The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal. Post here and support each other (PART 2)

[emergence 47]

11 minutes ago, Throwitaway1988 said:

I think in the past it’s taken six weeks to get a response after sending in a missing document. May be longer now.

Yikes. 
 

The especially annoying aspect of this is that Telus swears the consulate got his medical a solid week before his interview, but the consulate claimed they don’t hate it. They use an electronic platform, so it’s difficult to see how it could’ve gotten lost. 

[ohmygod 60]

On 9/16/2022 at 6:40 PM, Bog-can said:

@ohmygodI was asked for a new medical this week.  They asked for my passport a few weeks back but in the meantime my medical expired.  Doesn’t the medical get sent electronically from the doctor?  

yes, medical gets sent electronically. It is almost three weeks since they received all the requested documents including passport. 

[SalishSea 17,824]

16 hours ago, emergence said:

It’s likely that this isn’t the only reason we received DS-5535

Being asked to do the DS-5535 is not related to having gotten a 221g for a missing medical.

[emergence 47]

9 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Being asked to do the DS-5535 is not related to having gotten a 221g for a missing medical.

I’m aware, thanks. We received both. Finally got an answer back from Telus today that they accidentally sent a partial medical and sent the rest over the day after his interview. Now all we can do is wait out the DS-5535.

[SalishSea 17,824]

Just now, emergence said:

I’m aware, thanks. We received both. Finally got an answer back from Telus today that they accidentally sent a partial medical and sent the rest over the day after his interview. Now all we can do is wait out the DS-5535.

Sorry to hear.  Hopefully your AP will not drag out like it has for most on this page.   Good luck.

[jujubemom 0]

Hi, I was put on administrative processing on July 15th and still no reply. My case was updated on Aug. 18th, Sep. 09th, and Sep. 21st, but nothing happened. 

I realized that my police certificate will expire soon, should I apply for a new one? 

[sloth_life 36]

On 9/26/2022 at 8:58 AM, emergence said:

How long does it typically take to get a response from the consulate? We emailed them on the 14th to confirm they have received my fiancé’s medical (one of the reasons we received the 221(g)), but we still haven’t heard back from them. Telus hasn’t been able to reach them either. It’s likely that this isn’t the only reason we received DS-5535, but it would be really nice to get it cleared up!

More often than not, the consulate will not respond stating they received your documents. In our experience, the consulate never responds to my wife (who the visa is for). The only time they respond is when I email them.

 

Therefore, I would recommend that you wait two weeks, then have the US citizen reach out and ask them to confirm that they have everything they need, and to confirm that they do not need anything else.

 

If you received any automatic responses, make sure you read the email in its entirety to check for verbiage relating to them deleting your email. Some consulates use a strange Google Form thing you need to fill out prior to sending them an email (otherwise they just delete your email and you get an automated response).

[herecomestherain 77]

Hi Everyone,

 

A while back I scoured the interned and I created a spread sheet to keep track of everyone's cases with the Montreal embassy.

I am opening it up to be edited by the pubic so if you don't see your case on here, please add it! It helps everyone get a sense of what is going on with AP.

I had removed usernames for everyone's privacy. If you'd like to add your user name instead please feel free to do so.

 

I couldn't keep up with maintain it so much so I apologize for missing some cases. I won't be maintaining the spread sheet so feel free to save backups incase anything gets altered or ruined (hopefully not).

 

I hope this spreadsheet helps you feel a sense of control or understanding on what is going on with your case. Love you guys; remember you're not alone.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g46wosHKeoKufm2FbiFok6AGf5dc-OOznMOXxpEBc90/edit?usp=sharing

[Siarg 72]

Hey everyone, good news! We FINALLY got our issuance and crossed the border last night to get the visa stamped. I will give a rundown here because VJ doesn't have a category for Diversity Visa on the timeline. I also understand that many people have been waiting longer than us, but please realize that Diversity Visas are only able to be issued until September 30th for each year, after that you are unable to obtain the visa and have to enter the lottery again. We entered for the 2022 DV in 2020, so we have been waiting 2 years for this.

 

Interview: June 9th 2022, Principal applicant was issued, beneficiary (Canadian citizen spouse) was Refused/221g/AP/DS-5535.

 

There was no obvious reason for why the "extreme vetting" was required, as with many people in this forum. No criminal history, no TAL degree or job, no travel history. It is possible there was a name check match as they have a common spanish last name.

 

We realized through this group that DS5535 can take an unlimited amount of time, and even worse: Montreal had a 50-60% AP refusal rate per interview. Yes, that's right, for every DV interview montreal did, there was a 50% chance of being placed on AP. We figured this out from the CEAC data collected for DV by consulate on xarthisius' website. Anecdotally in Montreal DV group chats, every person we spoke to except for 1 had been given the DS535. Many are Canadian citizens.

 

We hired a cheap lawyer (do not reccomend) and filed a Writ of Mandamus in July, thinking it would be a backup if they delayed until September to get us an issuance before the cutoff time. That first case was a mess, was transferred between courts and largely ignored by the government. It literally just showed up in a new district yesterday. Through this whole time we got the standard template emails of "We cant tell you anything just wait" when we tried to contact Montreal. The only variation we received was a recommendation that I activate my visa without my spouse. I don't think they understand how emotionally devastating this process is, and the lack of transparency could make anyone go insane.

 

We had spent the last 4 months heavily researching everything we could about 9FAM, 5535, lawsuits, INA sections etc and had talked to other lawyers about our options. Every lawyer we spoke to in the group chats/forums were quoting us up to 15k USD to do a last-minute lawsuit. I truly believe some of them are preying on people's desperation the closer it gets to the DV deadline. One even quoted us 6k USD, then a week later said "now it is 12k USD".

 

We made the decision to try to find a lawyer that would help us for the original quote of 6k USD. We went on pacermonitor and searched through all of the WoM lawsuits that were filed in DC recently and emailed around 20 with our story, and our budget. We got a few replies, but the fastest to reply was Christopher Casazza from PIC Law. We had a consulatation with him and he agreed to file our Temporary Restraining Order/Writ of Mandamus for us. Please be aware that a TRO is not always applicable, but in our unique circumstance, it was. We had all of our correct documents, one of us was approved, the candian refused and in AP for 4 months, the only requirements to DV eligibility outside of coutnry is high school graduation. If anyone is looking for a lawyer outside of the standard reccomended lawyers, I would really, really, really strongly reccomend this lawfirm (PIC Law). Many of the other lawyers (Goldstein, Hacking, Nimer, Murthy, Raju) seem to be WoM churn firms. No judgement on that, but having filed with Raju, then filing with Chris Casazza, there is a HUGE difference when you pick an attorney that actually cares about your case. If you're like me, I want to be able to talk about the lawsuit, not just file it and forget. PIC Law is a genuine immigration lawfirm and not a WoM churn farm trawling forums for desperate people.

 

Long story short, we filed the lawsuit, and a week later we had the visa approved. The "CLEARANCE RECEIVED" date is September 20th, CEAC updated to issued on September 21st, and on the physical visa it was printed on September 22nd. DOS contacted Montreal and then asked us to dismiss the lawsuit because it was issued. These lawsuits really seem to be what everyone thinks, the case is just sitting there and the lawsuit prioritzes your clearance. 

Once we received the passport in the mail, we went straight to Niagara and crossed to stamp the visa. After 4 months of fried nerves, it is finally over and we can't believe it. Looking at the Montreal issuance rates, with 1 day left (because they're taking a vacation on Sept 30th), it really seems to me that this lawsuit was 100% responsible for us getting our visa approved in time. There are 149 DV Cases issued (249 visas) and 27 cases on 221G/5535 (49 visas). It is very possible that 49 people lose their chance of getting a green card because of Montreal's high 5535 rate. They sped up towards the end of the year, but wow. It is horrific what they are doing, and apparently mostly to Canadian citizens.

 

Once more, I can't thank Christopher Casazza enough. I can't post a link here, but Chris, Alex Isbel (two name partners) and Caitlin Costello all helped with our visa at the lawfirm PIC Law (Philadelphia Immigration Lawyers).

[ideep29 12]

On 9/21/2022 at 11:33 AM, ice-qube said:

Sad to see Montreal still handing out AP and DS-5535 willy nilly. Not much to update here at all, as I am O.G. in this thread and nothing much has changed. Over 11 months since my interview and DS-5535, and now a total of 3 years and 3 months and counting in the immigration process. They have ignored my last couple of emails, as per usual. I guess there really is no choice but WOM, and that makes me very angry.

 

Im still here with you bro.  Filed WoM a while back.  Due date is approaching.  

[ice-qube 649]

24 minutes ago, ideep29 said:

 

Im still here with you bro.  Filed WoM a while back.  Due date is approaching.  

I am sorry to see that you haven’t yet got out of it…what exactly happens on the due date?

[ideep29 12]

17 minutes ago, ice-qube said:

I am sorry to see that you haven’t yet got out of it…what exactly happens on the due date?

Honestly not sure.  I just know legally they have to give some type of explanation by due date.

 

Lawyer said most likely they will file for extension but since they cant file for another extension.... you will see all your paperwork move after extension because they need to get you out of system.  So that means redoing medical and hopefully being out of this mess. 

I was like you... i refused to file a WoM but in the end I had no choice because there was no other light at the end of the tunnel.  

 

I see my case is almost getting updated weekly since WoM due date approaching.  Fingers crossed.  

 

This is ridiculous but im trying to stay positive. 

[ideep29 12]

Actually, they can file for a 2nd extension but seems to be rare and they finish real fast if they do.

[throwitaway 190]

20 hours ago, ice-qube said:

I am sorry to see that you haven’t yet got out of it…what exactly happens on the due date?

Have you found a lawyer you like yet?

[topman 42]

Hi Folks, I'm in the employment-based visa category and had our interview on Sept 26, 2022. Unfortunately, we received DS 5535, which we responded to yesterday on Sept 29, 2020. I’ve updated the DS 5535 tracker spreadsheet with my info.

 

It's so heartbreaking to see so many folks waiting for so long to get a response from Montreal after responding to their DS5535. After reading this thread on the forum, it seems like WoM is the only way to speed up the process. Does anyone know how soon can I file WoM after responding to Montreal's DS5535 request? We have already been patiently waiting for 27+ months to get this interview with Montreal, and now thinking of waiting another year or more to get a response is just so painful.