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

[ice-qube 648]

Just now, From_CAN_2_US said:

Yes, unfortunately, that's inevitable...

 

It is like someone called it - a paid express service, which in my opinion has no place in immigration, especially in cases of family reunification, because those who can't afford to pay get left waiting for even longer...

Yes, this is precisely what is happening, de facto. And it is abhorrent.

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

Can’t get over a 15 month old baby being issued DS-5535. This is clear indication of one or both of the following: 

 

1. An Atrocious programming error in the computer selecting candidates for DS-5535s

 

2. Deliberate, desperate, possibly discriminatory attempt at keeping certain people out of the United States.

[DGF 730]

On 7/17/2022 at 10:39 AM, Ontarkie said:

From the trend all you're paying for is the serving and filling to the court. Montreal is issuing the visas without going to court. The court portion is what the lawyers want the big bucks for but they are milking ppl and the system to cash in big,  Somewhere on the internet has to have examples of how to file it.

If these lawyers really wanted to help ppl they would just charge the filling fees (for Montreal cases at least)  and then if it went to court they would ask for the rest, but alas they want money like always. 

This simply isn't true. I can only speak for the firm I work for (I'm support staff not a lawyer so I can't answer law questions) but both lawyers and paralegals are billed out at different rates. For example, I'm billed at $125/hr. The attorney I work for is billed at $400/hour. From the sounds of it, many of the people in this thread are being charged a flat fee rate, which generally saves people money over paying hourly, ESPECIALLY if it actually goes to court. There's a lot of research involved for the attorney and a lot of drafting for the paralegal. Much more than you'd expect and much more than I realized went into it when I had a lawyer while going through the process. Many of my "straightforward" cases can take upwards of 20+ hours overall between the paralegal and attorney and so for a WOM I could easily see it getting into 5+ digits if it was billed hourly. 

There are ABSOLUTELY lawyers out there that are in it for the money and not to help people, but if you do your research and find a lawyer that cares rather than picking the first person on google or the cheapest option, you're saving money if they're giving you a flat fee.

It's disgusting that Montreal is doing this, but I really wouldn't recommend DIYing a WOM. 

[ice-qube 648]

3 hours ago, DGF said:

This simply isn't true. I can only speak for the firm I work for (I'm support staff not a lawyer so I can't answer law questions) but both lawyers and paralegals are billed out at different rates. For example, I'm billed at $125/hr. The attorney I work for is billed at $400/hour. From the sounds of it, many of the people in this thread are being charged a flat fee rate, which generally saves people money over paying hourly, ESPECIALLY if it actually goes to court. There's a lot of research involved for the attorney and a lot of drafting for the paralegal. Much more than you'd expect and much more than I realized went into it when I had a lawyer while going through the process. Many of my "straightforward" cases can take upwards of 20+ hours overall between the paralegal and attorney and so for a WOM I could easily see it getting into 5+ digits if it was billed hourly. 

There are ABSOLUTELY lawyers out there that are in it for the money and not to help people, but if you do your research and find a lawyer that cares rather than picking the first person on google or the cheapest option, you're saving money if they're giving you a flat fee.

It's disgusting that Montreal is doing this, but I really wouldn't recommend DIYing a WOM. 

No one, at least not me, begrudges lawyers for making money for providing services. This is their job and it is a voluntary relationship. The primary critique is against the government and the position they have put us in. Nonetheless, it is not very believable that law firms are not making out very well at a flat rate of $5,500 USD wherein the case does not even get close to trial. That is great for them, but it is an unjust situation for their clients all around, and the flat fee may be cheaper if it got even close to litigation, but it definitely is not what is happening here. They are charging a flat fee that would include litigation in theory, but in reality—and they know this—the vast majority will not go to court. So this is $5500 USD for preparing some initial paperwork and serving a summons. That’s the reality.

[PZibran325 112]

5 hours ago, BatmanFlow said:

i wonder with the increase in WOM cases also means resources are first allocated to those cases, and then the regular cases, which in turn delays the regular cases more.

I believe that is exactly what happens which is why if you want things expedited WOM might be your best option. sucks but it seems like a vicious cycle

[PZibran325 112]

5 hours ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

Yes, unfortunately, that's inevitable...

 

It is like someone called it - a paid express service, which in my opinion has no place in immigration, especially in cases of family reunification, because those who can't afford to pay get left waiting for even longer...

Unfortunately that seems to be the case with everything in this world. Those with limited or no access to resources often get left behind - a mere afterthought

[ice-qube 648]

10 hours ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

Can’t get over a 15 month old baby being issued DS-5535. This is clear indication of one or both of the following: 

 

1. An Atrocious programming error in the computer selecting candidates for DS-5535s

 

2. Deliberate, desperate, possibly discriminatory attempt at keeping certain people out of the United States.

APing the baby with DS-5535 has the same effect as doing it to the parents, obviously, as the parents cannot move forward in immigration process without their baby. It’s a terrific way of indefinitely holding up the whole family’s immigration process, slowing admissions to the US, and of course I have no idea whether it is designed that way or not. It may just be randomized bureaucratic idiocy, to be fair.
 

Still, i can’t help but note (and I know you don’t agree with the hypothesis) that this has all worked very well to speed up the clearing of the interview queue while also paradoxically delaying a whole lot more people’s immigration cases indefinitely. By placing a higher % into a black hole queue—“queue” isn’t even the right word for AP, but for lack of better one—for which there are no apparent performance measures or expected time standards, they can attenuate the flow of immigrants while still meeting the directive to solve the interview backlog. No one told them to speed up an AP backlog, after all, and by the way AP is described and structured, with its lack of administrative remedies, presumption that your case is somehow incomplete, the use of the extreme vetting, etc,  it seems to be based on a general bureaucratic presumption that, if we put you  in AP, well, hey, there must be a good reason for it. And dare i say, no one higher up has much incentive for their subordinates to speed up processing cases that are in the “problematic”  container, do they?

Edited July 19, 2022 by ice-qube
Correction

[PZibran325 112]

4 hours ago, ice-qube said:

APing the baby with DS-5535 has the same effect as doing it to the parents, obviously, as the parents cannot move forward in immigration process without their baby. It’s a terrific way of indefinitely holding up the whole family’s immigration process, slowing admissions to the US, and of course I have no idea whether it is designed that way or not. It may just be randomized bureaucratic idiocy, to be fair.
 

Still, i can’t help but note (and I know you don’t agree with the hypothesis) that this has all worked very well to speed up the clearing of the interview queue while also paradoxically delaying a whole lot more people’s immigration cases indefinitely. By placing a higher % into a black hole queue—“queue” isn’t even the right word for AP, but for lack of better one—for which there are no apparent performance measures or expected time standards, they can attenuate the flow of immigrants while still meeting the directive to solve the interview backlog. No one told them to speed up an AP backlog, after all, and by the way AP is described and structured, with its lack of administrative remedies, presumption that your case is somehow incomplete, the use of the extreme vetting, etc,  it seems to be based on a general bureaucratic presumption that, if we put you  in AP, well, hey, there must be a good reason for it. And dare i say, no one higher up has much incentive for their subordinates to speed up processing cases that are in the “problematic”  container, do they?

I agree with you, I don't know what the internal performance metrics are but it may be possible that when COVID restrictions were eased-Montreal, as well as perhaps other consulates around the globe were pressured to clear the backlog in the interview queue that had occurred due to covid shutdowns. This is all speculation of course, but I believe the amount of time it takes embassies to schedule interviews and clear out the interview queue is a part of their performance metric, but AP by it's nature is not because it isn't expected to be cleared up quite as soon as the interview queue. Then once you are placed on AP they are within their rights to just forget about you. I am going to choose to believe, however, that they're human and they're doing their best even if it is unpleasant (to say the least) for us. I need to hang on to that hope otherwise I'll lose my mind.

[AJ! 1]

I think it just comes down to really really poor programming for the computer to select people.  As an example, many people who have active visas who are trying to get a different visas are being given this and placed on an indefinite hold. If there were "security related concerns" I'm not sure how the ds 5535 helps considering they already have an existing visa.

The DS 5535 madness needs to end.

[Ontarkie 14,133]

2 minutes ago, AJ! said:

I think it just comes down to really really poor programming for the computer to select people.  As an example, many people who have active visas who are trying to get a different visas are being given this and placed on an indefinite hold. If there were "security related concerns" I'm not sure how the ds 5535 helps considering they already have an existing visa.

The DS 5535 madness needs to end.

Exactly, if it was truly a security hold, serving them the WOM would not go straight to issued.

[PZibran325 112]

I received the same general reply from Montreal that others have been receiving, after sharing some relevant and important information regarding our case.

 

They indicated I need to wait 180 days ( 6 months) before I ask for a status update, but I never asked for a status update just wanted to bring some things to their attention, still I hope they at least read my email🤷‍♀️

 

PS for status inquires didn't it used to be be 60 days? Am I wrong?  Also the medical needs to be redone at >= 180 days right?

 

 

[ohmygod 60]

29 minutes ago, PZibran325 said:

I received the same general reply from Montreal that others have been receiving, after sharing some relevant and important information regarding our case.

 

They indicated I need to wait 180 days ( 6 months) before I ask for a status update, but I never asked for a status update just wanted to bring some things to their attention, still I hope they at least read my email🤷‍♀️

 

PS for status inquires didn't it used to be be 60 days? Am I wrong?  Also the medical needs to be redone at >= 180 days right?

 

 

I am thinking of asking my passport back. Where should I ask? Just email or through any specific link

[PZibran325 112]

3 minutes ago, ohmygod said:

I am thinking of asking my passport back. Where should I ask? Just email or through any specific link

Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov is where you email them. Don't expect a quick reply though. Not sure if there is a faster way to ask for the passport back

[sky2022 1]

Hello VJ Members,

 

I had an interview yesterday and VISA officer gave me 221(g) form with remarks "Email Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov F1 Visa conversion opt out request Include "F1 Opt out OP29" in subject Resume and CV ". Today i got an email from Consulate requesting DS-5535 . Here is little background :

 

Country of origin  :India (Currently Canadian Green Card Holder)

F1 interview location :Montreal

Visa Category : F11

 

My dad applied immigrant visa for me as F2B category (Unmarried Son and Daughter of US Permanent Resident) then later when he became US Citizen we changed my visa category as F1 (Unmarried Son and Daughter of US Citizen) . Yesterday I had an interview where Visa officer told me that he cant grant me visa now since the category I am in (F1) is not current for India so he asked me to changed my visa category to my previous visa category i.e. F2B since that is current now .My overall interview went fine ,after the interview Visa officer asked me if I had my resume or CV and I told him yes i do and i can provide it to him right now but then he said its fine ,you will receive  an email from Consulate for Opt-out conversion and then you can reply to that email  with your resume and send it back to Consulate . So the very next day I did receive an email from consulate for DS-5535 but nothing for Opt Out request. I do carry a US Visitor visa and have travelled to US several times .Visa officer did ask me if i ever faced any issues at the border during my visits and I said no .Does anyone had same situation and how long does it takes to process DS-5535.

 

Thanks

[PZibran325 112]

3 hours ago, sky2022 said:

Hello VJ Members,

 

I had an interview yesterday and VISA officer gave me 221(g) form with remarks "Email Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov F1 Visa conversion opt out request Include "F1 Opt out OP29" in subject Resume and CV ". Today i got an email from Consulate requesting DS-5535 . Here is little background :

 

Country of origin  :India (Currently Canadian Green Card Holder)

F1 interview location :Montreal

Visa Category : F11

 

My dad applied immigrant visa for me as F2B category (Unmarried Son and Daughter of US Permanent Resident) then later when he became US Citizen we changed my visa category as F1 (Unmarried Son and Daughter of US Citizen) . Yesterday I had an interview where Visa officer told me that he cant grant me visa now since the category I am in (F1) is not current for India so he asked me to changed my visa category to my previous visa category i.e. F2B since that is current now .My overall interview went fine ,after the interview Visa officer asked me if I had my resume or CV and I told him yes i do and i can provide it to him right now but then he said its fine ,you will receive  an email from Consulate for Opt-out conversion and then you can reply to that email  with your resume and send it back to Consulate . So the very next day I did receive an email from consulate for DS-5535 but nothing for Opt Out request. I do carry a US Visitor visa and have travelled to US several times .Visa officer did ask me if i ever faced any issues at the border during my visits and I said no .Does anyone had same situation and how long does it takes to process DS-5535.

 

Thanks

Let me be the first to invite you the unfortunate DS-5535 club. A club that unfortunately has no timeline where you can be waiting for weeks, months, even years (in some unfortunate cases ) for the process to complete. I'm so sorry.