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

[ice-qube 648]

4 hours ago, deep2ca said:

I received an email from them 30 minutes ago, they need me to fill out DS-5535. I also have extensive travel history for the last 10 years, im going to do my best but it might be difficult to recall exact dates and names/addresses of hotels. How accurate does it need to be ?

 

I was also refused entry in October of 2020 because I attempted to cross by driving / land border. They told me I could only fly due to covid restrictions. I have flown successfully to the United States 3 times since, but they always ask me why I was refused entry. 

 

Appreciate the updates, I will do the same. 

So now you are ahead of me, as I still have not received any email. I am really frustrated.

[ice-qube 648]

5 hours ago, DrJanko10 said:

@deep2ca @ice-qube I was also refused at my interview on Oct. 13th, and I was given form 221(g) and asked to answer "supplemental questions". They e-mailed me the same day with the questions (DS-5535), and I sent it back to them via email the next day (Oct. 14th). Montreal e-mailed me on Monday (Oct. 18th) thanking me for sending them my answers. My status still remained refused at that time but my "case last updated" changed to October 18th. Since then, my "case last updated" has changed twice: on Oct. 22nd and on Oct. 25th but still remains refused. Not knowing how long this will take is brutal, but my wife and I are content knowing that they are actively working on my case.

 

I knew I would be refused at the interview because I was turned away at the border back in early 2019 (no return ticket or proof of ties to Canada; long story), but I didn't expect to be hit with the DS-5535. That, plus my extensive travel history (ended up with 4 pages on Word of travel history in the past 15 years (a lot of Europe and US entries/exits)), could explain why I find myself in this situation. 

 

Since my interview was before yours, I will keep you updated with any changes in my status, so that it can give you an idea of how long things may take. And if yours moves along faster than mine, I'd also appreciate an update.

 

 

I don’t understand why they couldn’t have sent me this questionnaire by now. They sent it to you same day, which makes sense. Still nada in my inbox.

[Twiz&Toz 240]

3 hours ago, ice-qube said:

I don’t understand why they couldn’t have sent me this questionnaire by now. They sent it to you same day, which makes sense. Still nada in my inbox.

Did you meet the income requirements? 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

19 minutes ago, Twiz&Toz said:

Did you meet the income requirements? 

DS-5535 is about security checks being done on the beneficiary, It has nothing to do with income requirements of the petitioner.

 

Another thought came to mind, on what could trigger the form - the beneficiary's online and social media presence and anything that could be perceived as a threat from it.....really just grasping at straws though...

Edited October 26, 2021 by From_CAN_2_US

[Twiz&Toz 240]

45 minutes ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

DS-5535 is about security checks being done on the beneficiary, It has nothing to do with income requirements of the petitioner.

 

Another thought came to mind, on what could trigger the form - the beneficiary's online and social media presence and anything that could be perceived as a threat from it.....really just grasping at straws though...

Oh yeah I forgot about social media. It has never come up before. I just find it really strange they didn’t keep the passport. But it could be someone new too.

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

26 minutes ago, Twiz&Toz said:

Oh yeah I forgot about social media. It has never come up before. I just find it really strange they didn’t keep the passport. But it could be someone new too.

They don't ever keep the passport in cases involving DS-5535, because the consulate has no idea if and when the security checks being conducted would clear. People often wait many months and even years. The weird thing though, I thought this was more commonly issued at consulates in certain countries (Pakistan, Egypt, Iran to name a few of the most common ones I have seen). Personally, haven't come across any such cases at Montreal consulate, and now there are 3 cases over a span of a few weeks...strange....

 

I really hope it passes quickly for @ice-qube, @DrJanko10, and @deep2ca.

Edited October 27, 2021 by From_CAN_2_US

[ice-qube 648]

1 hour ago, Twiz&Toz said:

Did you meet the income requirements? 

Yes. I mean my wife’s income doesn’t look too high, but it passes.

1 hour ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

DS-5535 is about security checks being done on the beneficiary, It has nothing to do with income requirements of the petitioner.

 

Another thought came to mind, on what could trigger the form - the beneficiary's online and social media presence and anything that could be perceived as a threat from it.....really just grasping at straws though...

I have never been online saying stuff against the United States. I am rather pro-American…

Edited October 27, 2021 by ice-qube
Grammar

[DrJanko10 101]

1 minute ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

They don't ever keep the passport in cases involving DS-5535, because the consulate has no idea if and when the security checks being conducted would clear. People often wait many months and even years. The weird thing though, I thought this was more commonly issued at consulates in certain countries (Pakistan, Egypt, Iran to name a few of the most common ones I have seen). Personally, haven't come across any such cases at Montreal consulate, and now there are 3 cases over a span of a few weeks...strange....

 

I really hope it passes quickly for @ice-qube, @DrJanko10, and @deep2ca.

The officer kept mine, although he did ask me whether I want it back or not. I obviously told him to keep it.

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

Just now, DrJanko10 said:

The officer kept mine, although he did ask me whether I want it back or not. I obviously told him to keep it.

Well that's encouraging!

 

And I stand corrected, reading through some cases here on VJ, it looks like some who are issued DS-5535 do get their passports kept. I wonder if there is a distinction...

 

In any case, thanks for providing us an update on your situation earlier today. Hope you get approved soon.

[ice-qube 648]

2 hours ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

Well that's encouraging!

 

And I stand corrected, reading through some cases here on VJ, it looks like some who are issued DS-5535 do get their passports kept. I wonder if there is a distinction...

 

In any case, thanks for providing us an update on your situation earlier today. Hope you get approved soon.

Depressing and bewildering that they gave mine back to me and didn’t even ask…

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

10 hours ago, ice-qube said:

Depressing and bewildering that they gave mine back to me and didn’t even ask…

The inconsistency makes me wonder if this is a training exercise for the new recruits.

 

I was reading more about DS-5535 (being worried about it), and found another reason they are issued is if applicants have a technology/ science background in education / jobs. That being said there have been many here working in IT who got approved at the interview on the spot. So if candidates are being flagged for their education/ profession, this would be new for Montreal.

Edited October 27, 2021 by From_CAN_2_US

[mam521 1,987]

On 10/25/2021 at 10:09 PM, ice-qube said:

I don't think my name is that similar to anyone else that I have been able to find. I absolutely do not understand what happened. I do not know any reason why I would be considered a security risk at all.

This might sound silly, but have you simply googled your name?  There was a person handed a 221g on this forum and remaine din AP for a while because there was another individual with the same name out there and that person apparently did have a criminal record.  Everything did work out once the appropriate security verifications were completed. 

 

1 hour ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

The inconsistency makes me wonder if this is a training exercise for the new recruits.

 

I was reading more about DS-5535 (being worried about it), and found another reason they are issued is if applicants have a technology/ science background in education / jobs. That being said there have been many here working in IT who got approved at the interview on the spot. So if candidates are being flagged for their education/ profession, this would be new for Montreal.

Couple of things - new CO's is likely a pretty valid explanation for things being slow and strange.  

 

I hadn't given much thought about the education thing, but if we're honest, the Trump administration put a lot of companies in awkward positions when he banned a bunch of the H1B's and the pandemic further exacerbated the situation.  I suppose people could be attempting to find alternate ways to enter the US but it's still rather far fetched I'd think.  That's an awful lot of work on both the petitioner and the recipient's parts!  

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

3 hours ago, mam521 said:

I hadn't given much thought about the education thing, but if we're honest, the Trump administration put a lot of companies in awkward positions when he banned a bunch of the H1B's and the pandemic further exacerbated the situation.  I suppose people could be attempting to find alternate ways to enter the US but it's still rather far fetched I'd think.  That's an awful lot of work on both the petitioner and the recipient's parts!  

From what I gathered from reading about it, this DS-5535 was introduced by the trump administration in 2017, as an "extreme vetting" measure. It is meant to scrutinise flagged applicants for potential security threats. The reason people with education and jobs in engineering, technology, and sciences (such as chemistry/ mathematics/ biology) are targetted, is because of their skills in areas that pose security risk - building of chemical/ biological weapons, hacking cyber-security etc.

 

The form asks for details of your travels for last 15 years and how they were funded. If they were funded by a govt the US doesn't like, I guess it is suspicious. The forms asks for details of your family, and they look into all of their history and anything sketchy there. The form asks for all your social media information and look into what you post and possibly what your friends post. Remember this doesn't have to be just "Anti-American" sentiment. Extreme right wing domestic terrorism is recognised as America's biggest threat right now.

 

Scary thing is, you could be completely innocent. You could be just a Math professor who travelled a lot for pleasure or to give lectures at conferences, and could be flagged for "extreme vetting."

 

There is a forum here on VJ dedicated to DS-5535, and people from places like Pakistan have literally waited 4 years to get approval after being put in AP with DS-5535. I am all for vetting immigrants for security reasons, but wish the process didn't take that long...

 

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by From_CAN_2_US

[mam521 1,987]

@From_CAN_2_US simply awful!  Especially considering how easy it is to simply hire "those" people on something like a TN. 

 

The system is so ridiculously broken.  It's sad.  

[DGF 730]

Just want to add my 2c re: the DS-5535. Obviously we’ll never know for sure, but I absolutely believe that this is training for the new hires. They are likely not keeping passports because generally the people who receive DS-5535 require background checks from places that don’t have the infrastructure in place to respond quickly, so it is likely just procedure to not keep passports rather than a reflection of how long the AP will last. 
 

I don’t expect that these cases will take long compared to other DS-5535 to verify and be approved, especially given the countries involved (either birth or travel), but of course that’s just a guess. 
 

Good luck!

Edited October 27, 2021 by DGF