From_CAN_2_US

Amazing what perspective this gives. Looks like Montreal is really prioritising FBs right now. I am speculating within a month or two, they will switch to prioritising EB to balance it out.

Wow, I had no idea there were so many family preference categories. Whether to count accompanying parties or not - I think keep consistent with how you counted the EBs. If you didn't count accompanying parties for EB, don't count for FB. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this.

I was thinking it would be good to show for both London and Montreal. The reason is to see if London cleared off their FB backlog before moving on to EB, and whether Montreal is doing that too. I would say number to add would be F1 + F2B + F3 + F4 + FX.

Thanks for the description. I don't remember seeing a "schedule appointment" status. Your theory that it may be because you were scheduled by Montreal and not NVC makes sense. Our interview letters came from the NVC. We had to select “I have received a Consular interview appointment date from the National Visa Center (NVC) or the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) and I have been instructed to register my appointment on this site,” and then, “I need to register an immigrant visa appointment” Did your letter direct you to I suggest you call the number on the website where you are trying to register the appointment and ask what you should be doing in your situation.

Most of us received the interview letter from NVC, NOT consulate. NVC scheduled the interview, not MTL consulate. We did not have to schedule the appointment, we had to only register it. If you also received your interview letter from NVC, then follow the directions in the FAQ, and you should be fine. I do not understand what you mean by “schedule interview status.” Maybe if you could elaborate where you are seeing that, people can help. If you were not scheduled by NVC, then that is new to us, and the FAQ may not cover the directions for you. You will find contact details on the website you have screenshotted in your posts. You are advised to contact them for directions.

You are right: https://maxlawinc.com/how-the-legalization-of-same-sex-marriage-nationwide-impacted-immigration-law/ “The Windsor decision allowed same sex couples to qualify for immigration benefits to the same extent as heterosexual couples.” “Within a day of the Windsor ruling, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would start to accept same sex green card petitions.” An additional source: https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2015/06/the-immigration-consequences-of-obergefell-v-hodges.html The significance of Obergefell was with respect to AOS cases, not consular cases. This explains why some people were awaiting this ruling even after Windsor. “Under certain situations immigrants who reside in the U.S. can adjust their status if they are in a bona fide, valid marriage to a U.S. citizen. It is no longer an impediment that they are homosexual and living in the U.S. in a state which doesn’t recognize gay marriage.”

Refer to the FAQ which can be found in @Hawk Riders and @mam521’s signature (only visible when using a PC, not visible when using mobile device).

This is a great question, and for the longest time we were debating the same thing about CR1/IR1 applications. We noticed on our spreadsheet that number of DQs were lower from November 2020 onwards. And Looking at the numbers of how many visas they MTL processed per month once they crossed October 2020 DQs, it does appear that the number of DQs were fewer. I am not sure if this is because of NVC working slower or simply fewer applicants once the pandemic hit, because of border closure making new marriages difficult and thus fewer people filing. Not a direct answer to your question, but some related stats.

Looks great and really helpful. How about a bar for family preference visas?

Confused by this and would welcome some education. I thought same-sex couples were unable to file for immigration benefits until the Oberfell v Hodges ruling which I think came out in 2015. US v Windsor ruling came out two years earlier, and I vaguely remember reading about people keenly awaiting the oberfell case to be able to file for their partners to come to the US. Clarence Thomas also mentioned the revisiting oberfell. Did he say anything about US v Windsor, and how is it relevant?

Get a police certificate in your maiden name. They may want it at the interview. If they want it and you can’t produce it at the interview, that would cause another 45 to 60 day delay.

What work visa would you be applying for? If it is H1B, DS-5535s are issued against H1Bs. With the applicant being the same, I don’t see how the DS-5535 would not be triggered when applying for this visa. Not a lawyer though, so can’t say for sure… I would take a second opinion from another reputable lawyer…

Really? When I lived in Canada, my US citizen husband visited me often - multiple times a year for up to one month each time. He worked remotely for his US employer without any supervisor being there and not working on Canadian assignments… he was questioned about it at the border and answered honestly and was not stopped. I also reading this being allowed on a Canadian federal website (although I don’t remember where off the top of my head just now). How did you come across this rule? Did your company tell you?

Yes, that is not allowed apparently… The other way around though - a US citizen working in Canada while here on a visit for their US employer is allowed… I am in the US right now, working remotely for my Canadian employer, but I am allowed to only because I have a green card. Furthermore, taxes become really complicated. Perhaps you could consider moving there on a TN visa while you wait (provided you are educated in one of those 60 something fields that are eligible). Lawyers say there are chances you would be denied because of a pending immigrant visa, but we have had some people get approved before. I have read your chances of approval are higher should you show up at the border for an on-the-spot approval rather than apply online. The tricky part is ofcourse how the pending DS-5535 factors into all this, but I think just as people can cross into the US for a visit, a TN visa may still be possible with a pending DS-5535… Just an idea, not sure if it has much merit….

I see. Yeah Jewish people and alt right are pretty much mutually exclusive, I would think… My apologies if I came across accusatory in any way, I never meant to say you were associated with these alt right groups. But that there is the saddest part, you can be targetted while being 100% innocent, like everyone here on this thread.

All it could take is name (similar to some person they suspect) + country. Canada being the latter. I understand that you don’t have a name that is commonly thought to be associated with terrorism (like my Muslim name for example), but from what we are seeing, US intelligence is recently taking alternative right, white nationalist threats very seriously, especially since Jan 6. We also know there is support for such “activism” among the fringe right in Canada. Many, if not most of these people, have very white names. So there maybe several white names on the database.

It sounds like you are EB category. No one really knows the precise reason DS-5535s are issued. My understanding is the computer reviews your profile among various parameters against a database of persons suspected of being a threat to national security. Any one parameter in itself does not trigger the DS-5535; so simply being from Iran isn’t necessarily sufficient, but that and/ or having education/ employment in certain fields, along with a name/ photo matching with the database would trigger DS-5535 to be issued. I personally believe that Canada has recently been added to the list of high risk countries possibly because of intelligence of security threats originating in Canada. This is speculation but explains why Canadian citizens are targetted at a higher percentage than other Low risk countries since October 2021.

They are known for giving cryptic messages which doesn’t explain the rejection and leaves you guessing about their reasons… It is all really frustrating and unfair.

This is horrifying! What a mess… Just imagine if this is what we see, how much worse it probably is in reality… Glad they found it in the end though.

Yes, I changed my name during marriage and had to upload two police certificates

There is nothing wrong with your police certificate. So annoying of NVC to reject it, and yes, I heard they are not taking calls right now…. 1. Check if you are not missing something on your end: a) you need police certificates for Canada in every name you have ever held. So if you have changed your name at any point, you will need police certificates in old and new names. b) check if you are missing any police certificates from other countries. 2. If you are not missing anything, I suggest emailing NVC. There is several months backlog in them reviewing their emails. 3. simultaneously, reupload the same police certificates on CEAC. If it is possible to put a comment somewhere on ceac, do so explaining you checked and the police certificate is correct police certificate from the relevant authority. Please clarify further about what is required etc…. edit - I just noticed my police certificate had a signature by the Director General below, just above the footer…. That was missing in the scan you shared. Make sure you upload the full page of your police certificate. If you didn’t, maybe that is the reason it was rejected.

Omg, that’s crazy. But I can believe it. Why makes you think that though?

Unfortunately, as unfair as it is, I am starting to believe, with certain random cases, MTL will just not make any progress until they are sued. I think these cases are just forgotten in a pile on someone's desk, or at the back of some filing cabinet...Really sad state of affairs....

No Problem. Yeah the timeline here is pretty helpful, and it’s how VJ generates stats and predictions.

It’s on my timeline here. We submitted on Nov 16 2020, and were approved on Feb 11 2021. So a little shy of 3 months… It varies greatly between cases though, and no one really knows why…