EternalWait

Yes, a few EBs in November and some in December 2022 DQs just got their IL. 
 
@Alex Nzo@ImanRS @neds@Wcr984 Did you receive yours?
 

Sorry for the delayed response. It went really good and I was approved. Summary of my journey:
Perm Applied: July 2021
Perm Approved: December 2021
I140(EB-3)premium processing: Feb 2022 approved in 5 days
NVC confirmation email: March 2022
NVC DQ: May 2022
NVC interview notification: Jan 2024
Interview : March 26 2024
NVC status change: 4 updates on CEAC- status was on READY for three weeks after interview
Issued status: April 12 2024
Passports Returned: April 17 2024(not picked up yet)
 
- I travelled to Montreal over the weekend and picked a hotel which was within walking distance from the consulate. My interview was at 7:45 in the morning on the following Tuesday and I did not want to stress on driving in the morning. 
- my family and I did a dry run of walking to the consulate the day prior. Just an advice if you do visit just don’t stop at the entrance and continue walking straight in to the RBC bank. The moment you wait at their doors security will approach you and start questioning. 
- whatever is your interview time, just reach 15 mins in advance. Do not worry about the lineup. When it’s time the security guard knows what is required to be done. 
- please read the requirements of carry bags. They are very particular on what you can carry in and the bag you carry. 
- I followed the checklist of documents available on Montreal site. Apart from that I carried additional secondary documents to be safe but none was requested. The additional documents I carried were all that I submitted at the I140 stage to USCIS with latest W2 and tax returns
 
At the entrance there is a airport type security. Basically anything that can beep as you walk through a metal detector is to be removed and placed in the tray. They provide a small locker to keep your mobile phone. I did not carry mine since I was very close to that place. The security will give you two tokens which will have the same number. You will then be asked to take the elevator and go to the first floor. There will be another guard who will check your token and ask you to have a seat. It’s a pretty tight space and get crowded depending upon time of day. Since my interview was early there were few people but as we got done, the place was full. There are washrooms and a water dispenser on the first floor. 
 
when your number comes up the first counter is a document check counter. Here you submit the first token. Follow the checklist and submit all documents as they request. They will also take your fingerprints and this entire process takes approx 15 mins. 
 
Now you sit back again waiting for the second call. When it’s time you go to the second counter and provide the second token to the officer. The officer I got was super friendly from the get go. They will make you and your family to take an oath that you will answer truthfully. Since I am from EB, they make you sign a form that I will join the same company if approved. 
 
some basic questions:
 
- where is my employer based
- where will you be working in the US
- can you walk me through your profile
- Have you travelled to any other countries recently
- have you lived in any country apart from Canada and your home country
- we’re you ever denied a US Visa or denied admission to the US — my answer was yes and I had to provide an explanation. This question was on the DS260 too and I gave the same answer. I was denied admission while applying for TN at the border for a missing document. I was asked to return with it and was issued the TN 
- when did you last travel to the US and approx length of stay and purpose of visiting
 
At the end he said that your visa is approved. He kept the latest police certificate and returned all prior police certificate. He also returned the certificate from my home country. He said we would receive the passport back in 2 weeks. It took 3 weeks and was scary because of the unusually high admin processing Montreal has been issuing. 
 
This journey with Montreal is finally over. Now starts the next steps of wrapping up and moving over. That is a mammoth task considering all the complications pertaining to taxation/house sale/car sale/ new rental place/ school/ spouse job. 
 
I wish all of you the very best. One final tip, keep your answers short and sweet. One liners and nothing more. 
 

Yes, I received mine this morning around 1:00 AM  
EB2-NIW
DQ date: Nov 21, 2022
Interview date: May 23, 2024

Yes, I received mine this morning around 1:03 AM  
EB2-NIW
DQ date: DEC 08, 2022
Interview date: May 31, 2024

@mm_101   Thanks for the note.   I was approved!       Thanks to this group for all the insight along the way.  I've been following this board for the past several years.
Some highlights from my experience not already included in this forum:
I spent about ~1 hour at the consulate.   Very professional group there.   During the first call up to the desk was asked for all the standard documentation already outlined on this stream.   After being asked to return to my seat I was then called up again by another officer 15 minutes later.  After the standard questions (job offer, where will I live, ect..) I was told that my visa was approved.  EB-2.      IMPORTANT:  Given the long wait time in Montreal I decided to move my case to Dublin, Ireland as I have dual citizenship.   I was quickly contacted by the Dublin embassy to set up my interview.  That was very exciting!   I quickly learned that the Dublin embassy would not interview me because I was not currently living in Dublin.   My case was sent back to Montreal!    Luckily, things moved rather quickly once my case was sent back to Montreal.   My suggestion:   before considering to move you case anywhere with a faster process than Montreal make sure that you do not need residence in that country to get an interview.   All in all, an exhausting process.   Almost 4 years from the beginning to now.   Glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel.   
 
Best of luck to all of you.   

As I could n't login my previous ID to this website, so I created a new one today.

I received my Interview Letter today morning. My DQ date was December 19th, 2022. 

Actually as far as November 2, 2022 have been called (not expedited), though this is not from this forum and is anecdotal.

Actually as far as November 2, 2022 have been called (not expedited), though this is not from this forum and is anecdotal.

Actually as far as November 2, 2022 have been called (not expedited), though this is not from this forum and is anecdotal.

@EternalWait
 
I received my interview letter on March 18th.  The interview is scheduled for April 15th.    I was going to update the Excel file but it appears my entry has been deleted.

That was for the last month batch. I am talking about recent (the last few days).
I got the news through other social media groups. Trying to verify it here with others.

Yes, having an approved petition is not proof of intent.
But I would caution that immigration intent is made once you have paid the IV fee and have created your IV case at NVC.
However, as it has been said before, even then, there is an argument for nonimmigrant intent that one can make: having a pending interview actually illustrates your intent to return to Canada once you are called for interview, therefore a factor that should be viewed as pushing you to leave the US (esp. once your nonimmigrant visa expires).
@Froozion: related to your question: there are people who have even been AP'ed and then have applied for TN at the land border and have been able to enter the US. It's all a matter of convincing the officer at the land border that your nonimmigrant intent is genuine by reminding them that you will return to Canada if your AP clears and more importantly, that your ties to Canada compel you to return once the TN visa is over (you've not sold your house, you have immediate family members in Canada, or that for example you will be working for the same company but in their  US branch, etc.).

If there's nothing in Canada for you that forces you to stay, and eventually you want to move to the States, then I'd suggest you move to the States, even if it is with a nonimmigrant visa, so long as that visa allows you to continue the work in your field of expertise.
When you are getting interviewed for the visa, ensure to prove your genuine nonimmigrant intent and point out that you have filed for consular processing, hence you will return to Canada once you are called for interview.
There is a chance your visa application gets rejected, but I know people who have been able to obtain nonimmigrant visa while being in the consular processing phase of their immigrant visa application (some even post-interview, in their administrative processing, although they got lucky there!).
Once you enter the US, you will at least be able to live in the US until MTL calls you for interview.
 
In fact, if a long enough time has passed and you believe that you can no longer wait for MTL, you can file for AOS. Simply because you entered with a nonimmigrant visa does not mean you can never file for AOS. If that were the case, pretty much everyone in the US that obtained a greencard would be caught for fraud. The test is whether enough time has passed that would justify a change of the original intent. For example, consider the many students in the US who are on a nonimmigrant F1 visa finishing their PhD and file for AOS around their fourth or fifth year of study. Did they commit fraud? You would say no, because even though their original intent was that of a nonimmigrant, enough time has passed that makes sense for them to change their intent. But then what is enough? Four years? what about three or two or one ? Who determines the exact definition of "enough"? 
The answer is the government and in this case, the USCIS . The USCIS has long had the 30-60 day guidance in place, and more recently replaced it with a 90 day. Basically if the applicant files for AOS less than 90days of declaring nonimmigrant intent, there's a presumption of immigration fraud, which the applicant must overcome (by for example providing evidence that their situation has changed). If it's more than 90 days, then the guidance leaves it to the officer whether to not do anything or to ask for more evidence from the applicant to justify their change of intent. Here is a reference on that, but a quick google can give you more info of course:
https://www.lawfirm4immigrants.com/the-90-day-rule-explained/
 
Again, to be absolutely clear, you will need to enter the US with an intent to return to Canada for consular processing, so your nonimmigration intent must be genuine. If a long enough time has passed that you believe warrants a change of intent, and that you have enough evidence for it, then AOS is a legitimate option to explore. But do contact lawyers, esp. those who are more familiar with cases that file AOS for family applicants that are more likely to be in a similar situation.

Some fascinating insights into the DS5535 vetting process:  https://redeaglelaw.com/blog-1/f/administrative-processing-backlog-of-66000-visa-applicants : 
1- "Among the revelations from the declaration, only 37 State Department analysts are responsible for the national security vetting of DS-5535 responses, causing a backlog to explode. Currently, 66,000 visa applicants are stuck in administrative processing."
2- "Secondly, Mr. Wu declares that “SAO requests can be neither addressed nor resolved in a first-in-first-out basis.” This revelation exposes the lie that government attorneys have been consistently telling federal judges across the US: that visa applicants in AP who are filing mandamus lawsuits are attempting line-skipping in front of others in a queue or line. There is no queue."
3- "generally, security vetting is concluded in 75 percent of visa cases requiring additional security vetting in approximately 120 days. Security vetting is concluded in over 90 percent of all cases requiring additional security vetting in less than 24 months."
I encourage ppl to read the report in its entirety.

Some fascinating insights into the DS5535 vetting process:  https://redeaglelaw.com/blog-1/f/administrative-processing-backlog-of-66000-visa-applicants : 
1- "Among the revelations from the declaration, only 37 State Department analysts are responsible for the national security vetting of DS-5535 responses, causing a backlog to explode. Currently, 66,000 visa applicants are stuck in administrative processing."
2- "Secondly, Mr. Wu declares that “SAO requests can be neither addressed nor resolved in a first-in-first-out basis.” This revelation exposes the lie that government attorneys have been consistently telling federal judges across the US: that visa applicants in AP who are filing mandamus lawsuits are attempting line-skipping in front of others in a queue or line. There is no queue."
3- "generally, security vetting is concluded in 75 percent of visa cases requiring additional security vetting in approximately 120 days. Security vetting is concluded in over 90 percent of all cases requiring additional security vetting in less than 24 months."
I encourage ppl to read the report in its entirety.

This is not a legal advice but : one thing you could try is to make an expedite request, which sometimes gets forwarded to the embassy/consulate. Mention how the timeline in their own website indicates that they are well past your DQ date, but you haven't been invited yet. Mention that this completely violates their own 'first-dq'ed ---> first-invited' stated policy. and add to that any document you have regarding job/opportunity loss.

Hey Everyone,
I wanted to bring your attention to the following 
https://www.regulations.gov/document/DOS-2023-0028-0001
The government posts its regulations for comments and feedbacks from the public and stakeholders. This time , they are asking about DS-5535, and the deadline to submit comments is Nov 21 , i.e. in three days!!
Go to the website above and click on comment as shown below. Try to express your opinion involving your unique experience and argue that this process has less pros than cons.
You can post your comment anonymously or share your first and last name , which would be of course better to make the comment look more from an actual person. Note you do not need to be living in the US to submit your comment.
To be clear, this is probably not gonna be effective in the end, but it's the least that people waiting behind AP can do.
Best of luck.
 

Hey Everyone,
I wanted to bring your attention to the following 
https://www.regulations.gov/document/DOS-2023-0028-0001
The government posts its regulations for comments and feedbacks from the public and stakeholders. This time , they are asking about DS-5535, and the deadline to submit comments is Nov 21 , i.e. in three days!!
Go to the website above and click on comment as shown below. Try to express your opinion involving your unique experience and argue that this process has less pros than cons.
You can post your comment anonymously or share your first and last name , which would be of course better to make the comment look more from an actual person. Note you do not need to be living in the US to submit your comment.
To be clear, this is probably not gonna be effective in the end, but it's the least that people waiting behind AP can do.
Best of luck.
 

Hey Everyone,
I wanted to bring your attention to the following 
https://www.regulations.gov/document/DOS-2023-0028-0001
The government posts its regulations for comments and feedbacks from the public and stakeholders. This time , they are asking about DS-5535, and the deadline to submit comments is Nov 21 , i.e. in three days!!
Go to the website above and click on comment as shown below. Try to express your opinion involving your unique experience and argue that this process has less pros than cons.
You can post your comment anonymously or share your first and last name , which would be of course better to make the comment look more from an actual person. Note you do not need to be living in the US to submit your comment.
To be clear, this is probably not gonna be effective in the end, but it's the least that people waiting behind AP can do.
Best of luck.
 

Hey Everyone,
I wanted to bring your attention to the following 
https://www.regulations.gov/document/DOS-2023-0028-0001
The government posts its regulations for comments and feedbacks from the public and stakeholders. This time , they are asking about DS-5535, and the deadline to submit comments is Nov 21 , i.e. in three days!!
Go to the website above and click on comment as shown below. Try to express your opinion involving your unique experience and argue that this process has less pros than cons.
You can post your comment anonymously or share your first and last name , which would be of course better to make the comment look more from an actual person. Note you do not need to be living in the US to submit your comment.
To be clear, this is probably not gonna be effective in the end, but it's the least that people waiting behind AP can do.
Best of luck.
 

Well today marks 8.5 months and I just got an email from RCPM saying my background check is now complete and has been mailed out. 
 
Submitted to RCMP on March 7. That's some crazy long wait times. 

immishok - You have saved so many hours for research, doubts and concerns as i am about to exercise the same but i was a bit worried.
Your detailed explanation has given me confidence that i should request NVC to transfer my case from X embassy to Y 🙂🙏

Reviving this old thread because people have been DM-ing me. So here it is:
Changing the assigned embassy to a case is quite  common and can be done by a simple public inquiry https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/ask-nvc.html . 
Your request can be as follows (this is how I did it myself):
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to request a change of venue to the U.S. Embassy (OR CONSULATE GENERAL) in DESTINATION CITY Y, DESTINATION COUNTRY X. I am a citizen of DESTINATION COUNTRY X (OR A COUNTRY Z WHICH CITIZENS ARE ALLOWED TO BE INTERVIEWED FOR IV AT COUNTRY X), so I am eligible to undergo IVP in CITY Y. I have included a copy of my passport and birth certificate with certified translation to support this request. Thank you for your time and consideration of this request. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
 
Attach your petition approval notice and passport+birth certificate+translation to this request in ONE pdf. 
 
Check the https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/nvc-timeframes.html under public inquiry response time to get an estimate of how long you should wait for a reply. You will realize your request has been accepted once you see that you cannot log in to your CEAC with your case number! That's when you know that in a few days you get your new case number in an email.
 
Is it possible for your DQ date to change? There is a very very small chance it changes (we have had very very few cases like that in a thousand member group that I am in, with probably hundreds of transferred cases). This change would be against the rules of NVC!
But the NVC officer may not know about it and that's why they do it.
You will realize that has happened once you get your new 60 days notification from NVC, which states your DQ date. IF for any reason you do not get that notification, or you get it and it states a different date, immediately contact NVC to ask for confirming your DQ date.
If the DQ date has changed, you can fix it back by contacting the NVC, and explaining to them your situation and that changing embassies should NOT change the DQ date by NVC rules. (and yes, we have also had cases that successfully fixed their DQ date back to what it should be).
Have patience (a lot) and best of luck with your transfer.
 
P.S. You don't have to wait to make this transfer. In fact, You can make this request after your case has been created at NVC, and before you have even submitted your DS260 (so even before you get assigned a DQ date!). And that's what I'd suggest you to do. I myself submitted my request after mailing my civil docs with the old case number (I have to mail because my case is EB) and before getting DQ'ed!! I didn't even give a headsup to NVC ! but the officers were surprisingly organized enough to send my DQ letter and new case number in one email!
Lastly, In case you have not sent/uploaded your civil docs and are making this request, they may also send you a new coversheet for the submission of your civil docs (if your case is EB, then you have to attach that to your mail). If they don't, then use the previous coversheet but strike the old case number and attach a letter explaining that your case number has changed but you did not receive a new coversheet, hence why you are using the old one.
Hopefully this should answer any and all questions (and I won't get a DM anymore  ) . 
 
 

Reviving this old thread because people have been DM-ing me. So here it is:
Changing the assigned embassy to a case is quite  common and can be done by a simple public inquiry https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/ask-nvc.html . 
Your request can be as follows (this is how I did it myself):
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to request a change of venue to the U.S. Embassy (OR CONSULATE GENERAL) in DESTINATION CITY Y, DESTINATION COUNTRY X. I am a citizen of DESTINATION COUNTRY X (OR A COUNTRY Z WHICH CITIZENS ARE ALLOWED TO BE INTERVIEWED FOR IV AT COUNTRY X), so I am eligible to undergo IVP in CITY Y. I have included a copy of my passport and birth certificate with certified translation to support this request. Thank you for your time and consideration of this request. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
 
Attach your petition approval notice and passport+birth certificate+translation to this request in ONE pdf. 
 
Check the https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/nvc-timeframes.html under public inquiry response time to get an estimate of how long you should wait for a reply. You will realize your request has been accepted once you see that you cannot log in to your CEAC with your case number! That's when you know that in a few days you get your new case number in an email.
 
Is it possible for your DQ date to change? There is a very very small chance it changes (we have had very very few cases like that in a thousand member group that I am in, with probably hundreds of transferred cases). This change would be against the rules of NVC!
But the NVC officer may not know about it and that's why they do it.
You will realize that has happened once you get your new 60 days notification from NVC, which states your DQ date. IF for any reason you do not get that notification, or you get it and it states a different date, immediately contact NVC to ask for confirming your DQ date.
If the DQ date has changed, you can fix it back by contacting the NVC, and explaining to them your situation and that changing embassies should NOT change the DQ date by NVC rules. (and yes, we have also had cases that successfully fixed their DQ date back to what it should be).
Have patience (a lot) and best of luck with your transfer.
 
P.S. You don't have to wait to make this transfer. In fact, You can make this request after your case has been created at NVC, and before you have even submitted your DS260 (so even before you get assigned a DQ date!). And that's what I'd suggest you to do. I myself submitted my request after mailing my civil docs with the old case number (I have to mail because my case is EB) and before getting DQ'ed!! I didn't even give a headsup to NVC ! but the officers were surprisingly organized enough to send my DQ letter and new case number in one email!
Lastly, In case you have not sent/uploaded your civil docs and are making this request, they may also send you a new coversheet for the submission of your civil docs (if your case is EB, then you have to attach that to your mail). If they don't, then use the previous coversheet but strike the old case number and attach a letter explaining that your case number has changed but you did not receive a new coversheet, hence why you are using the old one.
Hopefully this should answer any and all questions (and I won't get a DM anymore  ) . 
 
 

Reviving this old thread because people have been DM-ing me. So here it is:
Changing the assigned embassy to a case is quite  common and can be done by a simple public inquiry https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/ask-nvc.html . 
Your request can be as follows (this is how I did it myself):
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to request a change of venue to the U.S. Embassy (OR CONSULATE GENERAL) in DESTINATION CITY Y, DESTINATION COUNTRY X. I am a citizen of DESTINATION COUNTRY X (OR A COUNTRY Z WHICH CITIZENS ARE ALLOWED TO BE INTERVIEWED FOR IV AT COUNTRY X), so I am eligible to undergo IVP in CITY Y. I have included a copy of my passport and birth certificate with certified translation to support this request. Thank you for your time and consideration of this request. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
 
Attach your petition approval notice and passport+birth certificate+translation to this request in ONE pdf. 
 
Check the https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/nvc-timeframes.html under public inquiry response time to get an estimate of how long you should wait for a reply. You will realize your request has been accepted once you see that you cannot log in to your CEAC with your case number! That's when you know that in a few days you get your new case number in an email.
 
Is it possible for your DQ date to change? There is a very very small chance it changes (we have had very very few cases like that in a thousand member group that I am in, with probably hundreds of transferred cases). This change would be against the rules of NVC!
But the NVC officer may not know about it and that's why they do it.
You will realize that has happened once you get your new 60 days notification from NVC, which states your DQ date. IF for any reason you do not get that notification, or you get it and it states a different date, immediately contact NVC to ask for confirming your DQ date.
If the DQ date has changed, you can fix it back by contacting the NVC, and explaining to them your situation and that changing embassies should NOT change the DQ date by NVC rules. (and yes, we have also had cases that successfully fixed their DQ date back to what it should be).
Have patience (a lot) and best of luck with your transfer.
 
P.S. You don't have to wait to make this transfer. In fact, You can make this request after your case has been created at NVC, and before you have even submitted your DS260 (so even before you get assigned a DQ date!). And that's what I'd suggest you to do. I myself submitted my request after mailing my civil docs with the old case number (I have to mail because my case is EB) and before getting DQ'ed!! I didn't even give a headsup to NVC ! but the officers were surprisingly organized enough to send my DQ letter and new case number in one email!
Lastly, In case you have not sent/uploaded your civil docs and are making this request, they may also send you a new coversheet for the submission of your civil docs (if your case is EB, then you have to attach that to your mail). If they don't, then use the previous coversheet but strike the old case number and attach a letter explaining that your case number has changed but you did not receive a new coversheet, hence why you are using the old one.
Hopefully this should answer any and all questions (and I won't get a DM anymore  ) .