Pending DS5535

12 hours ago, Daft_Cat said:

Hi everyone! Quick update from me: was notified by the consulate this morning that my passport is being returned. My status on the CEAC tracker has changed to "Issued" as of an hour ago. Surprisingly quick for me. They're sending it back just 1.5 weeks after I sent it through - since others that interviewed around the same time as me are still waiting, I do wonder if my WoM had an impact... albeit much more slowly than it would've a year ago. 

 

Thanks again for all the support throughout the process and I hope to see more movement for everyone still waiting soon. 

Congratulations 

10 hours ago, Phil_K_IR1 said:

We had an update yesterday and sure enough another today with an email from the consulate to redo medical and send the passport (and 2 passport photos) 😭😭😭

 

There is hope! The pattern of more regular updates leading to an email from the consulate seems to be legit. 

Many congratulations 👍

CONGRATULATIONS, to all those who are getting medical exam requests which means you will get your visa soon. Great News!

37 minutes ago, ShawnK said:

Update: IR1, April 2023 interview, no responses or updates from Montreal,  ceac only updated when I emailed them. No TAL case, nor do I work in anything related to those things . No odd travel history, only went to typical Canadian favored tourist places, Cancun, Florida...places we go to to escape our horrid winters. No arrests or anything like that. No dual citizenship.

 

Emails in the last 3 months received no responses from Montreal, no updates to ceac. Silence.

 

To update friends here, as some other users have mentioned  (a huge privilege and perk for Canadians), I too recently obtained a dual intent working visa (L class B) at the border and am now working in the United States.

 

I consulted with 3 lawyers, all said there will be no issues with adjusting. L class provides that privilege.  I literally walked in and completed my medical on Saturday and will file everything this week, I485. 

 

When applying for my L visa I was sent to secondary where the officer asked about my IR1, I simply said "it went to admin processing". He said "he needed to check a few things". He made a few calls and called me up and said it looks like "they are working on  additional documents, but I have no security concerns about you".

 

Big relief and I wanted to give the guy a hug and scream for joy, but kept my mouth shut and simply said thank you.

 

Had to pay a fee and then ran off to my flight, which I almost missed. I kept looking back thinking they would come drag me off the plane.

 

It was surreal to be reunited with my spouse and little kids. This process really breaks you. I've been nothing but a law abiding person my whole life.

 

Never got into any trouble , always avoided even discussing politics or doing anything controversial.

 

I'm going to adjust here in the US and not waste anymore time with Montreal.

 

I'm happy to stay and work in the US, the visa is valid for 3 years.

 

I know the mods don't want to derail this thread with AOS talk, so sorry for that, just wanted to update fellow ds5535 folks. I wish you guys all the best.

 

 

 

Congratulations 

13 hours ago, Phil_K_IR1 said:

Interestingly they always mention the cases in AP due to a DS-5535. What about those in AP without being asked one? Do they fall under the same total "backlog" number posted (61k now instead of 66k)? Are they handled separately? Not clear on if the backlog in question is specific to DS-5535 or not. 

I heard that the counterterrorist screen belongs to DS 5535 clearance and the screening division belongs to resume, TAL clearance. so, if you look at the statistics, then seems ds 5535 clearance is more than resume clearance.

10 hours ago, WMBB said:

Hi Everyone,

 

My long wait is finally over.  My CEAC case finally changed to Issued today!  Now I await my passport.

 

It has been a very long road since the interview (Nov 22, 2022!  Yes, 2022!).  And I also had to wait a year for the interview itself!  
 
Given that we sent all requested documents and passport in for which were received on March 22, this stretch felt the longest.

 

We asked our Senator for assistance.  She did follow up with Montreal yesterday I believe.  Whether this is just coincidence my case would have been approved today regardless, I do not know.  I will give her the credit though.  
 

I checked first this morning and the date change so I know something was possibly going on, but still refused.  Then checked early this afternoon and it read Issued.

 

Thank you to this group for your continued support.  You were a life line during this.  None of you should be here!  It will be my mission going forward to advocate for change!  I wish you all nothing but the very best and hope your Issued day will finally come, sooner than later!  Stay strong and fight!  If I can do this so can you.  

 

 

Congratulations 

I hope Phil_K-IR1 you will hear the good news soon and wish you good luck. I have also provided my resume as well as DS5535, this is 3rd month. 

3 hours ago, Inveigh said:

Part of me wants to believe that this will all result in a bunch of cases being approved at once but I dont know if im deluding myself or if this process is so broken that this is just a result of somebody breaking something and now nobodys cases are being processed.

I read on Facebook 2 days ago, that all Iranian folks who are waiting for DS 5535 clearance, are filing a joint petition and they asked everyone to sign in, they have provided the link as well. 

On 3/30/2024 at 10:14 AM, Leo The Great said:

I agreed CO can issue DS-5535 on his own judgement (Carson WU declaration also confirmed it). I believed that (CO issued DS-5535)/(System issued DS-5535) ratio is very high for MTL. 

This is very true, our VO in Montreal interview was a young guy, he spent 45 minutes to our interview, he was very details oriented person, many times after our answers, he showed thumbs up but still issued not only ds5535 but also asked for my resume. 

2 hours ago, Daft_Cat said:

I said that exact same thing when I got my first update in Mid-Jan. I had sent them an unanswered email a couple weeks prior and wrote it off as just them reading the message. 
 

…then I got a second update a couple weeks later. Then another, the week after that. And it basically went on like that until today.
 

One confounding factor is that I also had an ongoing WoM case at the same time, but it’s hard to say what’s triggering what. Plus the state department had already filed their motion to dismiss, so who knows if it was even having an influence.

 

I wouldn’t give up hope that your update could be the start of a similar process for you - especially given how long you’ve been waiting. It’s possible our emails get escalated and become more effective after certain time thresholds. Tough to say what kickstarts things.

 

 

Draft_Cat many congratulations to you, and all the best for your future.

I hope and wish, we all get clearance soon. It is important that our voice must be heard to state department before the election time. 

VO asked us to submit the passport when he gave us 221g form, it was written there to submit the passport when submit DS5535 and resume. My question is, what should I do in this situation? My interview was in 3rd week of Jan, I submitted DS5535 and resume the next day but did not submit the passport as I needed it for traveling. I think Montreal can ask for the passport once the clearance is done, difficult to decide what to do. I heard sometimes they asked for a passport but then kept it for months and in the end, people requested it back due to their travel plans. Any suggestions

I was also asked for my resume, my research work submission, and my professor's name, it has been more than 2 months, but nobody called my thesis professor yet. Although my experience as an engineer in the oil and gas field has nothing to do with nuclear or biomedical but still got stuck in this AP. 

Sometimes, I think we all who are in AP should go together outside the Montreal embassy on the same day at the same time to request collectively to clear our clearance and make a decision.

2 minutes ago, DadofUSCitizen said:

Thanks a lot! 

Does anyone have any idea what they do with resumes? Do they call universities or employers, or do they just review the work experience to conclude if it is a threat to the US or not? At least, they should highlight on the government website what is the procedure. Does anybody know what is their protocol?

2 hours ago, Leo The Great said:

Thanks - Mom and dad entered U.S via Niagara Falls this weekend. They were asked to go to secondary area for mom's green card activation.  CBP officer asked mom why your spouse is not  immigrating with you. She told the officer that his visa is still in processing. Whole process took 15 minutes

Congratulations on your Mom green card activation, hope your dad will get ds5535 clearance soon. 

37 minutes ago, cala2023 said:

I got an actual response on January 23 which was about 11 days after I sent them an email.

Biden visited US Mexico boarder in Texas area and reported asked questions about IV visa backlog, below are few lines copy pasted from today’s post.

One of the steps, if we look at the H-1B visa process, we have taken action to improve that and the process and backlog for lawful permanent residents (green card) who are eligible to become US citizens," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday. She was responding to questions about the feeling among a section of Indian Americans that the president is not putting as much effort on addressing the woes of legal immigrants as he is doing for illegal immigrants.

1 minute ago, AP_since_May2023 said:

 

For research publications, did they ask for the full paper, or just title and abstract?

 

I was asked for my CV but not research publications.

They asked for not only research and publication but professor references as well. I provided them with the link to research the full document and sent them just the content and the first chapter. Although my field is all oil and gas related and had a job offer from the USA, they asked for that offer letter as well. Imagine for IR5, they are asking so much, although it is not EB1 or any other work visa. 

4 hours ago, JamesTan said:

I'm not sure if US immigration has data on my travels unless I used a US airline and flew to the United States through a transfer, although im curious to hear you guys' thoughts. I'm not even sure if my category (son of a US citizen) would be required to give information such as profession or travel in the interview. Anyway, I think it would be a safer bet to get a new passport as I have a lot of travel stamps in my current one. 

 

Also is it just the EB visas that are being asked for a CV? Or are spouses/fiance of US citizens being asked for them as well? This would be kind of weird if that was the case. Do they even screen by profession when considering spouses/fiances of US citizens when it comes to AP?

 

Does anyone have any data suggesting if AP or DS5355 is decided before the interview by a system or by the interviewer? Or maybe both?

 

 

Not only spouses but they ask for resumes from parents for the IR5 Visa category as well, if the visa applicant is a professional as per their TAL list. I am asked my resume, and research publications for my chemical engineering.

The ones who recently joined the forum, if don't mind, please share your info in this Excel tracking sheet.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jV7rzX2eCRVoEDRhOtN9a6hDoHRLNEf1P3ZGZbQ0_Dc/edit#gid=0

7 hours ago, Canucklehead said:

The person who responded to you never said that they never tell anyone. They said it is rare that they give out this info, which it is.

 

Don't bring negative energy into this forum.

Excuse me, you are bring this negative energy in this forum, by commenting so rude. 

1 minute ago, Pending DS5535 said:

Yes VO told to my husband and me at the interview day that it is out of MONTREAL consulate, all DS5535 needs clearance from Washington DC, (it is not first-in-first-out basis).

How you can say that they never told this to anyone, VO officer told us clearly about the expected timeline (1 or 3 or 6 months).

2 minutes ago, Pending DS5535 said:

Yes VO told to my husband and me on the interview day that it is out of MONTREAL consulate, all DS5535 needs clearance from Washington DC, (it is not first-in-first-out basis).

How you can say that they never told this to anyone, The VO officer told us clearly about the expected timeline (1 or 3 or 6 months).

There was a lady on the same day for interview who also got DS5535, she was from Somalia originally but Canadian citizen, her son and daughter were also given ds5535 in last quarter of 2023, but they told us, they both were cleared in 58 days. Many people may have not joined this forum if they got clearance within 2 months.

5 minutes ago, Phil_K_IR1 said:

When your DS-260 has been accepted and you've had an interview, you become no longer eligible for a TN visa since you're pending an immigrant visa decision. 
 

That said - who told you it went to Washington and about those estimates? The interviewing officer? That's rare that they give any kind of info like that. 

Yes VO told to my husband and me at the interview day that it is out of MONTREAL consulate, all DS5535 needs clearance from Washington DC, (it is not first-in-first-out basis).

How you can say that they never told this to anyone, VO officer told us clearly about the expected timeline (1 or 3 or 6 months).

Can we go on a TN visa, I told the consulate that I even have a job offer (my husband and I are on IR5 Visa application, as our US-born daughter has sponsored us, was handed over ds5535 and resume from the Montreal consulate in Jan 2024), and VO asked if I have a proof of Job letter which provided at the interview? I requested to expedite it, but he said the Montreal consulate has no control, it is dependent on Washington, and how quickly they respond. He also said it is not a first-in-first-out basis. Sometimes they clear it in 30 days, sometimes, it takes 6 months. 

It indicates that applicants from specific countries can get what type of Mantis check (Eagle or Donkey mantis, etc.), this is how you can predict somehow the timeline of your AP, because what I read so far, Eagle Mantis AP takes less time compared to Donkey Mantis AP. 

A very good site that highlights per each country basis that VO should issue SAO clearance to who?

DOS Issues Security Advisory Opinion Guidance (aila.org)

Completion of Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) responses depends on the extent of review and coordination required, the amount of derogatory information, which other agencies have responsive information, the timing of when each partner agency completes its review, and a variety of other factors, such as emergent circumstances such as COVID, SAO request volume, or the need to facilitate travel in the national interest (e.g., for the U.S. government to comply with international obligations to facilitate travel to the United Nations) or to address emerging threats, and foreign policy priorities. Because of the complexity of this process, SAO requests can be neither addressed nor resolved in a first-in-first-out basis. That said, 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.