Leo The Great

We emailed consulate after 5 moths of interview with a specific question. That was answered after 10 days and then sent another status inquiry email after 6 months of interview and got generic reply after 24 days.

May be post this question on top level Canadian thread. You will get the answer from moderator of VJ forum. https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/93-canada/

You may check following forum to get estimates of AP processing time with DS-5535 + Resume. There is a backlog of 61000 still awaiting clearance There is a wait time of around few months to more than a year for AP clearance contrary to what CO told you (best case scenario) during the interview. It is not in their control because AP is done in DC.

Same here. Today we got generic response to our inquiry email after 23 days and that triggered the date update

My dad in AP trav We have same experiences travelling to US while in AP(most recently this weekend by road). 2-3 quick questions and related to the purpose of visit and duration of stay. I think agent at booth do not have access to state dept system until the system alert them to send folks to secondary.

I provided comments/suggestions to speed up AP last year and also read the most of the comments when they published them later in the year https://www.regulations.gov/document/DOS-2023-0028-0001 (last year link) Do not see much difference in last year and this year proposal. Looks like they did not take any action last year or earlier this year based on public feedback

Generally you get few updates after submitting DS-5535 as consulate might be working on your form to send it to DC. Once done, you should not see any updates unless consulate reply to your query or DC pick up your case for processing and at that time you may see more update. May be check weekly until you get some unsolicited updates. At that time you can choose to check it daily.

Your kids need to activate visa before it expiry. I guess you already know it.

Were you traveling on Canadian passport or on B1/B2 visa stamped by Toronto consulate?

As long as you return to USA after wrapping up the things (within six months), there should be no problem. You do not need to tell CBP unless they ask you. Once activated, you green card (stamp) is valid for one year and you can return to USA on that.

No matter what CO told you in interview regarding AP processing time (Other folks in AP have been told similar timelines during the interview in Montreal but still stuck in AP since April 2023 or earlier - it is not in control of consulate as AP clearance for such cases is done in DC), But in actual With Resume only, it takes around 5-6 months to complete AP and with DS-5535 + Resume it takes longer few months to more than a year for majority of cases in Montreal.

You can pay fee any time using this link. https://my.uscis.gov/uscis-immigrant-fee/ Green card is usually receive in 3-4 weeks after you activate your green card. If you are crossing border by land, you need to tell agent at the booth that you need to activate your green card, then they will take your passport and ask you to go to secondary area for green card activation

yes pdf copy of Resume to above email address. Also mailed the hard copy to consulate just in case.

Read the post from @Adam RS regarding DV lottery visa and AP https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/787842-montreal-embassy-eb-2-interview-wait-time-part-2/page/134/#comments

We got our case date updated when we received a human response 10 days after sending email to consulate back in Jan/Feb 2024. Will let you know about case date update this time if we receive a human response again for our recent query about status of processing after 6.5 months after interview.

If the Resume is listed on 221g then provide them via email in the reply. May be wait for day or two for email. It is better to ask questions in Ds-5535 group as indicated in above post.

It is better to apply for US visa from Europe than the Montreal as consulate has high rate of handing out DS-5535 and resolution time is much more than Europe. Your travel history during the last fifteen years is a factor for DS-5535. But if your place of birth is MENA, China or Pakistan, then there is a high probability of getting DS-5535. If your field of study or work is in TAL, that is another reason to ask for Resume. DS-5535 cases takes from few months to more than a year to resolve. Other than that system can also select you randomly for DS-5535. Since the DV lottery visa is time bound visa, , there is higher probability that you won't get DV lottery visa if you are stuck in DS-5535. Read the post from @Adam RS regarding DV lottery visa and AP https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/787842-montreal-embassy-eb-2-interview-wait-time-part-2/page/134/#comments

LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE CLOSE TO FINISH LINE. After how long you got your first unsolicited update (April 26)? You are on VJ forum for more than a year and half. I will appreciate if you update the spreadsheet for the benefits of other members https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jV7rzX2eCRVoEDRhOtN9a6hDoHRLNEf1P3ZGZbQ0_Dc/edit#gid=0

If you have F1 or B1 previously and CO need to investigate any violations of those visas, Majority of those cases are handled at consulate level and may take 8-12 weeks. Your travel history during the last five years also a factor for DS-5535. But if your place of birth is MENA, China or Pakistan, then there is a high probability of getting DS-5535. If your field of study or work is in TAL, that is another reason to ask for Resume. DS-5535 cases takes from few months to more than a year to resolve.