it and signed an agreement to move forward with a WOM. I wish I’d done it sooner just the act of signing has been a huge relief 

Congrats, it was a very hard decision for me if you recall, but in the end, was the only way out of it. May your case be finished much faster!

6 minutes ago, addpeace said:

Hi Ice-Qube-

 

We filed with Hacking as well and they mailed out the case to Montreal on Jan. 31st. Do you happen to remember how much time passed from them mailing it to your received date? I am trying to piece together a bit of a timeline.   Thanks!

Well, Hacking had sent out the summons on Oct 26, and the last defendant acknowledged being served on November 15. So, roughly three weeks from them sending out to when they were all served.

2 hours ago, Jvisa said:

Happy for you and congratulation. Question is what will happen next after we filed WOM ? Wondering what should we do after 60 days? 

Once you file WOM, you have to wait for the government to be served, and then for the US attorneys to answer before the 60 day deadline (once served). Usually, they ask for a delay and the court usually grants it. The law firm handling your case should give updates to you when these events happen.

44 minutes ago, throwitaway said:

They won’t, unless you keep coming back and forth, that’s usually when they start scrutinizing. 

Well that's just it, what constitutes coming back and forth in this context. How much back and forth is too much, in other words...

1 minute ago, PZibran325 said:

just out of curiosity when did you hire your lawyer file your WOM? I'm trying to get an idea of how long it may take from hire to approve

I hired Hacking Law on or around October 13. Now, I took a few days to fill out all their stuff required for the law suit to be prepared, but that's just me. They eventually filed the lawsuit on October 24. 

4 hours ago, Canucklehead said:

Such a cruel process...

It is absolutely cruel in effect. Bureaucracies have no emotions, though, and no motivations for anything but propagating themselves. The immigration system is producing perverse outcomes, and reforming it in any serious way is basically near impossible, considering the inanity of the binary political gangs, who are now held prisoner of their most extreme and unreasonable factions. And it's a cliche but also the bloody truth: politicians and their various hangers-on only care about getting elected and staying that way. They don't give a ####### about policy. So this will stay this way for a lot longer and it will get worse. 

2 hours ago, throwitaway said:

They’re mostly useless, they get the same responses. 

Agreed. The State Dept basically doesn't feel the need to answer to Congress. They are part of the executive branch and they know what side their bread is buttered on.

9 hours ago, PZibran325 said:

It's extremely difficult. I just came back from a two week visit to see my husband and it was such an amazing time but leaving him to come back was so difficult. I cried like a baby (he cried too eve though he was trying hard not to). Then I cried through my whole flight from YYC to Dallas and then from Dallas through MS. By the time I reached home my eyes were swollen. But I honestly just could not stop crying.

 

So I have asked to schedule a consultation with an attorney for the WOM. We have been apart long enough, we are an older couple and we really want and are dying to start our lives together and I have needed him all the more since my father's passing in 2021 for emotional support. I'm so sick of this treatment of married couples and keeping them apart for what seems like no reason.

There is no good reason. I have insisted all along that this was just a bureaucratic sleight of hand by enterprising managers in the bureaucracy trying to fulfill performance measures. I continue to believe that this is the only reason why 99.99% of us had this done to us. And it is gross.

Just now, GraceFace33 said:

CONGRATS @ice-qube!!!! 

Thanks so much @GraceFace33. Long time coming... long time.

1 minute ago, EB_Stuck said:

congrats ice-cube. I am glad my projection for your visa issuance came out just within a week.  Cheers, enjoy your next part of the journey!

Your predictive skills are sound! Thanks so much EB. Thank you for all of you for the support, I am rooting for you ALL!

1 hour ago, throwitaway said:

Amazing, congrats!

It took a minute, right? 😁

3 minutes ago, addpeace said:

Oh my goodness!  Congratulations Ice!!! I am so excited for you and your wife. Have fun actually being able to take your life off the pause button!!! I wish you so much joy!!

Thank you so much @addpeace, I have been in the black hole for so long i don't even know how to see the light, it is blinding me right now lol.