throwitaway

3 minutes ago, Phil_K_IR1 said:

Ahh gotcha. Makes these endless delays even more infuriating for everyone in this messed up process

Multiple layers of bureaucracy!

8 minutes ago, Phil_K_IR1 said:

But I thought if you're IR1 category (citizen sponsoring spouse) that a visa number is always available right? 
 

so wait they need to ask for another one... blah. 
 

Yeah we assumed as much though. We got that email that it's pending review but it's been 1 month since then. No movement. 

That’s why I said some - more of an issue for some classes, less of an issue for yours. For example if it was a DV visa - those are capped and highly dynamic, it can take the VO a while to ensure they’ve got the numbers right at that time of the year before releasing more. At some point those visas run out, and when it gets closer to the cap they have to be very calculated. 

Edit: I should clarify that when I said a visa must be available I meant “available at the consulate for immediate use”. Some visas like IR1 are available with no caps, but they’re not available for immediate use at the consulate until the VO releases them to the consulate - hope that makes sense. 

19 hours ago, dmitrych said:

 

I read the whole 3 parts of this thread (more than 400 pages), and from what I've seen, my theory is that "pending a review by a consular officer" means the next action has to be done by the officer *in* the consulate, rather than the consulate waiting for a response from other agencies. It might not mean the case is definitely going to get approved soon (in 1-2 months maybe), but the likelihood is higher.

When a security clearance comes back, a CO must review the file and adjudicate. They appear to have a whole process for adjudication so it does take time and that resource must be allocated. 

On top of that, for some classes a visa number has to be available, sometimes they’re not and must be requested again from the Visa Office (VO). 

Visa numbers are assigned to cases scheduled for interview and held for only one month after interview, otherwise they are recycled for another case in the consulate (likely a newly cleared AP case) or returned to the VO.

This is why when people finally get their visas sometimes the annotation says “clearance received on such and such date a few weeks back” as it can take a while based on those factors. 

18 hours ago, MonB said:

Hi Thanks for the response, but the question is my wife didn't receive any form during the interview and nothing is showing up in the website of CEAC, it only says refused, and after i sent an email I got this response, should I file this form??, it was sent online, you mentioned that it used to be this way but not anymore, even in the website it says the officer will hand you a form in case they need more info, I am just confused, is this legit???,

 

This is DS-5535. In the past this was done by email, now it’s an online form. It’s legit. If you need the passport, email them. It makes little difference to the process, when they’re ready to issue they’ll ask for it back.

On 2/6/2024 at 2:10 PM, MRJ9987 said:

Has anyone tried doing FOIA?  Who would I send it to?  I was suggested to query USCIS with FOIA but my understanding is that it wouldn't be them (USCIS already approved me)?

“The FOIA authorizes agencies to withhold information when they reasonably foresee that disclosure would harm an interest protected by one of these nine exemptions. The nine exemptions are described below. Exemption 1: Information that is classified to protect national security.”

Because DS5535 is national

security related, it’s unlikely DOS will reveal their reasoning re: your case as it could disclose specifics about the natural security apparatus and what exactly triggers extreme vetting at interview. 

On 2/3/2024 at 5:47 PM, ShawnK said:

No one has any sympathy for legal immigrants waiting patiently in line, even the advocats don't seem to care about us. All the sympathy is for those crossing in , who have paid smugglers, they are the media darlings.

Facts. 

On 2/4/2024 at 5:32 PM, tdot2nj said:

Hello!! Looking for some insight into how long everyone is waiting for. I was interviewed at MTL on Nov 28, 2023 and asked to complete the DS-5535. I started my process with USCIS in Feb 2022. It has been almost 2 years of waiting for my IR1 visa. I have recently filed the WOM with my lawyer. I am curious to know when you all filed your cases. USCIS shows 14 month processing time and I am at 24 months now. I was separated from my now husband for 17 months due to the Canada/US border closure during covid and still struggling to be able to legally live together in the US. This is taking a toll on our mental health I just want to live with my husband  

FYI Your WOM is filed against the state department so you can’t factor in the portions of your wait with USCIS. Your ‘unreasonable delay’ is from the date of the interview.

On 2/1/2024 at 5:52 AM, Boiler said:

How stupid do you need to be

6 hours ago, saied said:

 

We all have a way of tasting our own medicine somehow I guess. My wife was also in the same boat even tho I warned her about the crazy way the US system operates.  Now she is slowly understanding that one of the biggest advantages the US has, is its  propaganda system it has fed all people living outside of the US.

……

On 1/30/2024 at 9:32 AM, Blue473 said:

Just wondering if the following response from the consulate, which is an email thread where my husband sent a strongly worded request on a timeline for where in the que my case is, means they're doing more than just confirming my medical results. 

 

As a background, I interviewed on December 18th 2023 and the medical results got there the day after on December 19th(from TELUS in Montreal). The CO kept my passport. They've been responding with the usual "your case is pending review from a CO", but this one was a bit different. I've only gotten a 221g showing that my medical results were missing.

 

 

Thank you for your inquiry.

 

While we cannot predict when the processing of your visa will be completed, please be assured that the Consulate and the Department of State are aware of your concerns and will contact you as soon as the processing is complete.

  

We realize that these extended time periods cause frustration to many individuals, and we are sensitive to the fact that the purpose of the immigrant visa program is to facilitate legitimate travel to the U.S.  Nonetheless, the Consulate in Montreal, like all U.S. Embassies and Consulates, must adjudicate visas in accordance with the provisions of the law, and, in some cases, this involves extensive consular review and administrative processing. 

 

Thank you for your patience and cooperation

This is a template response. 

19 hours ago, tas005 said:

Yeah, but i am just wondering why they are sending back the passport, do they usually send passport without a visa on it ?

Sometimes it’s sent back so you can hold on to it as they’ve realized 221g will last longer than they thought. It would be unusual for them to send back an issued passport with the status not reflective of that.

On 12/7/2023 at 11:05 AM, Daft_Cat said:

consulate tried to argue that the DS-5535 is equivalent to a "final decision", and no further timeline is owed. Apparently this is a new tactic they're using to try to dismiss. 

Not a new tactic, they’ve been using this argument for years (221g is a final decision claim) when there’s so much precedent that it actually is NOT considered a final decision. Judges have ruled against them on this claim over and over. 

If you got an extension request you’ll be issued soon. 

8 hours ago, CondorMantis said:

I just want to add that fighting the motion to dismiss is not pointless for AP mandamus, the judge might rule in your favor. I was informed by a litigation attorney that he had 3 orders denying government’s motion to dismiss for AP.

Agreed, although this will involve a lot more $$$ 

6 hours ago, northface said:

For positive side, looks like they are aware of delays of DS -5535, asking more budget to clear those rather than dealing with WoMs, so after November 21,2023, if nobody against it ,the budget  be approved, the Ds-5535 process should be resume quickly.🤔

I mean, I’d love if they just got rid of it.

6 hours ago, Superluminal said:

We did

Sigh. That sucks. I’m sorry. 

1 hour ago, Superluminal said:

This is sadly not true. I filed a WoM at 3 months like many others in the past, and it got a motion to dismiss. In the dismissal motion, it said that waiting up to 3 years would not be considered an unreasonable time to wait. There have been cases this summer where a judge threw out a WoM case since the plaintiff had ONLY waited 16 or 17 months.

 

We have to take into consideration that the WoM cases have been growing at a rapid rate in the last couple of years. Several months back I had looked on PACER and found that WoM cases for AP were being filed at a rate of 2 - 4 per month in 2020 and 2021 and in early 2023 they were being filed at a rate of 30 - 50 per month. I imagine the State department is sick of these and will fight tooth and nail to stop the WoM lawsuits from being the cultural norm. The traditional wisdom for the WoM being effective was that a filing a WoM would give the state department the option to either (i) fight your WoM, or (ii) just process your case. Since fighting the WoM would be harder, they would just accelerate your case and be done with you. However now, likely because to the large number of filings happening, they are actually investing the effort in fighting the WoMs.

 

One final note on the WoM, is that none of us actually expected it to get to the point where a judge will issue a WoM. The costs for preparing the lawsuit only covers the filing, not actually fighting the case and hoping a judge will rule in our favour. This is why the motions to dismiss sting. You then have to pay your lawyer to respond, and each time there is a roadblock, it costs $$$$$.

 

All that being said, filing a WoM is totally up to you and you may have different luck given you waited a bit longer to file.

You withdrew?

21 hours ago, northface said:

   

  I guess the office or DC process unit has no enough staff to clear tons of DS5535 form requests.   Observed the Embassy webpage for recruiting staff in October?. Also the DC head office posted a public comment request for Extension of DS5535 use , evaluate it necessary or not,, etc. The comment close date expiring soon. Interesting to take a look

 

www.regulations.gov/document/DOS-2023-0028-0001

 

 

 

They do this all the time, when DS-5535 was introduced they did it as well, it’s a part of how they make changes in the budget.

On 11/15/2023 at 10:04 PM, Irish89 said:

100% agree and understand that. What we’d all like to try and find out is the particular reason behind the higher rate of Motions to dismiss for WOM’s. Which seems to be a more recent trend. 

Politics

9 hours ago, Irish89 said:

Hi Everyone

Just wondering if anyone has any interesting information that might lead to an explanation for the apparent radio silence we're experiencing right now with these Visa applications. Perhaps anyone who has spoken to Lawyers and gotten their perspective on the current situation. As it stands we know that WOM's are getting push back now, particularly WOM's filed within 6 months of the Interview. I've heard that the conflict in the Middle East might even be having an impact on visa timelines right now. All in all just trying to hear other peoples views and maybe someone has heard something through an Immigration lawyer as you would think that they would be up to date on any issues connected with Immigration. Hard to make sense of it all so would like to see if others are interested in discussing this further.

 

Sadly, DS5535 delays in Montreal are not new, this has been ongoing since 2018.

3 hours ago, FONA said:

The system basically stopped a duplicate entry from being submitted.

Btw. I forgot to ask, now I don't really think you might really be able to answer this one... But do you think the chance of me getting rejected or if the system just rejected me already just because it maybe thought I was going to do a duplicate application, so do you think it threw away my legit entry, because it might think I was going to do a duplicate you know, or do you think it understands that I refreshed or messed with the FORWARD and BACK buttons on my browser?

 

I've tried to contact KCC on their mail, but those working there only give answers per a form or so, they don't really answers people's question, even tho it is really people answering. Very weird. 

No chance this is an issue.

On 11/7/2023 at 5:23 PM, FONA said:

Thanks for the reply! 

 

So can I be sure that nothing went wrong and that I still have a chance to win? Because again, according to what I said.. I first refreshed, then the "Unexpected Page Request & Resume Entry" came up, I clicked on Resume, afterwards I got that message that > Duplicate entries will not be accepted. 

 

I just hope it is as you say, that it blocked it to happen, and not that it mean that it now blocked both of them. 

It blocked it from happening - your original entry is still active. 

43 minutes ago, jessmcad said:

Hi everyone. My interview is in December in Montreal and I am super scared of receiving the DS-5535. I just got news that a friend of mine received a DS-5535 from because the beneficiary in the case travelled to Israel and Jordan within the past 5 years, therefore was on his DS-160 and stamped in his passport. 
 

I went to Israel but 6 years ago, so it is not listed in the DS-160 nor is it stamped in my passport. There is no sign of my travels there throughout this application. Is there any other way they will know I went? It is outside the asked about 5-year span. 
 

Very scared. 

If they’re concerned they’ll ask you at interview. 

2 hours ago, tas005 said:

How long it could take when they just asked for updated Resume only and not DS5535? Any idea, I noticed for IR1/CR1 they ask for DS5535. However, they ask for Resume only for those applied for B1/B2 or K1 visa.

Your visa class is not relevant. 

DS-5535 can and is requested from every category, including NIV, when deemed appropriate. 

Resume is usually TAL - which you can expect to take several months or more. 

6 hours ago, tas005 said:

I submitted my CV on Friday, and my status updated on Mon as well as on Tuesday, what does status change mean right on the next two working days?

Unfortunately, dates updates are not useful as it only means your file was touched - could be progress, could be routine administrative work. It’s impossible to know.  

Refresh prompts your browser to resubmit the action. It blocked the duplicate entry.