AP_since_May2023

I seem to have a different understanding based on what the consulate officer told me. He said that all APs of the same category go to the same place, regardless of Embassy location. There are of course multiple different reasons for AP, including as simple as a missing document or as serious as background check due to national security risk. If it is the latter, then all of those go through the same lineup. 

So after two extension requests, we received a motion to dismiss. The reasons were the usual - lack of jurisdiction, no claim, etc. Apparently the state attorney's hand was forced by the state department. There's nothing in our profile that would prompt a legitimate DS-5535, so our lawyer just sees this as a continuation of the emerging trend to not budge as a means of deterring future WoMs. 

I haven't figured out what to do yet. On the one hand, given that people in January have begun to receive requests for their passport, my gut tells me I may receive good news sooner rather than later by simply doing nothing (my interview was in Feb 23). Then again, that assumes some semblance of linearity, which is not necessarily a fair assumption. Likewise, if I do withdraw the complaint, I risk losing that means of continued pressure on the consulate, which may prove helpful if what we're seeing now is the beginning of a more extreme slow-down in the consulate's pace.
 
We have a judge that's relatively friendly to the cause, so fighting the motion to dismiss may bear fruit - if only by continuing to make it easier for the consulate to simply issue the visa. 
 
When it comes to others who may be considering the WoM route, I would just reinforce that a motion to dismiss seems to be the rule and not the exception. Even for long-standing cases. Take that extra cost into account up front, and keep in mind that the odds of a significant acceleration in pace appear to be slim (as I mentioned, I'm seemingly at the point where I'm close to the front of the line regardless, despite having filed the WoM 4-5 months ago). 

HI @Bestbest7 Congrats! It must feel amazing to see the end of the tunnel! Can you please add your information to our tracking spreadsheet? It will help others determine what their wait time might look like. 
 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jV7rzX2eCRVoEDRhOtN9a6hDoHRLNEf1P3ZGZbQ0_Dc/edit#gid=0

My understanding of DS-5535 is that all of them go through the same line, regardless of the consulate. Those that cleared sooner, must not have been under the same SAO.

I am from a country with one of the lowest crime rates in the world and very friendly to the US, and yet I received DS-5535. My suggestion is to avoid Consular Processing at all cost if possible.

US is very serious about immigration fraud and the officers have the rights to deny entry at anytime if you have a history of fraud. Why chance it? Having a US spouse or children wouldn’t make a difference. Just look at many of us here (myself included) who have suffered family separation due to AP. 
 
I’ll just hang tight and hope that the April AP will hear back soon. 

After visiting my husband in the us, I spoke to a lawyer that told me instead of dealing with the ds5535 just file within AOS which I did not know was possible. So now we filed for the AOS. 

A little bit updates:
I saw the last update date change to Dec 28, 2023 for both of us and on Dec 29, 2023 morning, we received an email for asking for new medical exams.
 
For the inquiry that we sent to get back the passports, there is no reply yet.
We decided to do the new medical exams no matter whether they agree to mail back our passports or not.

Don't know anymore man.
 
I got little kids and my spouse has been so strong, but now, after 8 months, I'm seeing her start to break. Raising little kids alone isn't easy, sure, I visit,  but it is not the same.
 
 
I just daydream about the day I finally get that visa in my hand and clear US customs. 
 
Kind of a nerdy example  but I think I'll feel like frodo when he finally woke up in Rivendale and everyone was laughing.
 
 

"Did you mail your passport to the Montreal Consulate while you are in the US? How would you enter Canada without your passport?"
No, I went to Vancouver and mail them the passports from here. So I am still in Vancouver now.

My friend, you already close to final stop. If I were you, just do whatever they requested and waiting to get back the  stamped  passport. No bother to create new issues.
 
You might check the web page of MTL, as the page said on Nov 29, the roughly process time is 3 months. That may include case updates such as review, medical and clearance etc.

Nice to see some progress. Still all quiet on my end (interviewed mid-Feb). No request for medical thus far. Requested extension on WoM ends in a couple weeks. 

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.
 

NVC has no role to play in deciding priorities for IL. It is entirely the consulate's decision. The consulate may try to shift responsibility to NVC, but know that ultimately it is the Consulate who decides.

NVC has no role to play in deciding priorities for IL. It is entirely the consulate's decision. The consulate may try to shift responsibility to NVC, but know that ultimately it is the Consulate who decides.

Can someone remind me again why is AP not done BEFORE the interview? Seems like it would save us a lot of time, money and blood (blood draws for medical exam).

Holy #######! After like 9 months in DS-5535.. Visa and Passport have returned to me.

No WOM filed but was almost going to pull trigger!!
 
Timeline:
Nov 9 2022: CR1 Interview (MTL)
Nov 9 2022: 221G (DS-5535)
May 18 2023 E-mailed MTL for update at very less.
May 26 2023: MTL replied requesting a 2nd medical be completed, and passport be sent via AIS. Petition put on hold pending receipt on outstanding items.
Jun 20 2023: 2nd medical completed in Surrey BC
Jul 10 2023: US Consulate in receipt of Passport
Aug 03 2023: Sent follow up email to MTL
Aug 10 2023: MTL replied that pending review of documents with CO and hold tight.
Aug 22 2023: CEAC changed to issued.
Aug 24 2023: Passport picked up at CPO

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  ) . 
 
 

I-140 was handled by employer. I filled out the DS-260. I entered July 30th and received my green card yesterday. The envelope was had an invalid address so USCIS entered my address wrong at the Rainbow Bridge. I narrowly avoided having it returned to USCIS simply by waiting for the mailman and asking for it. SSN was generated August 1st but I never received the card due to the address issue. I was due to start working on August 14th, but had to request a replacement social security card this week with the correct address. That is the final step before I begin work! 

My employer had only asked if I’d heard anything after about 2 months of waiting, but nobody told me anything about being expedited. So, who knows? 🤷🏻‍♂️Either way, a relief. 

Has anyone filed a WOM before the 60 day mark? I've read through about 30 pages of this and checked a couple of the google docs but it gets depressing to keep reading... Hopefully when next week rolls around I can consult with some of the popular lawyers mentioned here, and see what options we have moving forward. I appreciate the information, but I am a licensed doctor of physical therapy in the United States. I only read into it years ago (pre-pandemic) but transferring my license would be costly and they made it seem like I would have to take courses again to practice there (might have been Quebec specifically though). But at this point I've accepted that I'll probably have to dump thousands of dollars into a lawsuit to get our case over with anyway... such a flawed system.

I was told by my lawyer that DOS doesn't even allow following up before 60 days has passed from either the day of the interview or the day you send in the additional required documents... So WOM within 60 days wouldn't definitely be out of the question. Don't want to get your hopes up falsely, but the fact that your partner's status says Ready rather than Refused, and the fact that passport was kept, is interesting, it may not take as long... 
 
Just thinking outside the box here, is it possible for you and your partner to live in QC, but practice in NY or VT for the time being.
 
Also, I am not very well versed in the marriage green card cases as I am EB, but why couldn't you have a wedding if you don't have the green card? Can your partner not go to the US at all? 

Hey There,
 
Had my interview April 13th and still waiting on my side.  Just at a loss at this point.  Last case update was July 5th.

Hello just a heads up for everyone, just consulted with lawyer who handles these cases, when asking about timelines  was told more and more the US attorney is starting to fight back with motion to dismiss, after asking for multiple extensions.
 
This delays things. This is a new trend they are seeing this summer. Just keep this in mind. It seems now it won't be  easy to just get an approval with WOM.
 
Very depressing.

I have been trying to make another forum for U.S. Citizens going through the DS-5535 process with their family members in the Middle East but am uncertain how to go about doing that. This forum here has alot of notoriety and Im not sure if I created such a forum if it would reach the same lengths or if people would care.