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

[shara9c 0]

@Kara.gana That Great News., Congrats for your daughter's visa.

Unfortunately Our Status is still at refused with alot of case update date changes. We have sent email after 2 weeks but no response from the consulate. I don't know what's happening with our case, I pray they look into our file soon and issue visas. Finger Corssed!

 

[dennisv 23]

Hello Folks,

 

I sent in my passport in early July 2023, and just seeing what timeline folks are seeing for the return with visa issued. Thanks for your help.

[throwitaway 190]

5 hours ago, Kara.gana said:

@shara9c If I’m checking CEAC correctly there has been no change of status for either my husband or daughter. We however just received an email saying Montreal has released a document in regards to my daughter and it is being couriered to us. I’m guessing it her passport and visa.

Has your CEAC status changed for your husband?

If your daughter’s CEAC status is not issued then it’s the passport, without a visa

[throwitaway 190]

22 hours ago, Mo12345 said:

Hello everyone my wife has been in administrative process for 6 and a half months as of today. Our post is Amman Jordan. I recently received an email from them saying “
We are escalating your case for final resolution and you will receive a follow-up email with further guidance.” Has anyone received something like this and is it a good sign?

Sounds like verbiage from ustraveldocs or the visa help desk, not the embassy staff

13 hours ago, Kara.gana said:

My husband had his interview August 1 in Montreal with our daughter. Our daughter was approved, but my husband was denied and given 221g letter for DS5535. Does the consulate email the form or do we use the one indicated on the 221g?

I think they’ve changed it now to a webform.

[Fayisa 21]

On 7/28/2023 at 5:01 PM, Jvisa said:

 

Hello guys, May I ask how many days it takes from the consualte to reply to your email? I sent them 5 days ago and didn't recieve anything yet.

 

Thank you 

[Fayisa 21]

Hello guys, May I ask how many days it takes from the consualte to reply to your email? I sent them 5 days ago and didn't recieve anything yet.

 

 

 

Thank you 

[Kara.gana 36]

15 hours ago, throwitaway said:

If your daughter’s CEAC status is not issued then it’s the passport, without a visa

@throwitaway Oh, that’s not what we’re hopping for. The CO said she was approved and kept her passport. We have not received any emails from Montreal and my husbands and my daughters CEAC status hasn’t changed to anything. 

[Ontarkie 14,191]

Hey folks lets keep this thread about Montreal only. I know it seems helpful to hear from other Consulates but this will derail this thread and cause much more frustrations. Joining groups for other WOM in other countries will not benefit you. It will just make things much more frustrating. You can not compare other places with Montreal for any of the process. Not WOM and not with scheduling and not contacting/replies from Montreal. Certainly not AP or the dreaded DS5535.

 

The Canada forum has it's own forum for a reason, it does not share any traits or commonalities with other countries. When it comes to Montreal, the process is like no other. 

 

Folks that are joining this thread please do not offer advice that applies to your consulate and do not share outside groups. They are not permitted on VJ.

[AP_since_May2023 37]

On 1/25/2023 at 10:20 AM, LAMA9 said:

Congrats @addpeace!  Super exciting for you - just think 3-4 months from now you will be on the other side of this nightmare!  Let me know if you would like to be added to our WOM group chat and to the tracker spreadsheet!  It's a great view of what you can expect over the next few months . 

Can you please add me as well? Thank you.

[throwitaway 190]

On 8/3/2023 at 10:22 AM, Kara.gana said:

@throwitaway Oh, that’s not what we’re hopping for. The CO said she was approved and kept her passport. We have not received any emails from Montreal and my husbands and my daughters CEAC status hasn’t changed to anything. 

Unfortunately, an oral approval at interview must be taken with a grain of salt. It’s common for a CO to recommend approval but the case is later sent into 221g when reviewed by a supervisor. CEAC status is your best reference - a visa will not be printed on a passport without the CEAC status changing to “Issued”

[AP_since_May2023 37]

24 minutes ago, throwitaway said:

Unfortunately, an oral approval at interview must be taken with a grain of salt. It’s common for a CO to recommend approval but the case is later sent into 221g when reviewed by a supervisor. CEAC status is your best reference - a visa will not be printed on a passport without the CEAC status changing to “Issued”

This is true. I was verbally approved by the CO and had my passport collected at the interview, only to be placed in AP after the interview.

[AP_since_May2023 37]

Has anyone tried to file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with the Department of State to see why their case is undergoing AP?

[cala2023 70]

Hi all, just wanted to update. Brief recap: my husband interviewed in Montreal on April 27 and was given 221g and sent a DS5535 the same day to which we returned promptly. His case received several updates early then an update in mid July. Other than that we have heard nothing else from the consulate. 

 

I reached out to the US senator's office from my state and requested they contact the consulte for any information and possible expenditure to which they promptly did and received a lengthy response from the consulate the same day. The main part of their response is as follows:

 

"Unfortunately, due to the national security nature the U.S. visa process, the Department of State will not disclose why a case has been placed into administrative processing, and issues can often vary greatly with regard to complexity. For example, the consular official may simply need to verify additional biographical information. However, it could be much more complicated like verifying previous travel itineraries or needing a foreign country to provide criminal records, etc. That being said, there may be no issues with his application, but it may have been flagged for an internal quality control review or audit.

 

Most administrative processing holds can be resolved very quickly, but some take a substantially longer time. During this period, no congressional office can request expedited review or appear to influence the outcome of the application."

 

The two big and disappointing takeaways from this are that you may be placed into AP and your life put on hold for absolutely no reason other than "quality control" and that no one may intervene on your behalf. I found the quality control statement particularly interesting as I've never seen that mentioned as a reason on any forums I've read in regards to this process. Anyway just wanted to share and good luck to everyone out there stuck in limbo.

 

Edited August 5, 2023 by cala2023

[LYV 63]

1 hour ago, cala2023 said:

Hi all, just wanted to update. Brief recap: my husband interviewed in Montreal on April 27 and was given 221g and sent a DS5535 the same day to which we returned promptly. His case received several updates early then an update in mid July. Other than that we have heard nothing else from the consulate. 

 

I reached out to the US senator's office from my state and requested they contact the consulte for any information and possible expenditure to which they promptly did and received a lengthy response from the consulate the same day. The main part of their response is as follows:

 

"Unfortunately, due to the national security nature the U.S. visa process, the Department of State will not disclose why a case has been placed into administrative processing, and issues can often vary greatly with regard to complexity. For example, the consular official may simply need to verify additional biographical information. However, it could be much more complicated like verifying previous travel itineraries or needing a foreign country to provide criminal records, etc. That being said, there may be no issues with his application, but it may have been flagged for an internal quality control review or audit.

 

Most administrative processing holds can be resolved very quickly, but some take a substantially longer time. During this period, no congressional office can request expedited review or appear to influence the outcome of the application."

 

The two big and disappointing takeaways from this are that you may be placed into AP and your life put on hold for absolutely no reason other than "quality control" and that no one may intervene on your behalf. I found the quality control statement particularly interesting as I've never seen that mentioned as a reason on any forums I've read in regards to this process. Anyway just wanted to share and good luck to everyone out there stuck in limbo.

 

Thank you for updating. Our consulate officer said we were put in AP by random so this make a lot of sense. And yes it’s totally unfair. It is helpful to know though that we are not alone in this. Good luck and here’s hoping for a speedy processing. 

[LAMA9 118]

On 8/4/2023 at 8:09 PM, SGtoMurica said:

Can you please add me as well? Thank you.

Hi @SGtoMurica, the group I was referencing in that post is inactive now as we have all been issued our visas.  That group was formed back in early 2022 when there was a large number of us all filing WOM's at the same time.  

Here is the spreadsheet for anyone who is interested in seeing timelines of the various WOM cases from that particular subset of 2022 Montreal K1 & CR1/IR1 filers:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oh7cj_1HiWa-JH82xOeRtYb6gJWjU3KcF7ALuyQmV4w/edit?usp=sharing

 

It may be helpful for all those currently on this thread who are filing WOMs to start your own chat and spreadsheet to keep one another updated.  I know we all found it extremely helpful while we were going through it.