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

[PZibran325 112]

12 minutes ago, PZibran325 said:

It helps them clear the interview queue. They have a backlog of interviews from covid times during which they were working under limited operations so they were not scheduling many interviews during that time they had an appropriate excuse for not being able to scheudle interviews in a timely manner. Now that that "emergency" is over and they are back to full operations there is pressure to schedule interviews in a timely manner. There's not much of an excuse they can give to delay interviews, so they have been scheduling those in a timely manner however that may have resulted in them not having the time to perform additional checks on the documents they have received from the NVC which they would have under normal circumstances. So while they have scheduled interviews in a timely manner, they haven't necessarily been able to perform second checks on the interviewees documents etc. So some of us believe this is why they put applicants under AP and push that part down the line. Because with AP they can keep saying there is not time limit for that process but for setting interviews they cannot say that. It's circular and convoluted and only pushes the bucket down the line, but I hope that clears up why some of us think that way. Also do note that once the case it is not necessarily the consulates job to perform checks, so they clear their own queue but pass the buck to someone else.

* the last line was supposed to be "Also do note that once the case is in AP it is not necessarily the consulates job to perform checks, so they clear their own queue but pass the buck to someone else." *sigh*

Edited November 30, 2022 by PZibran325

[emergence 47]

1 hour ago, PZibran325 said:

It helps them clear the interview queue. They have a backlog of interviews from covid times during which they were working under limited operations so they were not scheduling many interviews during that time they had an appropriate excuse for not being able to scheudle interviews in a timely manner. Now that that "emergency" is over and they are back to full operations there is pressure to schedule interviews in a timely manner. There's not much of an excuse they can give to delay interviews, so they have been scheduling those in a timely manner however that may have resulted in them not having the time to perform additional checks on the documents they have received from the NVC which they would have under normal circumstances. So while they have scheduled interviews in a timely manner, they haven't necessarily been able to perform second checks on the interviewees documents etc. So some of us believe this is why they put applicants under AP and push that part down the line. Because with AP they can keep saying there is not time limit for that process but for setting interviews they cannot say that. It's circular and convoluted and only pushes the bucket down the line, but I hope that clears up why some of us think that way. Also do note that once the case it is not necessarily the consulates job to perform checks, so they clear their own queue but pass the buck to someone else.

Interesting. I still somewhat doubt this based on how some officers explain the DS-5535 - “The system flagged you”, more or less. It was clear from how the officer interacted with my fiancé that he had been flagged beforehand and that the interview was more or less a formality at that point. He barely asked any questions. 
 

I would love to get in touch with the higher ups at the state department to get some answers, but I’m sure that’s functionally impossible.

[PZibran325 112]

5 minutes ago, emergence said:

Interesting. I still somewhat doubt this based on how some officers explain the DS-5535 - “The system flagged you”, more or less. It was clear from how the officer interacted with my fiancé that he had been flagged beforehand and that the interview was more or less a formality at that point. He barely asked any questions. 
 

I would love to get in touch with the higher ups at the state department to get some answers, but I’m sure that’s functionally impossible.

That might be true they might have something in the system that says they haven’t yet had time to go over documents prior to the interview and so the interviewee gets flagged. However, I have also read in my research elsewhere that the U.S. consular officer decides on the day of the visa interview which applicants must complete the DS-5535 and “the system flagged you” maybe a standard thing they say as opposed to saying I’ve decided we need to vet you further. It could also be a combination where you can get flagged by the system but even if the system doesn’t flag you the Co may decide it is necessary. 
 

regardless at the end of the day or still seems absurd from the outside looking in to be putting Canadian passport holders through extreme vetting 

Edited November 30, 2022 by PZibran325

[ice-qube 649]

4 hours ago, PZibran325 said:

I'm not sure if I understand the thought process behind  extreme vetting (which is what DS 5535 is ) of Canadian passport holders who can easily cross the border without ever going through the immigration process. Regular background checks and clearances should in general be enough. I don't think it is a process that should be used as frequently as it seems to be used by the Montreal consulate.

 

I know many have disagreed with you in the past when you have suggested they are using it to clear their interviewing queues, but I'm inclined to consider that is probably the reason for putting so many through AP. Especially since During the course of my research, I have read that The U.S. consular officer decides on the day of the visa interview which applicants must complete the DS-5535. So it would seem that It is gross ineptitude and inefficiencies on their part that has lead to such alarmingly increasing numbers of AP with DS 5535 .  Other than this possibility, putting Canadian passport holders through this process seems to defy logic regardless of whether it takes months or years to clear. 

 

As for the WOM, I understand it is being delayed for you have you seen it being delayed for others?

I have seen at least a couple of people, ahead of me as far as doing WOM, who are approaching or have passed their second deadline, and court grants another day. Only time will tell what happens to me, but observing the trend I do not like the odds.

[kryptonite 43]

On 11/28/2022 at 8:33 PM, Tiabeanie said:

Have you tried reaching out to the embassy via email to inquire about your status? 

 

Same thing happened to me I had my interview on Oct 31 and I was put into 221g and told they didn't need additional documents. I emailed them to inquire about my status 2 weeks after my interview and they responded to my email a week later and told me I need to send another police certificate. I'll be honest I'm irritated this wasn't communicated to me earlier. Pretty incompetent on their part. If I didn't email them I would've been still waiting.

Hi, what email did you use to reach out to them? Also have you sent your police certificate yet?

[Tiabeanie 39]

2 hours ago, kryptonite said:

Hi, what email did you use to reach out to them? Also have you sent your police certificate yet?

Hi there I used this email to reach the embassy: montreal-iv-dv@state.gov

They will reply back within 6-7 days.

 

I haven't sent out my police certificate yet, I'm still waiting for the RCMP to mail it to me. I did my fingerprints last Tuesday. I'm hoping to receive it soon.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Tiabeanie

[Ds553513 16]

Hi @Tiabeanie it takes min one month to get the police record .

[Tiabeanie 39]

1 hour ago, Gha said:

Hi @Tiabeanie it takes min one month to get the police record 

That might be dependent on where you live because in my spouse's case it only took them 2.5 weeks to receive their police record from the RCMP.

[Tikitch 21]

22 hours ago, emergence said:

Interesting. I still somewhat doubt this based on how some officers explain the DS-5535 - “The system flagged you”, more or less. It was clear from how the officer interacted with my fiancé that he had been flagged beforehand and that the interview was more or less a formality at that point. He barely asked any questions. 
 

I would love to get in touch with the higher ups at the state department to get some answers, but I’m sure that’s functionally impossible.

See I was the opposite. I was approved by the consular offer and told in max 2 weeks ill have my visa, then I got home and received the DS535 a few hours later.. The emotional rollercoaster....I have no words.

[LAMA9 118]

14 minutes ago, Tiabeanie said:

That might be dependent on where you live because in my spouse's case it only took them 2.5 weeks to receive their police record from the RCMP.

Very true - usually 3 weeks tops if using Canadian Fingerprinting Company in Toronto.  

[Tikitch 21]

I was requesting info to get my passport back while my application is in AP and that's what the officer said:

Also note carefully again everything it says, including:  “Along with your passport, you will receive a letter indicating the latest date you have to resume your application without the need to pay a visa application fee again. “

 

Does this mean my visa will be paused because I asked for my passport back?How does this make sense???

[throwitaway 190]

1 hour ago, Tikitch said:

I was requesting info to get my passport back while my application is in AP and that's what the officer said:

Also note carefully again everything it says, including:  “Along with your passport, you will receive a letter indicating the latest date you have to resume your application without the need to pay a visa application fee again. “

 

Does this mean my visa will be paused because I asked for my passport back?How does this make sense???

I don’t think it will be paused, they’re waiting for the relevant agencies to return an opinion on you and it’s not like those agencies have your physical passport.

 

If you’re really concerned you can get a white temp passport. Tell Passport Canada the duration of your upcoming work trips and that your passport is in the possession of a foreign embassy. 

[emergence 47]

2 minutes ago, throwitaway said:

I don’t think it will be paused, they’re waiting for the relevant agencies to return an opinion on you and it’s not like those agencies have your physical passport.

 

If you’re really concerned you can get a white temp passport. Tell Passport Canada the duration of your upcoming work trips and that your passport is in the possession of a foreign embassy. 

It would be worth asking the consulate about that language. It certainly seems possible that they could get clearance from the relevant 3 letter agencies but deprioritize actually issuing the visa if they don’t have your passport in hand. Many people who have filed WoM have gotten nearly immediate replies, which seems to imply that the consulate already has the necessary clearances and just hadn’t finished processing the case on their side. 

[Tikitch 21]

12 minutes ago, emergence said:

It would be worth asking the consulate about that language. It certainly seems possible that they could get clearance from the relevant 3 letter agencies but deprioritize actually issuing the visa if they don’t have your passport in hand. Many people who have filed WoM have gotten nearly immediate replies, which seems to imply that the consulate already has the necessary clearances and just hadn’t finished processing the case on their side. 

Deprioritize is one thing, but they're saying "resume" the application, which I think is more concerning? I really dont know..  I really want to applaud everyone for their strength during this process. I'm personally really starting to lose it. 

but on the upside, that's some info my lawyer shared from an immigration conference he attended:

1. The State Dept. rep. claimed “within 60 days” the AP situation will get better. The ex-Consular Officer yesterday also said they are now trying to better track AP cases to get them done faster.

 

Hope so for all of us here! I've personally decided to ask for my passport back and my husband and I will be figuring out where else we can live in the meantime... We've been married for almost 2 years now and we still haven't been able to live together. 

 

 

 

[Mary184 5]

Hello everyone,

 

for those of you who were invited for the second medical, what did you do if your medical file was not opened? Did you keep emailing the consulate to open it? Doctor office says they can just do tests and upload results or email them … but is this a concern and can it cause the results getting lost?