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

[SalishSea 17,431]

On 1/5/2022 at 11:27 AM, Tony Nikolovski said:

Would you guys recommend this?: Emailing the Consulate that you will take legal action if they don't consider your case. Do you think that this will convince them to look at your case and take it seriously?

No.

[SalishSea 17,431]

On 1/5/2022 at 11:56 AM, Sharma Ali said:

I don’t think that would help. Whatever they’re doing is already illegal but trying disguise it under security vetting and AP which has no legal description. This is just one of the many black holes they’ve created to discourage legal immigration. 

How is it illegal?  Which law, specifically, is it involution of?

[SalishSea 17,431]

On 1/5/2022 at 1:03 PM, Tony Nikolovski said:

My I-130 was filed almost 15 months ago. However, ice-qube is saying that it might be risky. I'm eager to send such email though!

And you have already had your interview, (26 days ago!) right?  At 15 months in, you are WELL within processing times for the entire process.  Threatening or actually starting a lawsuit after 26 days in AP is frivolous, and will waste more of their time that they could spend actually adjudicating the visa applications.

[SalishSea 17,431]

On 1/5/2022 at 2:52 PM, Redie said:

Hopefully she can move things along for you. My congressman’s office did take my case and we got this reply back on December 20,

 

According to our records, the consular officer processing the case requested that the applicant provide a medical report from our panel physician, as this document was missing at the time of the interview. We confirm receipt of the medical report. The case will be reviewed by the consular officer and the Visa Unit will advise your constituent and the applicant of the next steps if anything else is needed to complete processing the case.
While we cannot predict when the processing of the visa will be completed, please be assured that the Consulate and the Department of State are aware of your constituent's concerns and will contact them as soon as the processing is complete.
We hope that this information is helpful in replying to your constituent's inquiry. Sincerely,
 Consular Correspondence Unit (LMR)

 

My case was updated on December 30 but still shows refused. I honestly thought the inquiry would move things along much quicker. What a disappointment. Hoping you have better luck. I am at a loss of what to do next. I am at 64 days!

So how long did it take for you to respond to the RFE for the medical exam?  

[SalishSea 17,431]

On 1/7/2022 at 7:21 AM, From_CAN_2_US said:

I’m afraid if they have said they will be sending supplementary questions by email, that is almost certainly a DS-5535.

 

What I meant was that the refusal at border did not lead to DS-5535, as that is not usually the reason they are issued.

 

The 221G was issued for two reasons:

1. Refusal at border

2. DS-5535 (extreme vetting)

 

1 and 2 are separate issues. 1 is relatively easy to sort out. Some even get approved within a few hours (although for others it has taken up to 1.5 months). 2 is the one for which which could take anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 years to clear.

 

Now, general literature online (from law firm websites etc) say most cases are resolved within 6 months. Also for people with no links to any countries besides Canada and US, it is said to take less than 60 days (although some in that situation here are approaching 80 day mark now, but that could be due to the holidays). The ones for whom it takes multiple years, from what I have noticed, do not hail from Canada. 
 

Things are uncertain for sure, but if I were you, I would be optimistic about your case getting approved within 2-6 months.

 

Read this thread for more information about how you can get your state senator/ congressman involved to help push your case along.

 

About whether things are picking up, I don’t have concrete evidence of it yet, but it is a hunch, based on the fact that the backlog is cleared for tier 2.

A refusal of entry at the US/CAN border for suspicion of immigrant intent would not impact the outcome of a later immigrant/K visa because immigrant intent is expected with immigrant and K visas.

[SalishSea 17,431]

On 1/7/2022 at 3:19 PM, Rosinasaur said:

Um... What happened here? That's not what it normally says...

 

The system did lag the first time I loaded it in. I wonder if this is a bug or a good sign? It used to say case "Refused" and created early Jan 2021 and case updated Jan 6th 2022.

 

Was the previous message under "Immigrant Visa Application"?  Because for K-1s, it often changes between Nonimmigrant/Immigrant just before issue.

[SalishSea 17,431]

1 hour ago, DS5535 said:

Can I just keep my mouth closed? How would Alberta Health know? Also for some reason my embassy was montreal (Quebec) not Alberta.

 

Cross from Different Province?

All US immigrant visa interviews for Canada are done in Montreal these days.

 

It is well known that once you move to the US as a lawful permanent resident (GC), you will no longer be covered under the provincial health plan.  If  @Ontarkie is still around, she can best explain the details.

Edited January 11, 2022 by Jorgedig

[Redie 124]

3 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

So how long did it take for you to respond to the RFE for the medical exam?  

The consulate received the medical 2 days after my interview. No other documents were missing. Today marks 10 weeks since my interview. It is ridiculous!

[Redie 124]

4 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

So how long did it take for you to respond to the RFE for the medical exam?  

Consulate received it 2 days after my interview. I I am going on 10 weeks in AP. 

[Banoo999 9]

5 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

A refusal of entry at the US/CAN border for suspicion of immigrant intent would not impact the outcome of a later immigrant/K visa because immigrant intent is expected with immigrant and K visas.

Would  refusal of entries  at the US/CAN border be impact the outcome of a later immigrant/CR1 visa?

[Hello100 50]

6 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

And you have already had your interview, (26 days ago!) right?  At 15 months in, you are WELL within processing times for the entire process.  Threatening or actually starting a lawsuit after 26 days in AP is frivolous, and will waste more of their time that they could spend actually adjudicating the visa applications.

No, actually the CR-1 Visa for Canadians typically takes between 8-12 months. I'm WELL beyond processing times.

6 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

No.

Why not

[ice-qube 648]

6 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

A refusal of entry at the US/CAN border for suspicion of immigrant intent would not impact the outcome of a later immigrant/K visa because immigrant intent is expected with immigrant and K visas.

How can you confidently make this statement? The idea that a record of refusal of entry would not affect decision making on the other visa just because *that* visa is an immigrant visa is pretty questionable...

[ice-qube 648]

6 minutes ago, Tony Nikolovski said:

No, actually the CR-1 Visa for Canadians typically takes between 8-12 months. I'm WELL beyond processing times.

Why not

You may be well beyond the historical processing time of the whole process (Lord knows I am, at 2 years and 7 months now), but threatening a lawsuit after only a couple of weeks into *this portion* of the process (AP) is probably uncalled for. I don't believe you would even be successful in court filing it after only being in AP a few weeks.

[Hello100 50]

3 minutes ago, ice-qube said:

You may be well beyond the historical processing time of the whole process (Lord knows I am, at 2 years and 7 months now), but threatening a lawsuit after only a couple of weeks into *this portion* of the process (AP) is probably uncalled for. I don't believe you would even be successful in court filing it after only being in AP a few weeks.

Yeah, that must suck for you, that's a long time. However, I was told by a lawyer that if you haven't got your visa issued within 12 months after filing the I-130, then it's time to sue no matter how long you've been waiting in AP (btw, it's been over a month, not a few weeks, but I get it, it's not long enough for them lol).

[ice-qube 648]

2 minutes ago, Tony Nikolovski said:

Yeah, that must suck for you, that's a long time. However, I was told by a lawyer that if you haven't got your visa issued within 12 months after filing the I-130, then it's time to sue no matter how long you've been waiting in AP (btw, it's been over a month, not a few weeks, but I get it, it's not long enough for them lol).

I have said this before on here, and I will reiterate: I would be very skeptical of anything a lawyer is saying on this subject. Why? Because their financial interest is in filing the lawsuit,  which is extremely pricey, and your success or failure does not affect them whatsoever. I am especially skeptical of a lawyer who is aggressively optimistic about such matters.