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

[DrJanko10 101]

19 hours ago, ice-qube said:

Anyone received any updates on their cases here?

Not yet. But I did send an email to them on Monday Nov. 1st with a few questions, two weeks since they acknowledged receiving my DS5535. Still waiting for a reply to that as well.

[mam521 1,907]

On 10/31/2021 at 2:57 PM, From_CAN_2_US said:

I have been reading on Quora about why the DS-5535 is issued. By and large the answers there (looking at answers posted by people who claim to be COs at consulates or by US security officers) say that the main reason it is issued is the name and date of birth roughly matching someone on the US security black list/ bad guy list.

 

The name doesn’t have to match exactly, it can just be similar. Also it is not necessary they are middle eastern  sounding names.  I am sure there are people from all racial/ cultural backgrounds on the black list/ bad guy list. On VJ we see people from Brazil, Canada, Europe etc with no connection with the Middle East getting put into AP with DS-5535.

 

Basically it can happen to anyone unfortunately, which is so scary. The good news is that 90% of the time people issued DS-5535 get issued their visa. For people with no history in Countries that are difficult to get records from (eg: Pakistan) it can take as less at 60 days.

 

Now that I look back, there have been others on this thread who were refused without being a reason, and then were cleared after 2/3 months. We didn’t hear from them explicitly that they were issued the DS-5535, but they might just have not posted…

 

I feel really bad for those issued 221G with the DS-5535, and terrified of being in the same boat when I interview. I just hope the processing will be faster and not go beyond 60 days…

We had something unrelated but kind of similar happen not long ago.  I was refinancing my house to get my ex's name off of the mortgage.  When the title company did a name search, someone's name came up that was only kinda similar but my ex still had to sign an affidavit stating that person wasn't him.  My ex has a pretty unique "white guy" name - First, 2 middle and a hyphenated last name.  The mysterious "similar" person only had a single last name that was the same as my ex's.  The loan couldn't be completed until that affidavit was signed.  

[DrJanko10 101]

On 10/30/2021 at 10:42 PM, OG Fan said:

I'm in the same boat. My interview was on Sept 27th and I'm still waiting. Everything seemingly went well during the interview and in the end they said I just needed to fill out a questionnaire by email. I didn't realize this was the DS-5535, they just made it sound like a simple questionnaire and acted like it was normal protocol.

 

They kept my passport and said it would help speed up the process so unless I needed it for an emergency it's best to let them keep it.

When I tried asking about timelines, they didn't give an answer but made it sound like my responding asap was the bottleneck (ha!). I sent it back the next morning and the same day they said they received it.

 

I emailed after the 2 week and 4 week marks asking for updates but they sent a nice but generic message basically saying "we know it sucks but we'll take as long as we need".

 

As for why this happened, I'm Canadian and have only ever lived here but I am ethnically Pakistani and visited there once a few years ago so I'm assuming this flagged me.

 

How long did it take them to reply to your emails? They haven't replied to me yet and I emailed them on Monday (Nov. 1st). 

[ice-qube 648]

1 minute ago, DrJanko10 said:

How long did it take them to reply to your emails? They haven't replied to me yet and I emailed them on Monday (Nov. 1st). 

Speaking personally, I have sent a couple of emails about my case since Oct 27 and neither of them have been answered.

[OG Fan 21]

8 hours ago, DrJanko10 said:

How long did it take them to reply to your emails? They haven't replied to me yet and I emailed them on Monday (Nov. 1st). 

It took about 1 week each time. I think I saw somewhere that they aim for 5 business days for getting back to emails. I replied to the email they had sent me for the DS-5535.

 

Regarding potentially why I was flagged, other than being Muslim and visiting Pakistan, I'm also a software developer so it's possible that could be related. I haven't had any issues anywhere else with my name matching some one else's so I have a feeling that's not it

[Danii 312]

On 11/6/2021 at 8:58 PM, OG Fan said:

It took about 1 week each time. I think I saw somewhere that they aim for 5 business days for getting back to emails. I replied to the email they had sent me for the DS-5535.

 

Regarding potentially why I was flagged, other than being Muslim and visiting Pakistan, I'm also a software developer so it's possible that could be related. I haven't had any issues anywhere else with my name matching some one else's so I have a feeling that's not it

Also just got hit by DS5535. Interviewer said my case was perfect/all the documents are correct but that I got randomly selected lol. I'm Pakistani, my husband's Egyptian, I'm visibly muslim (wear hijab) and am in biochemical engineering. Not sure what triggered it but I have a guess that you and I got hit for the same reason. 

[Canada21 19]

9 minutes ago, Danii said:

Also just got hit by DS5535. Interviewer said my case was perfect/all the documents are correct but that I got randomly selected lol. I'm Pakistani, my husband's Egyptian, I'm visibly muslim (wear hijab) and am in biochemical engineering. Not sure what triggered it but I have a guess that you and I got hit for the same reason. 

How long have been Canadian? 

[deep2ca 77]

46 minutes ago, Danii said:

Also just got hit by DS5535. Interviewer said my case was perfect/all the documents are correct but that I got randomly selected lol. I'm Pakistani, my husband's Egyptian, I'm visibly muslim (wear hijab) and am in biochemical engineering. Not sure what triggered it but I have a guess that you and I got hit for the same reason. 

From what I read online, it is pretty common for Pakistani people to get the DS5535, biochemical engineering could also trigger it. 

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by deep2ca

[Danii 312]

42 minutes ago, Canada21 said:

How long have been Canadian? 

Since 2007 (when I was 9 years old). I lived in the US before from ages 3-9, was in Japan before and only in Pakistan for 2 years. 

[Danii 312]

7 minutes ago, deep2ca said:

From what I read online, it is pretty common for Pakistani people to get the DS5535, biochemical engineering could also trigger it. 

 

Unfortunately, I was expecting it tbh. Not a stranger to random selection at this point, just so tiring. I have a very easy case, no kids, no previous marriages, no criminal record. I also feel like I am much younger than the average applicant (applied when I was 22), just annoying that the only reason I'm in this situation is because I was born in Pakistan/lived there only as an infant and pursued a career in STEM. 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,100]

1 hour ago, Danii said:

Unfortunately, I was expecting it tbh. Not a stranger to random selection at this point, just so tiring. I have a very easy case, no kids, no previous marriages, no criminal record. I also feel like I am much younger than the average applicant (applied when I was 22), just annoying that the only reason I'm in this situation is because I was born in Pakistan/lived there only as an infant and pursued a career in STEM. 

It maybe simply the name too. Some one with a vaguely similar name and birth date as yours who they do not like...

 

I hear the similarity can be as vague as Mary to Mariam...

Edited November 8, 2021 by From_CAN_2_US

[Danii 312]

21 hours ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

It maybe simply the name too. Some one with a vaguely similar name and birth date as yours who they do not like...

 

I hear the similarity can be as vague as Mary to Mariam...

That could be, but I don't have a very common muslim name at all, I'm starting to think I could have been flagged because of my dad's very common muslim name? I was also unfortunately born in a city in Pakistan that has a bad rep (that I only lived 1 month in as an infant), so the birthplace location could've been the reason too. There are so many stupid reasons like that I can come up with. I was thinking last night about how strange it is for them to flag me as a security threat. In i130A/DS260, we were asked to provide similar info as DS-5535, but for only 5 years. When I filled out those, I was 23, so 5 years covers my information as an adult (18-23). Going back 15 years takes me to 8 years old. Did they really think I was maybe a threat as an elementary/high student lol? I have a spotless record, and lived in the US/Canada for majority of my life, so this really feels like I'm just being discriminated against because of my background that I didn't chose for myself. Biden's administration has stated themselves that a lot of these practices are discriminatory in nature, so I'm gonna get my husband's state rep/senator/congress woman involved. Will keep you guys updated. 

 

Btw, they still didn't email the form to me. Is it really that hard to send a PDF that's already publicly available? Just shows how incompetent they really are. I already filled out a form I found online and gonna reply as soon as they send it to me. 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Danii

[ice-qube 648]

On 11/8/2021 at 12:00 PM, Danii said:

Unfortunately, I was expecting it tbh. Not a stranger to random selection at this point, just so tiring. I have a very easy case, no kids, no previous marriages, no criminal record. I also feel like I am much younger than the average applicant (applied when I was 22), just annoying that the only reason I'm in this situation is because I was born in Pakistan/lived there only as an infant and pursued a career in STEM. 

This stuff is infuriating. I have never even lived in another country, was born in Canada, and parents were too. Have been married to my wife for 8.5 years already, No arrests, no convictions. I even have a NEXUS card (!). I can't fathom how they are making these decisions now. 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,100]

From what I have been reading, it appears that the people being issued the DS-5535 form are chosen by the computer, with no say from the CO.

 

Might be some arbitrary thing caught by the computer or who knows, maybe even random chance…

[DrJanko10 101]

Sent a follow up email today, because it has been more than 5 business days since my first email inquiry, and this is what they sent me:

 

Your case is currently under administrative processing. As soon as the administrative processing is complete, the Visa Unit will advise of the next steps and updated documents required to continue processing the case.  

   

We realize that these extended time periods cause frustration to many individuals, and we are sensitive to the fact that the purpose of the immigrant visa program is to facilitate legitimate travel to the U.S.  Nonetheless, the Consulate in Montreal, like all U.S. Embassies and Consulates, must adjudicate visas in accordance with the provisions of the law, and, in some cases, this involves extensive consular review and administrative processing.  While we cannot predict when the processing of your visa will be completed, please be assured that the Consulate and the State Department are aware of your concerns and will contact you as soon as the processing is complete.  

  

We hope that this information is helpful in replying to your inquiry.   

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.  

 

Sadly, they didn't answer any of my questions, which were: 

-Can you help me understand what the DS-5535 process looks like? 

-Are you able to disclose the reason why my case is under such scrutiny? It would help put our minds at ease knowing the cause of this.

-Do you have any indication on how long this may take?

-Is there anything else you may need from me?

 

If any of you get a more detailed answer, please share.