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

[ShawnK 82]

Just now, MRJ9987 said:

What does TAL stand for?  

Technology alert list. 

 

I'm sorry, I hope you don't mind, but do you have a non NW European origin? Basically not "old stock" Canadian, every lawyer I spoke to, ..said that greatly increases risk for 5535. Obviously they will never admit to that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BTW sorry you are facing this.

[MRJ9987 31]

I was born in Serbia. I do hold a Serbian passport so I was worried the whole time that that may trigger a red flag for them. Could that be it?  

[Ontarkie 14,216]

1 hour ago, MRJ9987 said:

I was born in Serbia. I do hold a Serbian passport so I was worried the whole time that that may trigger a red flag for them. Could that be it?  

Quite honestly I really believe it is truly random. So many  Canadian born with no travel or family in other countries are being given this form. There has been at least two members whose babies were under a year old even less than 6 months old get this form requested. While the rest of the family did not need to submit it. 

 

 

[ShawnK 82]

1 hour ago, MRJ9987 said:

I was born in Serbia. I do hold a Serbian passport so I was worried the whole time that that may trigger a red flag for them. Could that be it?  

Yes that will do it, that part of the world has a complex history.

 

Anything that ties you to any place not rooted in NW Europe/British Isles or Japan/South Korea..can cause delays. To be fair anyone can get a DS5535, but in general,  would be far less likely for some Dutch guy  (ethnic Dutch).

 

 

[ak47 32]

On 1/28/2024 at 3:19 AM, Leo The Great said:

Same here (Interview in Oct2023) but in IR category

if you were interviewed in Montreal, please enter your information for the benefits of others:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jV7rzX2eCRVoEDRhOtN9a6hDoHRLNEf1P3ZGZbQ0_Dc/edit#gid=0

Any Jan 2023 folks getting movements??

[MRJ9987 31]

5 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

Quite honestly I really believe it is truly random. So many  Canadian born with no travel or family in other countries are being given this form. There has been at least two members whose babies were under a year old even less than 6 months old get this form requested. While the rest of the family did not need to submit it. 

 

 

That is insane!  What is a little baby going to do that is a threat?  Were they at least able to get their process cleared fast?  

[ShawnK 82]

2 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

Quite honestly I really believe it is truly random. So many  Canadian born with no travel or family in other countries are being given this form. There has been at least two members whose babies were under a year old even less than 6 months old get this form requested. While the rest of the family did not need to submit it. 

 

 

It is , but.it is much more likely if you are from Iran or Somalia vs say Iceland or Norway. Iranians will almost always get it.

 

My anecdote,  on the day of my interview, a few of us IRs ,there.. the only two who walked away all clear were the old stock Canadian folks. They 100% profile, all lawyers I have consulted with told me this.

 

 

[MRJ9987 31]

4 minutes ago, ShawnK said:

Yes that will do it, that part of the world has a complex history.

 

Anything that ties you to any place not rooted in NW Europe/British Isles or Japan/South Korea..can cause delays. To be fair anyone can get a DS5535, but in general,  would be far less likely for some Dutch guy  (ethnic Dutch).

 

 

Well that sucks.  Would’ve gotten rid of my Serbian passport had I know it was going to cause me problems. 

[ShawnK 82]

3 minutes ago, ak47 said:

Any Jan 2023 folks getting movements??

As per list Jan 2023 are all done. Feb should hopefully hear soon.

2 minutes ago, MRJ9987 said:

Well that sucks.  Would’ve gotten rid of my Serbian passport had I know it was going to cause me problems. 

Well if you were born there, they would still do it.

[Leo The Great 141]

10 minutes ago, MRJ9987 said:

Well that sucks.  Would’ve gotten rid of my Serbian passport had I know it was going to cause me problems. 

It is not the passport - It is your country of birth (Chargeability). You may verify it from NVC account at the top right

Edited January 29 by Leo The Great

[LYV 63]

35 minutes ago, ShawnK said:

It is , but.it is much more likely if you are from Iran or Somalia vs say Iceland or Norway. Iranians will almost always get it.

 

My anecdote,  on the day of my interview, a few of us IRs ,there.. the only two who walked away all clear were the old stock Canadian folks. They 100% profile, all lawyers I have consulted with told me this.

 

 

Disagree,

 

My family and my husband’s family are English, German, French. My mom is American as well as several other family members. The consulate person interviewing told us it was random. if a baby gets it and no other family members then you know it’s something else going on and not based on anything. 

[MRJ9987 31]

39 minutes ago, ShawnK said:

As per list Jan 2023 are all done. Feb should hopefully hear soon.

Well if you were born there, they would still do it.

But country of birth sometimes absolutely means nothing and is not representative of the applicant nor of their culture. Aw well. 

35 minutes ago, Leo The Great said:

It is not the passport - It is your country of birth (Chargeability). You may verify it from NVC account at the top right

Yes, I do recall seeing that field with my country of birth. 

[Canucklehead 102]

Early Feb interview...still have not heard anything whatsoever. No update since November 2023. Basically you can expect at least a year (and likely more) of waiting if you've been given DS-5535.

 

In terms of ancestry, I'm strictly Canadian and Scottish roots so really anyone can have this done to them. Perhaps certain backgrounds have a higher likelihood, but seems like they just like needlessly delaying people for no valid reason whatsoever.

[Daft_Cat 136]

30 minutes ago, LYV said:

Disagree,

 

My family and my husband’s family are English, German, French. My mom is American as well as several other family members. The consulate person interviewing told us it was random. if a baby gets it and no other family members then you know it’s something else going on and not based on anything. 

 

Same here. Canada born and bred. No suspicious travel. I lived in the States a decade ago on a student visa, but otherwise my history is unremarkable. Was also told it was random.

I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle. There's no doubt that they're handing out DS-5535s at random as part of a delay tactic, but having a profile that's aligned to the form's original intent (additional scrutiny for those with ties to specific countries / regions) probably doesn't help. 

[ShawnK 82]

42 minutes ago, LYV said:

Disagree,

 

My family and my husband’s family are English, German, French. My mom is American as well as several other family members. The consulate person interviewing told us it was random. if a baby gets it and no other family members then you know it’s something else going on and not based on anything. 

 

 

Anyone can get it , much higher risk if tied to the 7 countries that were part of travel ban or list of "26".

 

People from Iran almost always will get it.

 

Every lawyer I spoke to said they profile based on ancestory/place of birth/religion etc..Goldstein, Hacking,PIC all confirmed this.

 

 

On our tracker,  where is the baby? I don't think there is any baby on that tracker. Even they aren't silly enough to keep a baby in Ds5535 for a year.

Edited January 29 by ShawnK