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

[CAN_PA 42]

43 minutes ago, Danii said:

It was the first time I saw a date change in a while too! Seems like quite a few of us got updates. They may be done with interviews for the month due to the holidays, hopefully our cases are being prioritized for now? 

Hi! I absolutely agree with you on that. I've recently had mine updated Dec 15, a month after my Medical results came in (I was put on 221g for delayed medical results). Another person who's in the same situation had theirs updated this week as well. They've kept my passport. So far, I haven't received an email to fill out any further forms. The CO didn't keep my police certificate either. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or whether they'll request it again at a later date seeing as most people have had their certificates kept..

[DS5535 135]

5 hours ago, CAN_PA said:

Hi! I absolutely agree with you on that. I've recently had mine updated Dec 15, a month after my Medical results came in (I was put on 221g for delayed medical results). Another person who's in the same situation had theirs updated this week as well. They've kept my passport. So far, I haven't received an email to fill out any further forms. The CO didn't keep my police certificate either. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or whether they'll request it again at a later date seeing as most people have had their certificates kept..

My police report wasn't kept either, but they looked at it and took it out of the room then returned it. My passport was also taken. My last update was Nov 15th. Interview Nov.8. Ds5535 returned Nov 9th.

[CAN_PA 42]

1 hour ago, DS5535 said:

My police report wasn't kept either, but they looked at it and took it out of the room then returned it. My passport was also taken. My last update was Nov 15th. Interview Nov.8. Ds5535 returned Nov 9th.

I truly hope that the Consulate will sort out all the Visas that have been pending since November. It would be amazing if all of us were approved around the same time!

[GraceFace33 35]

@Danii we were refused at the interview.  It was quite strange.  he told us not to worry and we should hear back in 2 weeks.  We are on day 104 now so for those who did get the DS5535 sent and were approved after 40+ days, it could be a lot worse! 

[ice-qube 648]

45 minutes ago, GraceFace33 said:

@Danii we were refused at the interview.  It was quite strange.  he told us not to worry and we should hear back in 2 weeks.  We are on day 104 now so for those who did get the DS5535 sent and were approved after 40+ days, it could be a lot worse! 

Omg, day 104! Geez. They gave you a DS-5535 and still no update?

[GraceFace33 35]

2 hours ago, ice-qube said:

Omg, day 104! Geez. They gave you a DS-5535 and still no update?

Yes it is so painful. And we didn’t even get the DS-5535 so have no idea what is going on. 

[CAN_PA 42]

4 hours ago, GraceFace33 said:

Yes it is so painful. And we didn’t even get the DS-5535 so have no idea what is going on. 

I'm sorry to hear such a long wait for you. It may be worth contacting your state Senator if you haven't already? Were you applying for K1 or CR1? My understanding from their website is that if you're not an immediate relative or have minors it could take months. It really sucks. We intend to contact ours close to the 60 day mark if we don't hear from the Consulate by then.

[Hello100 50]

Is it true that a CR-1 Visa automatically changes to an IR-1 Visa if 2 years of marriage have passed but you still haven't obtained your CR-1?

[Sharma Ali 36]

1 hour ago, Tony Nikolovski said:

Is it true that a CR-1 Visa automatically changes to an IR-1 Visa if 2 years of marriage have passed but you still haven't obtained your CR-1?

It either changes at NVC when they’re creating case numbers or during the GC printing. If your two year anniversary came after the case was created, it will automatically change to IR1 during card printing. 

[Danii 312]

9 hours ago, GraceFace33 said:

@Danii we were refused at the interview.  It was quite strange.  he told us not to worry and we should hear back in 2 weeks.  We are on day 104 now so for those who did get the DS5535 sent and were approved after 40+ days, it could be a lot worse! 

Oh man, I'm so sorry. Like @CAN_PA said, I think you should really reach out to your rep/senator asap, especially since you weren't given DS-5535 and told you would be hearing back from them in 2 weeks. They will be able to get a much more detailed response from the consulate regarding your case. It seems like Montreal lets cases fall between the cracks from time to time and don't care to update you until you get someone else involved. 

 

[ice-qube 648]

12 hours ago, GraceFace33 said:

@Danii we were refused at the interview.  It was quite strange.  he told us not to worry and we should hear back in 2 weeks.  We are on day 104 now so for those who did get the DS5535 sent and were approved after 40+ days, it could be a lot worse! 

On what basis did they refuse you if they did not give you DS-5535? Did they at least tell you that you are being refused under 221(g)? Or was for another reason?

[GraceFace33 35]

1 hour ago, ice-qube said:

On what basis did they refuse you if they did not give you DS-5535? Did they at least tell you that you are being refused under 221(g)? Or was for another reason?

They gave us a sheet with “administrative processing circled. Then later asked for an additional court record for a minor charge he had about 20 years ago (we had originally included this but apparently the first form we got from the court house was not descriptive enough). We sent that additional request in on 9/28/21...they responded and said they had received it at least. Maybe I will take the advice and reach out to a senator like @Danii and the other is suggesting. I don’t know why but there is this fear complex that if we bother them too much they may give an unfavorable response. That is the only reason I haven’t give the senator route yet. 
 

thank you all for your responses! Really hoping we get some kind of movement soon. 

Edited December 19, 2021 by GraceFace33

[From_CAN_2_US 1,100]

25 minutes ago, GraceFace33 said:

They gave us a sheet with “administrative processing circled. Then later asked for an additional court record for a minor charge he had about 20 years ago (we had originally included this but apparently the first form we got from the court house was not descriptive enough). We sent that additional request in on 9/28/21...they responded and said they had received it at least. Maybe I will take the advice and reach out to a senator like @Danii and the other is suggesting. I don’t know why but there is this fear complex that if we bother them too much they may give an unfavorable response. That is the only reason I haven’t give the senator route yet. 
 

thank you all for your responses! Really hoping we get some kind of movement soon. 

From what I have heard, Montreal is known to drag their feet for a couple of months if any documents is missing and submitted after the interview. So I would do anything I could to prod them. Personally, I don’t think getting the senator involved leads to a negative decision. 

[Ontarkie 14,019]

6 hours ago, GraceFace33 said:

They gave us a sheet with “administrative processing circled. Then later asked for an additional court record for a minor charge he had about 20 years ago (we had originally included this but apparently the first form we got from the court house was not descriptive enough). We sent that additional request in on 9/28/21...they responded and said they had received it at least. Maybe I will take the advice and reach out to a senator like @Danii and the other is suggesting. I don’t know why but there is this fear complex that if we bother them too much they may give an unfavorable response. That is the only reason I haven’t give the senator route yet. 
 

thank you all for your responses! Really hoping we get some kind of movement soon. 

Since you responded to the 221g Sept 28 you go by that date. It's still longer then they are known for,  it use to be more like 6 weeks. You are well over that so go ahead and get your representative involved. It won't rock the boat at all but it will get an answer if it something that just got lost in the shuffle, they don't take it out on you all.

[SalishSea 17,053]

On 11/10/2021 at 7:06 PM, Danii said:

I wonder what changed at Montreal besides the fact that they've hired more staff.

My guess is that there has been some credible security threat intelligence received, associated with Montreal.   Just a hunch.