AP_since_May2023

2 minutes ago, Mjuve said:

Hello people, 

 

I have what it seems like a unique situation which I haven't found much about online. I had my interview for K-1 Fiancé Visa at the consulate in Montreal on June 27th. The officer at the end of the interview said she has couldn't approve me on the spot and will need more work, she then followed by it should take two weeks and she doesn't need any other documents and will contact me if they do she gave me a white 221G with additional processing marked and kept my passport. She never mentioned anything about DS5355 or any questionnaire and I never received a DS5535 or any other requests, I emailed them after 3 weeks to inquire and got a response a week later (July 27th)  

 

Hello,  

 

Thank you for your inquiry.  

  

This case is currently pending review by a consular officer. As soon as the review is complete, the Visa Unit will advise of the next steps if anything else is needed to complete processing the case.  

 

I am wondering is there still a chance I get a DS5535 if not am I looking at weeks or months? anyone ever received a 221g with no additional documents required or a DS5535 and how long does it take on average with no DS5535?

 

Good luck to everyone

I have seen plenty of folks in this situation unfortunately. They are given the 221g white sheet, even though there are no additional documents required. Then they received DS5535 shortly after via email.

12 hours ago, New_123 said:

 

Thanks, @SGtoMurica!  

I'm wondering if they can give me a new number as SSN is unique. I might get a new card with the same number but without that limitation, maybe? 

You're welcome.

Your SSN number will stay the same, but a new card without those words can be issued.

4 minutes ago, APRIL2023 said:

Question - have anyone that had their interview in April and was placed on AP heard back yet? 
 

It has been close to four months and I’m hesitant to file a WOM, in hopes that something will happen over the next month or so. 

I think @haruharu is in the same situation as you. Personally, I have seen so many WOM's clear within 2-3 months of filing, but haven't seen many APs clear without WOM (assuming after 3 months).

Anyone able to start a google sheet to track AP dates, perhaps one sheet for WOM and another without WOM?

18 minutes ago, haruharu said:

Yes, well aware and not something I’m interested in.  Spoke to multiple lawyers at length about this topic as well. But curious if anyone did this in the group and what the outcome was. Frustrating when I know of a few people who did AOS to begin with and they already have a work visa and application accepted within 4-5 months. Whilst others who did spousal visa are still waiting 2+ years. Immigration lawyers are aware of Montreal embassy and their timelines and are the ones suggesting to go AOS route. 

Yes, overall, AOS is being processed significantly quicker than CP.

Our friends submitted their I-485 the same week that we were placed in AP, and they received their EAD and AP after 27 days, and they received their GC in hand after 84 days. They are probably very lucky, but not impossible. Just hang out on Immigration Reddit and you will see how many people got their GC approved within 3 months.

2 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

I'm going to talk very general here and not necessarily to you  or the other member who asked this.

 

So here goes, planning to go to the US and AOS is fraud and against the TOS of this website. 

 

YOu would have to start all over and the AOS is taking even longer. Will there be any issues because of the pending file and the DS5535 I do not know. But at this point it will not be easier.

I think AOS is a very unique topic that requires more clarification, as not all AOS is illegal.

In the following situation, I believe AOS is LEGAL: Applicant A applied for EB1A or EB2 NIW while they are in Canada. While their I-140 is processing, they received H1B / L1 visa for a job and worked in the USA on this visa. Their I-140 is approved, and their IV case is sent to Montreal consulate. They received invitation to attend their Consulate Interview in Montreal. They leave US for the Consulate Interview, and was unfortunately placed in AP. They re-entered US on their valid work H1B / L1 visa while awaiting AP. Their case remains in AP 6 months after they re-enter the US with no end in sight, so they decided to apply for AOS rather than filing WOM.

This AOS is valid.

3 hours ago, haruharu said:

Hey guys, a few posts back someone asked if anyone did AOS after being issued DS5535. Anyone do this? No updates on our end since being placed under AP on April 3, 2023. 

I was the one who asked this. No, I haven't done it.

4 hours ago, LYV said:

Interesting did you watch before your interview or after? My husband and I not TAL or MENA. We are actors and we were told it was random. 

I watched it after our interview and learning that we were placed in AP. We always knew AP was a possibility but didn't realize it would actually happen to us. 

On 6/27/2023 at 7:57 PM, LYV said:

Hi There,

 

I’ve been following along silently for a couple weeks. It’s nice to be able to read everyone stories for some comfort that we’re not alone on this. My husband and I went for our interview for our EB-1A visa May 26th 2023. We had no idea the DS5535 was even an option. I knew some people got chosen for extended processing but anything I saw was the person had been refused entry to the states before. That there was a reason. For us there is no reason. Our lawyer didn’t prepare us for this possibility. It’s been 5 years since my husband started the process, he added me on his and it’s been two years for me. Our lawyer said you’re already approved so there shouldn’t be a problem. We walked into that embassy happy as clams. We assumed when answering questions just to answer simply and not extrapolate  which I now think was the mistake. But usually at border crossings that’s how you answer so it’s what we did. We answered about 3 or 4 basic very conversational almost questions of the officer. She was super nice.
 

She said, So what will you be doing in the states? My husband answers I’ll be working in the industry in LA., (I didn’t answer here and maybe I should have about my job etc but she was on to the next question)

 

Have you been working on anything recently? Yes (listed tv show name he is working on) 

 

Have you lived anywhere outside of the US or Canada? No 

 

Where have you travelled to over the last 5 years? Listed South Africa, USA, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Portugal. 
 

My husband did most of the talking. Not for any reason it just kind of happened that way. I’m not sure if I should’ve spoke up more. She said okay I’m going to

give your passports back to you. We looked shell shocked. And she said you’ve been randomly selected for extensive processing. This happens sometimes. I said something to my husband about how he answered one of the questions. She heard and said it was nothing that you said. It typically takes two weeks for processing. She said I could keep your passports but sometimes it takes longer so I’m going to give them back. 
 

That was it. We went back to the hotel and got the email in the afternoon. It took us almost 2 weeks to fill everything out because we’ve travelled a lot and I grew up in a border town and a lot of my family is in the states so I had to figure out as many times as I could every time I went to the states (usually 5 times a year or more) Plus backpacking through Europe after college and various other trips. So we sent it in on June 7, 2023. Two weeks has past and nothing. I mean I didn’t expect it since what I’ve seen on here but I think my husband wanted to be hopeful. I’m 37 and we are wanting to start a family soon. It’s so hard to do that with this looming. I think I read on here or somewhere else that someone had a baby while on DS5535 and then the embassy wanted another interview with in Montreal with the 7 month old baby present. I don’t want to complicate things more. But who knows how long this will take.
 

I also found this company on YouTube who is made up of ex-immigration officers and it made me even more upset that I just trusted the lawyer and didn’t do more research which I usually always do crazy too much research with stuff like this. They said that when you go there the officer has never seen you case before. That if you bring extra proof and stuff in that you should find ways to give as much information as possible to the officer because they start at “this person does not deserve to be approved” and you are basically convincing them otherwise! Which I thought was insane. Why do you go through all the paperwork and approval process then? It makes no sense… and if that’s what they want more extrapolated answers then why isn’t this communicated in any way? 
 

So now we are on this waited game again. Hoping it’s going faster now post pandemic but we’ll see I guess. I was wondering has anyone started an Excel sheet for tracking everyone’s cases and dates, and approvals? I know they do that on other threads for the first part of the approval process to kind of get an idea of where they might be in the line of approvals.  

I watched many of the YouTube videos made up of those ex-consulate officers too. I'm not sure I trust them to be perfectly honest. They mentioned that there is usually a reason for the denial. But in my extensive reading so far, it appears that many of us selected are either due to TAL, or MENA background. Of which there is really no choice but to file WOM to overcome.

It's ironic because the US is trying to combat the loss of STEM talent, while on the other hand it is implementing TAL on us. 

30 minutes ago, EveK said:

Hello, Im new in this group. I had my visa interview today in Montreal today for IR1 and put me on administrative prossessing under 221(g),  gave me a white slip and asked me to complete DS 5535 form through a office.com link. The interview went very well and I was shocked to see the outcome. I have three kids all under 5 with my US citizen husband and totally disheartened with their decision. Can anyone tell me how long is the processing? I will be filling out the form and send it tomorrow. 

Unfortunately this seems to be somewhat variable. Although the consulate may say 60 days, it is likely longer than 90 days. The most common timeline I've seen appears to be around 6 months. But some as long as 6 years. This is without WOM of course.

2 hours ago, throwitaway said:

If a case is refused, it would have been refused anyway, with or without the WoM. The notion that a WoM will force a refusal because they can’t finish their checks is nonsense. 

Yes, that's true. I am just wondering if the CO still can't make a decision because they do not have sufficient information about an applicant, based on the available information they may have to deny the visa.

10 hours ago, New_123 said:

hi everyone, 

 

I had a few questions:

1. About entry to the US - my company is working on transferring me to the US since I now have the IV approval. Can I enter the US for landing before the transfer comes through, while continuing working for the Canadian branch of my company? Or would that have any issues later on, say during citizenship?

 

2. Those of you who already had a SSN previously in the US and applied for one with the IV - does the SSN remain the same and SSA just issues a new card with the same number? 

 

Thank you!

I believe you can land in the US while continuing to work for your Canadian branch. But take note of the date of landing for tax purposes, as you are now a tax resident of the USA.

If your previous SSN had "Valid for Work only with DHS Authorization", then you will likely get a new SSN without that limitation.

4 hours ago, LAMA9 said:

Hi @SGtoMurica, the group I was referencing in that post is inactive now as we have all been issued our visas.  That group was formed back in early 2022 when there was a large number of us all filing WOM's at the same time.  

Here is the spreadsheet for anyone who is interested in seeing timelines of the various WOM cases from that particular subset of 2022 Montreal K1 & CR1/IR1 filers:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oh7cj_1HiWa-JH82xOeRtYb6gJWjU3KcF7ALuyQmV4w/edit?usp=sharing

 

It may be helpful for all those currently on this thread who are filing WOMs to start your own chat and spreadsheet to keep one another updated.  I know we all found it extremely helpful while we were going through it.  

Thank you for sharing this. It's ridiculous that it takes WOM in order to overcome this. Are you aware of any cases getting rejected after WOM?

Has anyone tried to file FOIA with Department of State to obtain more information about their Administrative Processing?

Has anyone tried to file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with the Department of State to see why their case is undergoing AP?

24 minutes ago, throwitaway said:

Unfortunately, an oral approval at interview must be taken with a grain of salt. It’s common for a CO to recommend approval but the case is later sent into 221g when reviewed by a supervisor. CEAC status is your best reference - a visa will not be printed on a passport without the CEAC status changing to “Issued”

This is true. I was verbally approved by the CO and had my passport collected at the interview, only to be placed in AP after the interview.

On 1/25/2023 at 10:20 AM, LAMA9 said:

Congrats @addpeace!  Super exciting for you - just think 3-4 months from now you will be on the other side of this nightmare!  Let me know if you would like to be added to our WOM group chat and to the tracker spreadsheet!  It's a great view of what you can expect over the next few months . 

Can you please add me as well? Thank you.

14 hours ago, ALC said:

Figured I’d write up my interview experiences, now that I have a bit more time and mental clarity. I have gone through a few visa interviews in my life, but still appreciated reading other people’s experience at MTL in particular in preparation for mine.

 

My interview was scheduled for 8:45 on 7/26, and I actually arrived closer to 9. Was let in without issue. I carried one of those string bags (Nike sports bag) with my documents and a book, I thought I’d have to fold it up and store it in the locker along with my phone, but was told the bag was ok to be brought up to the 2nd floor, after it being scanned through the X-ray machine.

 

After getting upstairs, the experience is almost identical to what people have written here before - they gave you a number downstairs after checking the passport and confirm the appointment. Once you arrive to the 2nd floor via an elevator, you can sit and wait in the waiting area. Then they call the number to the first set of windows to collect the original documents such as passport, police certificate, birth certificate, employment letter etc. Then you wait for the actual interview, which is at another set of windows.

 

One thing that surprised me is that the the whole process is apparently completely paper based, my folder contained the dossier my lawyers submitted to USCIS for my EB2-NIW case 4 and half years ago (with all the supporting recommendation letters, publications, references etc.) as well as the biographical documents submitted to NVC 2 years ago… Mine was only about an inch thick, but the file from the person before me was literally about a foot tall… Seems like one would mail the dossier to USCIS, they’d review and mail the package to NVC if/when approved, NVC then physically stores the paper file until they mail it to consulates around the world in time for interview… This really blows my mind, you’d think they’d have digitized this by now!

 

I digress… I Waited for about half an hour between doc check and the actual interview. Both the doc check lady and the CO were female, both very pleasant and lovely with some exchanging of pleasantries and small talk.

 

The interview questions were pretty standard too, and they are definitely based on your individual history and circumstances, which can be seen from the system they are using. First is the oath to tell the truth; I was then asked about my schooling and work; also if I had an employment letter. There was a bit of confusion on this one - the document intake lady asked for an employment letter, to which I told her since I am EB2-NIW, I don’t need one, but I offered her the memo my lawyer wrote, along with the I-797 indicating the EB2-NIW, as well as a letter from one of my clients in the US talking about me doing research for them, which more than satisfies the NIW requirements. However she didn’t end up taking it, assuming she just marked on my file of me not having (needing?) one. When the same question came up during the interview, I told the CO the same thing, and she said “oh so you actually have the employment letter”, and took the aforementioned 3 documents, but made a comment that my file isn’t clearly marked for NIW, which usually should have been the case. Who knows, my file was approved right before COVID and during the late stage of the Trump years, USCIS was probably hot mess at that point… She also asked me to explain my work as if I am “explaining it to a poli-sci major”, which I thought was pretty funny. She asked a couple of follow up questions and clarifications on how to type a few specific words about my research.

 

She also asked if I ever had trouble crossing the border, which I had during covid; she can see I traveled to the US quite frequently, so I was asked why and if I had ever been in the US illegally etc., obviously no; I was also asked for the 5 year travel history, I gave her the 15 year history I had prepared in anticipation for DS-5535, she saw Cuba on there so asked if that’s just for tourism, which was the case.

 

She also asked that I have applied for and received non-immigrant visas in the past, which I assumed was rhetorical. This part is a bit foreshadowing because at the beginnings of the Trump years, I had been put through the SAO process during the application process of a non-immigrant visa, they asked for my resume and said additional processing needs to be done in DC, before they can approve it. I checked my records, that process took a total of 3 weeks between when I emailed them my resume and receiving the clearance, and I got an email asking for my passport the very next day (I actually missed that email, ended up waiting for another month for no reason before inquiring, to which they replied promptly, lol).

 

Towards the end, she printed out a piece of paper, handed to me saying that unfortunately they can’t approved my visa at the moment, additional checks are needed, in addition needing to confirm my case was indeed NIW, which I interpreted as very much of a secondary reason. I was told I will be receiving an email in the next day or two with further instructions (the email came the next morning); to which I asked “and you don’t know how long it’s gonna take either?”. She replied “no, because it’s not done in house (I assumed in DC), but since you have gone through this once before, hopefully it will be quick”.

 

Given all the anecdotal evidence - being a Chinese born, American trained engineer, and her comments about the checks aren’t done in house - I am pretty sure I am flagged for SAO, the DS-5535 is probably more of a formality, since all the information asked on there, for me at least, is already covered in DS-260, and I brought my 15 year travel history and resume with me…

 

Let’s see how long it will take this time…

I also visited Cuba. Maybe that's why we are flagged for SAO.

14 hours ago, SalishSea said:

This is not correct.

Are you aware of USCIS using Administrative Processing for I-485 applications?

2 hours ago, stringpuller said:

I don't quite follow what you mean. Satire or not. 

It is a legit question. I watched their videos and they said these things. 

Do you think they are trying to deceive ppl?  

I don't think they are trying to deceive people, as much as dragging this process out longer than is necessary. 

On 5/6/2023 at 7:24 AM, MJ21 said:

They pushed it up by a week, but we got lucky by kept refreshing the police appointment portal, so will be doing it next week, hopefully this is the last step.

Any updates in your case?

43 minutes ago, immishok said:

I guess it would depend on your FSC among other things. But it's quite random, generally you should expect ~ 6 months on average (although officers tell applicants that it'll done in 60 days).

I am pretty sure that most Consulate Officers stop mentioning how long it takes now. They have a standard word phrase to use: "weeks to months". 

6 hours ago, stringpuller said:

Interesting. There is a group of ex Officers that say the opposite of this. Anyone familiar with this Argo Visa group? 

They dont say to harrass the embassy but to keep in contact the right way. 

And they also say these "checks" are BS and that it is on hold until someone can make the decision? 

 

Yes, after speaking to 5 lawyers it seems like the consensus is that AP is a tactic to delay issuance of immigrant visa that began taking off more when Trump was in office.

USCIS doesn't apply AP to their cases, so that should tell you something.

25 minutes ago, shara9c said:

@SGtoMurica How many days after interview did consulate sent email that you can get passport when needed. My Wife's case was put under AP but they did not returned our passport to us neither got any email for passport return instruction. Please suggest 

Within 3 hours of the Interview, when they emailed us informing us that our case was placed in Administrative Processing.

On 7/28/2023 at 7:22 AM, Inveigh said:

 

New updates today for Writ of Mandamus and CEAC

 

This time in more detail

 

08MAY2023 - Interview Date - Ready

 
09MAY2023 - Refused 221(G) - Documents not Submitted. 
10MAY2023 - Refused 221(G) - Documents Submitted

 

11MAY2023 - Refused 221(G) - No Action on our Behalf
22MAY2023 - Refused 221(G) - No Action on our Behalf
24MAY2023 - Refused 221(G) - No Action on our Behalf
26MAY2023 - Refused 221(G) - No Action on our Behalf  

06JUNE2023 - Refused 221(G) - No Action on our Behalf 

 

20JUNE2023 - WRIT OF MANDAMUS FILED -  PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS and Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief against RENA BITTER, ANTONY J. BLINKEN, JAYNE HOWELL 

21JUNE2023 - WRIT OF MANDAMUS CASE ASSIGEND - SUMMONS (5) Issued Electronically as to RENA BITTER, ANTONY J. BLINKEN, JAYNE HOWELL, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General(zrtw)

23JUNE2023 - Refused 221(G) - No Action on our Behalf 

 

28JUNE2023 - STANDARD ORDER for civil cases signed by our Judge

 

24JULY2023 & 26JULY2023 [Joint Update] - RETURN OF SERVICE/AFFIDAVIT of Summons and Complaint - Returned Executed as to Federal Defendant Summons Returned Executed as to U.S. Attorney General - Answer due for ALL FEDERAL DEFENDANTS by 8/21/2023

 

28JULY2023 - Refused 221(G) - TODAY.

I'm rooting for you. It's ridiculous that applicants have to do a WOM in order for the government to do its work that it was already paid to do. 

Has anyone here filed for Adjustment of Status (AOS) after their Immigrant case was placed in AP?

23 hours ago, Hassan2020 said:

We filed WOM after 6 months in AP, but we were out of AP within a month after filing, even before the first court hearing. So it could be due to WOM or not but filing WOM may help.

Besides your passport and new medical exam, did the Consulate ask for any additional documents?