part IV, the big IR1/CR1 DQ'd message group...

[jrs 2]

Hi all - had our interview and got a 221(g) notice that said “additional processing is required. We will contact you when complete”.  The consular officer made it out to be routine / no big deal and they kept our passport.   Anything to worry about here?

[MarioAllison 5]

7 minutes ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

Did you get a 221G? What did it say? Did the words "supplementary questions" or "DS-5535" ever get mentioned. Does the questionnaire also ask about your social media accounts? 

 

You can find your travel history to teh US on your I94. But I think it only goes back about 5 years. 

he gave me a paper and the box beside 221g is checked and then he wrote "med exam results" under that and then under that ,the box is checked beside ," additional processing is required. We will contact you when this is complete"

yes it also asks about social media accounts

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

Just now, jrs said:

Hi all - had our interview and got a 221(g) notice that said “additional processing is required. We will contact you when complete”.  The consular officer made it out to be routine / no big deal and they kept our passport.   Anything to worry about here?

 

Did they say anything about you being sent any supplementary questions? If not, at least it is unlikely to be a DS-5535 case, which is good news.

 

From what I have read, I think (and I am by no means certain) this means that your case was flagged by the system and has to go through additional Administrative Processing. Why are people put into AP? This reason can't be determined for each individual, but some general reasons are:

 

1. Nationality/ residency in the following countries certain countries, One list of countries that are often flagged - Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates or Yemen1.

2. Name/ Date of birth matches (doesn't need to be an exact match) that on someone on the US govt's list of individuals suspected of criminal/ terrorist activities.

3. Education/ work in certain STEM sciences/ technological specialties. "Also, if an applicant comes from a country considered a state sponsor of terrorism (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria) and or a nonproliferation export control country (China, India, Israel, Pakistan and Russia) and works in a field or has an academic background which appears on the TAL, the referral for administrative processing may be mandatory."

 

More information can be found on various immigration law firm sites including this one: https://hirschlaw1.com/information-on-administrative-processing/#law

 

No one knows  how long AP can take. It is generally less than 60 days, but can be shorter or longer.

 

I guess this is not what you wanted to hear. I hope i am wrong, but it's what I gathered from the info you provided.

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

19 minutes ago, MarioAllison said:

he gave me a paper and the box beside 221g is checked and then he wrote "med exam results" under that and then under that ,the box is checked beside ," additional processing is required. We will contact you when this is complete"

yes it also asks about social media accounts

 I hope I am wrong, but it does sound like you were issued a DS-5535. I encourage you to check out the following thread on VJ:

 

 

[Danii 312]

1 hour ago, MarioAllison said:

So I got the email and it asks for the times I have left my country of residence in the last 15 years , my addresses in the last 15 years , employment history and all my immediate relatives names. So I am wondering if anyone has had this happen to them and if it caused significant delays and also how detailed you responded to the email. because I live close to the US boarder so there is no way I can remember all the times I have left canada in the last 15 years

Sounds like you got DS-5535, that's exactly the form I got. You can join our thread here 

There's about 6-7 of us there all in this process. No one really knows how long this will take One person got approved after 45 days of waiting, and we currently have two people around the 50-60 day mark who are still waiting. The rest of us are around 28-40 days.

 

In terms of details for travel history, I put City/County/Estimate entry/exit dates/Total trip length/how it was funded (Self/Parents/Petitioner etc)/Where I stayed if records available. Another comment mentions that you can find your travel history to the US online (https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/history-search) It actually gives you about 10 years worth of travel history, not 5. For the remaining 5/15 years, I just put estimates and let them know that these locations/dates were estimates. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by Danii

[usaBoundSud 21]

Seeing so many 221G after waiting for soo long, feels very unfair, making me nervous about tomorrow! 😔

Edited December 6, 2021 by usaBoundSud

[more00 17]

3 minutes ago, usaBoundSud said:

Seeing so many 221G, making me nervous about tomorrow! 😔

God is with you everything will be good 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

4 minutes ago, usaBoundSud said:

Seeing so many 221G, making me nervous about tomorrow! 😔

Me too! But it's out of our control, so I think we should just go in with an optimistic outlook.

[Ontarkie 14,193]

It's crazy how many are getting AP and/or the supplemental work sheet. I wish they were more clear on what is going on. 

I have not seen a major increase in the other country forums. 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

9 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

It's crazy how many are getting AP and/or the supplemental work sheet. I wish they were more clear on what is going on. 

I have not seen a major increase in the other country forums. 

It's one thing or another with Montreal, isn't it...

Question - I know that food and beverages are not allowed inside the consulate, but does that include water? I was thinking of taking a bottle of water with me so I don't have to make frequent trips to  the water cooler.

[YYZ&MIA 117]

1 hour ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

It's one thing or another with Montreal, isn't it...

Question - I know that food and beverages are not allowed inside the consulate, but does that include water? I was thinking of taking a bottle of water with me so I don't have to make frequent trips to  the water cooler.

There’s a water fountain in the “waiting room”/main room so you should be fine. Good luck to you & everybody who have interviews this month!🍀 I also got issued 221(g) and I am sure it’s because of my “issue” at the border where I withdrew admission bc I was being suspected of immigrant intent. I was not asked about it at the interview and all the officer said is that it’s routine in “these types of cases” and it should clear up within 2-3 days and I should get my passport back max 4 weeks. I got it back in exactly 4 weeks.

[Hawk Riders 814]

@PA93 & @Sharma Ali how did things go for you?

Edited December 7, 2021 by Hawk Riders

[MarioAllison 5]

18 hours ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

 I hope I am wrong, but it does sound like you were issued a DS-5535. I encourage you to check out the following thread on VJ:

 

18 hours ago, Danii said:

Sounds like you got DS-5535, that's exactly the form I got. You can join our thread here 

ok thanks alot for replying and showing me the other thread ! it helps to see others doing the same thing

[usaBoundSud 21]

Approved today!!

 

Train: Travelled from Toronto to Montreal via train. Booked an saver economy ticket, the ride wasn't great. I changed it to regular on the return trip and its much nicer. Train do run late so plan accordingly, mine was late by 1 hr and 40 mins on the onward journey.
Stay: Its easy to book everything within a Km and walk everywhere. I stayed in Novotel hotel which was very nice and  it had good proximity to the train station and the consulate was like 400m, easy walk. 
Consulate: Try not to go too early, I was 20 mins early and they didn't let me in and I had to wait outside the building in -5C weather. My Interview went for like 15 mins, officer had questions about relationship, work, timeline about major events. Countries traveled and lived in. I had a waiver for 864 and apparently I had missed a form and he was nice to print out and have me fill it there.
 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

10 minutes ago, usaBoundSud said:

Approved today!!

 

Train: Travelled from Toronto to Montreal via train. Booked an saver economy ticket, the ride wasn't great. I changed it to regular on the return trip and its much nicer. Train do run late so plan accordingly, mine was late by 1 hr and 40 mins on the onward journey.
Stay: Its easy to book everything within a Km and walk everywhere. I stayed in Novotel hotel which was very nice and  it had good proximity to the train station and the consulate was like 400m, easy walk. 
Consulate: Try not to go too early, I was 20 mins early and they didn't let me in and I had to wait outside the building in -5C weather. My Interview went for like 15 mins, officer had questions about relationship, work, timeline about major events. Countries traveled and lived in. I had a waiver for 864 and apparently I had missed a form and he was nice to print out and have me fill it there.
 

Congratulations!
 

Very glad to hear of an approval at Montreal. Also surprised to hear your interview went on for so long. Maybe because you have a lot of travel history.

 

I hear you about Via Rail. I took the same train this morning (was my first time too). Agreed, it’s a little rough, but nothing worse than economy class of North American Airlines, so it was OK for me.

Edited December 7, 2021 by From_CAN_2_US