The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal. Post here and support each other (split)

[Danii 312]

On 12/4/2021 at 7:42 AM, Federico said:

Something common I see from people who are not from the middle west is they are almost all engineers, that’s my case and I heard about someone else from my country and he’s engineer too.

Makes sense, they were most likely flagged because their profession is on the technology alert list. There are a bunch of other professions on there too, most are in STEM

[Allaboutwaiting 2,502]

These are the sensitive subjects/critical fields in the technology alert list:

A. Conventional munitions

B. Nuclear technology

C. Rocket systems

D. Rocket system and UAV subsystems

E. Navigation, avionics, and flight control usable in rocket systems and unmanned air vehicles (UAV)

F. Chemical, biotechnical and biomedical engineering

G. Remote sensing, imaging and reconnaissance

H. Advanced computer / microelectronic technology

I. Materials technology

J. Information security

K. Laser and directed energy systems technology

L. Sensors and sensor technology

M. Marine technology

N. Robotics

O. Urban planning (this is a special item that may not fall under the purview of INA Section 212)

[Twiz&Toz 240]

I seen a lot of talk of wom these are very costly and I seen one lawyer talk about them in a honest sense. When you put threw a wom as they said they get x amount of days to make a choice. That lawyer said in a lot of cases it leads to flat out denials. If it a case where u are stuck in limbo and already have ur visa issued just haven’t gotten it that’s ok but when a choice needs to be made you have a 50/50 draw. 

[ice-qube 648]

9 minutes ago, Twiz&Toz said:

I seen a lot of talk of wom these are very costly and I seen one lawyer talk about them in a honest sense. When you put threw a wom as they said they get x amount of days to make a choice. That lawyer said in a lot of cases it leads to flat out denials. If it a case where u are stuck in limbo and already have ur visa issued just haven’t gotten it that’s ok but when a choice needs to be made you have a 50/50 draw. 

Yeah, there are people here trying to encourage others to fill WOM as soon as possible. This is a big mistake, I believe, as it comes at great cost to the applicant, does not increase the odds of success and, who knows, might even lower them for some unforeseen reason (e.g., an insolent bureaucrat pressed to make a decision will prejudice their decision for reasons of pettiness, etc). In my view, it should be used as the last resort. There is not even a good reason to believe that a court will agree one’s case passes the test after only being in administrative processing for, say, two months.

[Twiz&Toz 240]

3 hours ago, ice-qube said:

Yeah, there are people here trying to encourage others to fill WOM as soon as possible. This is a big mistake, I believe, as it comes at great cost to the applicant, does not increase the odds of success and, who knows, might even lower them for some unforeseen reason (e.g., an insolent bureaucrat pressed to make a decision will prejudice their decision for reasons of pettiness, etc). In my view, it should be used as the last resort. There is not even a good reason to believe that a court will agree one’s case passes the test after only being in administrative processing for, say, two months.

Truth if they are waiting on info from another source and it taking longer then normal and you file a wom they have what is it 30 days to respond ect if they can’t get there info that will pass you in that time from you will be denied. A wom was file for cases over seas and won only because they refused to do interview during covid also one regarding k1 visas. If a lawyer is pushing for you to file a wom they just want the money and don’t have ur best interest in mind. That being said if you been sitting in limbo for a year well filing may be an option. I think I heard of a few case way back on the day when a bunch of ppl didn’t get there i130 approved bc there was a flood at the office and paper work got lost/damaged and they filed for and expedite. But after putting on my thinking cap I think I know why so many ppl are getting the denied. They normally run background checks ect before ur interview. These past few month montreal upped the amount of interviews so they may have did quick background check to get ppl into the interview how ever there’s a flag requesting more info and to do the checks after. That way the can “clear the backlog” if they ran the full reports then they would still be months behind waiting for reports to come in. 

[Danii 312]

8 hours ago, Twiz&Toz said:

I seen a lot of talk of wom these are very costly and I seen one lawyer talk about them in a honest sense. When you put threw a wom as they said they get x amount of days to make a choice. That lawyer said in a lot of cases it leads to flat out denials. If it a case where u are stuck in limbo and already have ur visa issued just haven’t gotten it that’s ok but when a choice needs to be made you have a 50/50 draw. 

Could you link the lawyer that mentions it can lead to denials? Honestly, I haven't seen that but of course I would like to look at all sources before I make a decision!

[MarioAllison 5]

Hi I talked about this in the big CR-1 thread but someone referred me here, thank you!,  so ill give a summary. I had my interview Dec 1. I was only given 2weeks notice and so I was only able to get a medical 2 days before the interview and my medical wasnt completed because I didnt have my second covid dose, which im geting on dec 8.

   Anyway the interview was very easy with very nice people and I thought was going very good.  he asked when I had my medical and when i said 2 days ago he was like oya of course it hasnt had time to get here,  but then at the end the officer said it looks like they need more information so they will send you a email with questions. The way he said it sounded like it was out of his control why they wanted more info and why this was happening. But he said he had been doing interviews a long time and from his experience the more details I put in my response the faster it would be processed. He then gave me the other letter  that some of you were talking about on here. He circled the address on the top of the letter and said Im giving you back your passport and when they are ready for it they will email you and mail it to that address . He said it didnt matter how I mailed the passport but he recommended mailing it a way that I had a tracking number. He also said that it wasnt uncommon for people to have this happen to them and if there wasnt any complications with my medical they would soon get the results and I should reply to the email and it shouldnt be a big deal.

   I had never heard of this happening so I just assumed it was because my medical wasnt in that it happened because I could think of no other reason . I am 100% canadian, I and my ancestors as far back as I can remeber were born in Canada , lived in canada all my life, i am white, have only traveled to US, and once to Burkina Faso maybe thats why? , never been arrested or any criminal record , just a farmer so no high education .

   anyway I got the email the same day and it looks like whats called the dreaded DS-5535.  I have been working at filling it out, I figured it might be good to send it in about the time my medical got approved if that was the reason for it but after reading this thread now it looks like that probably wasnt the reason

   

   I am just putting the dates I entered and left US , the principal address or town or region I visited ex. my parents in law address but NOT all the restaurants or stores or towns I went to while there, and a very brief description of the reason for the trip and the source of funds. that should be adequate?

      Did the rest of you have your medicals done by the interview?

    After the interview I realized that on my DS-260 I put the wrong year on the dates of my previous US travel section. I put 2020 on all the dates when some should have been in 2019. Should I tell them in my reply email that I did it wrong on the DS-260 or just put the correct dates in the reply and say nothing about the DS 260?

  sorry long post😬

[Danii 312]

1 hour ago, MarioAllison said:

   I am just putting the dates I entered and left US , the principal address or town or region I visited ex. my parents in law address but NOT all the restaurants or stores or towns I went to while there, and a very brief description of the reason for the trip and the source of funds. that should be adequate?

      Did the rest of you have your  medicals done by the interview?

    After the interview I realized that on my DS-260 I put the wrong year on the dates of my previous US travel section. I put 2020 on all the dates when some should have been in 2019. Should I tell them in my reply email that I did it wrong on the DS-260 or just put the correct dates in the reply and say nothing about the DS 260?

  sorry long post😬

I think that should be more than enough! Yeah, I also just put the addresses of where I stayed overnight. Yes, my medical was done by the time of the interview, I think you should send in DS5535 as soon as you've completed it so they can get started on it. I think you should tell them about the mistake on DS260 so that they can correct it! That way they don't start trying to figure out themselves why there's a difference in dates and waste even more of your time 

 

Edited December 7, 2021 by Danii

[From_CAN_2_US 1,100]

1 hour ago, MarioAllison said:

  I am just putting the dates I entered and left US , the principal address or town or region I visited ex. my parents in law address but NOT all the restaurants or stores or towns I went to while there, and a very brief description of the reason for the trip and the source of funds. that should be adequate?

      Did the rest of you have your medicals done by the interview?

    After the interview I realized that on my DS-260 I put the wrong year on the dates of my previous US travel section. I put 2020 on all the dates when some should have been in 2019. Should I tell them in my reply email that I did it wrong on the DS-260 or just put the correct dates in the reply and say nothing about the DS 260?

  sorry long post😬

You were issued the 221G for two reasons:

1. For missing medicals (which is an easy fix)

2. For some security related checks (this is why you were issued the DS-5535)

 

Given your lack of ties to any countries and profession, the only reasons I could think of for you being issued the DS-5535:

1. Name matching someone on the US security bad guy list

2. The dates of travel on your DS-260 not matching the CBP records

 

Maybe it was the combination of the above that triggered it?

 

I would definitely clarify to them when you email back the info that you made an error with the dates of travel on the DS-260. Maybe print out the DS-260 that you submitted and mark out the corrections in ink and send them a scan.

 

The good news is that from what I have read on various sites, for those with no history in any country besides US and Canada, it usually takes less than 60 days to process the application. 

 

I am not sure how your trip to Burkina Faso would affect this if at all. Was this a holiday? Were you there for long? If just a holiday, I doubt it would have much impact. 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,100]

@MarioAllison

 

I suggest you download your I-94 here:

https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home#section

 

This is CBP's records of your trips. This will help you list your trips. But double check it with your own records, because sometimes there are mistakes.

[deep2ca 77]

My case shows updated today. 

 

Oct 25th Interview

Oct 27th Received DS-5535

Nov 2nd Sent back DS-5535

Nov 22nd Case showing updated.

Dec 7th Case showing updated. 

[Federico 147]

56 minutes ago, deep2ca said:

My case shows updated today. 

 

Oct 25th Interview

Oct 27th Received DS-5535

Nov 2nd Sent back DS-5535

Nov 22nd Case showing updated.

Dec 7th Case showing updated. 

We are from different countries but you and me almost share the same update pattern. In my case last update on Dec 4th, either way I am a little anxious because have been 34 days.

 

Do someone knows haw many updates it usually takes ?

Edited December 7, 2021 by Federico

[Danii 312]

10 minutes ago, Federico said:

We are from different countries but you and me almost share the same update pattern. In my case last update on Dec 4th, either way I am a little anxious because have been 34 days.

 

Do someone knows haw many updates it usually takes ?

No way to know, it's going to be different for everyone. Sometimes people get a lot, others only get a couple before approval. Also, almost everytime they reply to your email, your case is "updated". Not sure if that means they actually did anything to your case though. 

[DrJanko10 101]

@dude12345 hey, have you had any updates? 

[MarioAllison 5]

ok thanks alot for the advice ! ya I was wondering if that would be a good idea to try and scan that page from my DS-260 so I think I will try and do that too