PZibran325

53 minutes ago, Nbc16 said:

Hi everyone,

still awaiting the clearance but went to visit my fiancé in the US and was only asked where i was travelling to… How are we being extreme vetted for security for MONTHS but allowed to visit without any issues? 
Nonesense

Yes a lot of us who were placed in this nightmare have posed the very same question earlier. If Canadians are such a threat I fail to understand why the two countries have an open border at all.

4 hours ago, Pearljamm said:

 

I did, this was their response. We will be filing on July 05, 2023 when we reach 90 days. My lawyer is pretty conservative and prefer to wait 90 days instead of 60 days and I do agree with him. It's really sad that I have to spend this amount of money to force immigration to make a decision.... 

 

 

 

We were told to wait at least 6 months tbh. In a way I am glad we did because about three days after we had our first consultation for the WOM, we started noticing the last updated date changing frequently on the CEAC. We then asked our lawyer to hold off because it seemed like we would clear AP without filing a WOM - which we did. And the lawyer refunded about 70% of the money we had paid them because the WOM was never filed or worked upon. Since then,  I've noticed a few others on here clear AP without filing a WOM. 

I've been suggesting over and over on here to hold off on filing a WOM until at least 6 months. It is hard to wait I know, believe me it was tough for us too because we met each other very late in life and are a slightly older couple- we have been eager to begin our lives. However, if waiting a few months ends up saving thousands of dollars it may be worth it depending on your circumstances (or it may not be, everyone has to weigh their opportunity costs and decide what is best for their circumstances). 

On 6/9/2023 at 8:36 PM, APRIL2023 said:

Will the interim visa be automatically placed on AP as well? 

most likely. Because it is the individual that is flagged to be placed in AP for extreme vetting not the type of visa. 

1 hour ago, Jvisa said:

some people are lucky hear. Guys what is the maximum months of AP in the Montreal consulate?

is somebody hear waiting more than a year and how many months ?please

10 months from interview to issued for us. I was emailing the embassy regularly regardless of whether they sent me a generic response or a more personal one. In the 8th month we hired a PIC law firm to star the process for a WOM but ended up not filing one because we started seeing updates to our case last updated date and in their response to one of my emails, the embassy informed me that the case had cleared AP and we would be receiving further instruction after the CO had had a chance to review next steps. PIC refunded most of the money we had paid to retain them.

So ours went through without a WOM and several others have gone through without WOMs in the recent past. Based on this, I recommend waiting a little bit before filing a WOM unless you have cash to spare and you've discerned the opportunity cost of not having your spouse with you vs paying fees to file a WOM.

22 minutes ago, Pearljamm said:

I hope so!! I think I will wait until October to file, hopefully 6 - 7 months is enough time to get approved without needing to file WOM. 

 

 

Though there are examples of VJ members who filed WOMs sooner, most lawyers recommend waiting until 6 months anyway. I waited longer because: (a) I wanted to cross the November through January holiday season, (b) it was a lot to think about shelling out such a significant amount of money for something that should happen organically, and (c) I had hoped that with the amount of cases being put into AP and the amount of WOMs the gov't had been facing they'd fix things (usually Washington works slow but I decided to be optimistic).

With that announcement about making AP more streamlined and the way our case went and also knowing there has been at least one other couple here that filed a WOM only to pass through AP organically and then commenting they wished they'd waited just a little bit longer - my very sincere advice to people is to wait at least 6 months. Unless you have ~5k to spare, in which case go for it.

I do think this is true. Although we waiting from June 2022 to march 2023 (about 9 months) ours was cleared without a WOM. We had retained PIC for a WOM but were cleared through before we had a chance to file. There have been a few others on here that I've seen recently clear through without WOMs and a couple others that have cleared through within a 4 month timeline. So I would recommend waiting a bit rather than jumping to file a WOM.

19 hours ago, Mmk2112 said:

Hello, 

 

Anyone brought their car from Alberta or Canada, and registered in Texas. Can you please shed some light on it, the correct way and documents required. TIA

The husband moved from Alberta to the states but we ended up selling his car because the process we were informed about was complicated and costly, if you hear something different I'd be grateful to know for future reference

1 hour ago, igoyougoduke said:

Yes Department of States policy of CSPA age calculation and USCIS policy of CSPA( USCIS has updated as retroactively applied the changes) are different as of last year. Your daughter will probably not get the immigrant visa as DOS control immigrant visas abroad . You have to Sue DOS in a federal court if they choose to deny your daughters petition . you have to see how it plays out . DOS using older CSPA calculation means your daughter has aged out.

 

Quick read through FYI https://www.gtlaw.com/en/insights/2023/2/uscis-updates-child-status-protection-act-cspa-age-calculation-adjustment-status-applicants

 

 

 

I guess I am confused because to me that quick read through you provided says as of February of this year USCIS will use  the “Dates for Filing” chart (Chart B) to calculate children’s ages so that makes it sound like she doesn’t age out as she was 20 when they filed ? Did I misunderstand ?

8 hours ago, SPP1969 said:

Okay, so I married to an American citizen. 

We met in 2010, spent 7 years in a long distance relationship, got married in 2017, and shortly after she moved up to live with me in Edmonton.

She has 4 older children from her first marriage and I have 2 younger daughters from my first marriage.

We made a deal when she moved up that when my daughters were all done with school, we would move back to the USA.

My youngest daughter finished school in June of 2022.

Knowing that the whole process would take a while we started the immigration process in June of 2021.

In October of 2021, my oldest daughter (who was 20 at the time and her 21st birthday was in November of 2021) decided she wanted to move with us so we submitted the paperwork to add her petition.

We received our approvals in March of 2022.

Other than taking a long time, the process has been a fairly smooth one.

We did our medical exams in December of 2022 and had our interviews on January 4th of 2023 at the consulate in Montreal.

They asked me 3 questions and asked my daughter 2 questions.

They rejected my wife's divorce documents from her previous marriages saying they were not certified copies or originals and told me I got the wrong criminal background check.

They also told me I would receive an email with a bunch of supplemental questions.

They informed us that our cases were going into administrative processing.

They kept my daughter's passport, but sent me home with mine.

We sent the replacement documents and my passport to the consulate 3 weeks later.

The email with the supplemental questions arrived on January 30th and the answers were returned the same day.

My passport was sent back to me a few days later.

As of today it's been 109 days with 3 updates on the CEAC website.

I have prompted the consulate for an update on our cases twice with the standard 2 page email coming back from the email service that basically says you have to be patient and wait.

On Monday we had a zoom session with a lady on the Josh Goldstein legal team to discuss a WOM suit.

I have been going back and forth via email with her all week.

She told me that they can help me with a Mandamus suit, but they can't help my daughter.

She told me that because my daughter turned 21 during the process she is no longer being treated as a child, that her application is now in the F1 category, and will not be current for several years.

This didn't make sense to me.

If that is the case why does the approval notice still say she’s classified as an unmarried child under the age of 21?

Why did they have her do her medical now?

Why did they have her come for an interview if she’s still 5 or so years away from being eligible for approval?

Why didn’t they inform us of this?

Why did they keep her passport in Montreal? 

Did they think she wouldn’t need it for the next 5 or so years?

So I dug into it.

Her CEAC account still says her Visa is an F11 which comes up on Google as the unmarried son or daughter of a U.S. citizen.

I also dug into USCIS Child Status Protection Act which states:

 

 

C. Immediate Relatives

 

1. Applicability

In order to qualify for CSPA:

·         The adjustment applicant must have had one of the following approved or pending on or after the CSPA’s effective date: a qualifying Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130), Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (Form I-360), or Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485);

·         The applicant must have been under the age of 21 and unmarried at the time the qualifying Form I-130 or Form I-360 was filed; and

·         The applicant must remain unmarried.

If the petitioner of a pending or approved IR spousal petition dies, the spousal Form I-130 automatically converts to a widow(er)’s Form I-360.^[12] The widow(er)’s child(ren), if any, must be under the age of 21 and unmarried at the time of the petitioner’s death to be classified as derivatives on the automatically converted Form I-360, regardless of whether the child(ren) had a separate pending or approved Form I-130 at the time of the petitioner’s death.^[13]

Similarly, the beneficiary of a pending or approved spousal Form I-130 may subsequently file a VAWA-based Form I-360. In order to include his or her child(ren) on the self-petition as derivatives, the child(ren) must be under the age of 21 and unmarried when the Form I-360 is filed, regardless of whether the child(ren) had a separate or approved Form I-130 when the Form I-360 was filed.^[14]

 

2. Determining Child Status Protection Act Age

 

For IRs and IR self-petitioners or derivatives under VAWA, a child’s age is frozen on the date the Form I-130 or Form I-360 is filed, respectively. For derivatives of widow(er)s, a child’s age is frozen on the date the Form I-360 is filed or the spousal Form I-130 is automatically converted to a widow(er)’s Form I-360 (in other words, the date of the petitioner’s death). If the adjustment applicant was under the age of 21 at the time the petition was filed or automatically converted, the applicant is eligible for CSPA and will not age out.

 

My daughter was under 21 and unmarried at the time we filed the I-130 for her and remains unmarried today so should she not be protected by this law?

I put all these questions to the lady at Josh Goldstein's law firm and haven't heard back yet.

Something doesn't add up to me.

Am I missing something or is she mistaken?

I'm thinking of speaking to another law firm today about all of this.

I have seen the Hacking firm mentioned and PIC.

Hacking was easy to find.

Who or what is PIC?

 

 

Hi There,

I don't have a whole lot to contribute to your post except that I wanted to provide you with an answer for your last question.

PIC is Palladino, Isbell & Casazza, LLC which is a law firm that a lot of us have had wonderful experiences with especially those of us that chose to retain Chris Casazza.

Good luck, and also I don't think what they're saying about your daughter is correct

4 minutes ago, Mmk2112 said:

 

I wish all and everyone here the best wishes. I know it's a painful journey, however my suggestion is that recently embassy has picked up pace on AP cases, so think before you file a WOM. Good luck to everyone!!!!

 

^^^ Congratulations to you too my friend. I agree with this. As I mentioned in my earlier reply, the embassy did not know I had retained a lawyer for a WOM, and I had asked Chris from PIC law to hold off on filing and serving when I started noticing the case last update date change. So my husband's case is one of those who cleared AP without the WOM but it took nearly 9 months. My suggestion also is to have patience. 

2 hours ago, APRIL2023 said:

Updates: To date I have sent 3 e-mails to the consulate since my interview mid-April. I was told to expect the DS5535 questionnaire via e-mail but have not received it yet. Along with my e-mail I included info that are required in the DS5535. 

 

I received respond today from the consulate, indicating that my application is in AP and I should wait for further instructions before sending any additional documents in. The e-mail DID NOT include the DS5535 questionnaire, nor did they acknowledged the info I previously provided. My CO told me that a completed DS5535 is required in order to being AP. I want to assume that they have received my info and have initiated the AP. 

 

My status was also updated twice, once on May 3 and then again May 5. I know I shouldn't be reading so much into this. I'm staying hopeful that this will be completed within 60 days!!!!

 

 

 

Definitely remain positive but realistically from the sampling of the people within this thread that are going for the IR-1/CR-1 AP has taken longer to complete, on the order of 6-12 months and many in this thread ended up filing WOMs to get through the process

2 hours ago, lomnd said:

Hi - most likely this has been answered but with the amount of responses here I'm hoping someone could help me.

 

How long does it take for the embassy to issue the visa after they ask for your passport and new medical exam?

 

Thank you and if it cannot be answered, it's okay too!

Once they have received both your passport and the results of your new medical, I have generally seen them move pretty quickly on the order of about a week give or take. Keep in mind I have a very small sampling size, others may have different experiences so I don't think anyone can give you an exact time frame.

1 hour ago, dennisv said:

Is anyone at 4+ months from Interview and got the DS5535 and not filed a WOM ??? Just trying to wrap head around the WOM.

I waited 8 months before starting the process for WOM. I did that because most lawyers at that point were suggesting waiting at least 6 months, I waited more because my 6 months fell in December and I wanted to cross the holiday season and I had also heard of someone going for a WOM only to have the embassy organically clear them through AP before the embassy even knew there was a WOM being filed. 

3 hours ago, Pearljamm said:

When filling out

"DS 5535 - Have you ever held a passport other than the passport listed in your visa application? (YES or NO): 

If yes, provide the following information:"

 

 

I am assuming I need to fill out the old passport number, my questions is, I only have the pervious expired passport. my parents usually threw them out. Should I just put down the last expired passport? Been trying to search every where to find the old passports but no luck. 

 

 

Hi there,

I think in general they mean to ask if you've held a passport for another country before and if you have the information for that passport you provide it. If not, at the very least you mention that you've held another passport before. As much as I dislike the DS 5535 form I do like that in the instructions they very specifically say:

Quote

• If you are unsure of the answer to a question, please provide a response to the best of your knowledge. For example, if you are unsure of an exact address, provide the city, state, and street name if you can recall them. U.S. Department of State will consider all the information derived from the form in its entirety. 

 

• Failure to answer every question will not necessarily preclude visa issuance, as the application is considered in its entirety.

So do your best, be as specific as you can be but if there's something like an expired passport you just don't have access to anymore I'd mention Canada under country of issuance and under passport number, I'd put (expired, number not available anymore).

But because of their instructions I wouldn't stress out if there are details you can't locate, just answer as completely as possible to the best of your ability. Provide any details you can, but don't worry if there are some details you are unable to provide.

On 4/9/2023 at 1:55 PM, ak47 said:

 

Recent applicants who had interview are receiving the DS5535 with passports in their 221g. The DS5535 might be quick check for some applicants depending on where they have resided in last 15 years or so.

 

Will you be sending your passport with DS5535 ?

Not sure if I agree, most of my husband's last 15 years were in the same town in Canada at the same address until 2021, in 2021 he moved twice but has held a constant address again since 2021. And we been in AP since 10 months so I don't think this is necessarily the case that it can be quick for people depending on where they have resided in the last 15 years. ice-qube I think was born and raised in Canada, he was in AP I think for over a year and up until a few months ago it seemed like you almost needed a WOM to get out of the rut. However, I do feel that's starting to change because there have been some more recent APs that have cleared quicker without WOMs. It's all very random and you can't really come up with a trend tbh.

On 3/21/2023 at 8:55 PM, Irish89 said:

Thank you. We are pushing to use PIC but there hard to get in touch with and get a call back even to schedule a consult. Have you a personal experience with PIC?

@Irish89 recommend using PIC as well. I had to call the main number a few times to schedule a consult with Chris. But I'm glad @throwitaway is sharing Chris' email address with you. I highly recommend him myself based on my personal experience, you will always be in touch directly with him not a paralegal. He's very personable and I have found him be highly ethical and caring for his clients.

6 hours ago, Fayisa said:

How long you have waited before signing the WOM?

8 months. I should have signed with a lawyer two months ago but I wanted to give m more time due to the holidays.

5 hours ago, ice-qube said:

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!

I do recall and I struggled with similar dilemmas as you did also I signed with PIC 

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 

10 minutes ago, Fayisa said:

Do you guys know a good law firm to file WOF, does it has to be from my state? I live in MN can someone help me, please? We are so frustrated and I feel that whatever happened was not fair we are just being discriminated against because of our religious background. 

Hi hon,

I can understand why you feel that way, because we felt the same way when we first found out but after coming in here I’ve realized people all across the board have been thrown into the AP bucket although it is not unusual for people from a certain background to be under additional scrutiny but if you’ve been through this thread you might notice people from all kinds of backgrounds have been thrown into limbo. As for the attorney they don’t have to be from Minnesota and a bunch of them have been mentioned throughout this thread but some to consider are:

goldstein

hacking

PIC (highly recommended) 

usually you should wait between 4-6 months before filing but it’s up to you

1 hour ago, ice-qube said:

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. 

thank you, appreciate it

44 minutes ago, ice-qube said:

I am rooting for all of you to settle this nightmare ASAP. I have received my passport with the stamp from the consulate and I am good to go at the time of my choosing. A lot to settle up here first however. I am thinking about entering for a few days and coming back, although I am apprehensive about CBP giving me a hard time about not just moving down in one shot. Some people have reported being hassled by them when entering...

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

1 hour ago, Mmk2112 said:

Sorry to hear that. Hope it works out for you. I would suggest to go for WOM and don't delay in waiting

Agreed although we have only been in AP since about 7 months but that's truly 7 too many. I think I have waited long enough. Thank you for your advice, it just confirms for me too that it may be time to go for the WOM. Seems to be about the only way we can get the Consulate to do its job

1 hour ago, dennisv said:

It's hard. I just dropped the wife off at YYC this morning, since I need to be out of the US for a bit (safer than sorry).. So hard

 

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.