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

[LAMA9 118]

7 minutes ago, Godzilla875 said:

Welcome me to your club!
Was interviewed early June and placed on DS5355, similar to most of the community members without obvious reason. I have been breaking my head trying to understand what wrong I did in my past life, couldn't find anything. Not sure it's their computer program or management's instructions, but they have too many applicants on AP, more than any other consulate in the world. If it's a program, then they must be the only consulate that has it. Just for stats - in my visa category, 1 out of 9 applicants was approved last week. The previous two weeks: 3 - out of 18. This just doesn't make sense.

My visa program requires me to complete immigration before September 30th. So, while it only two months past since I was AP-ed, not much time left for me to clear. Couple questions to help me:

1. What is the average time to clear, excluding extreme cases - I know it can be 3 months, it can be 9. What is a typical timeline? Assuming my case is typical, lol

2. Do lawsuits help? I did not see strong evidence supporting this from other forums, curious about your observations.

Sorry you are here.  What is your visa category?  

You can see on this spreadsheet for the length of time those of us have been waiting.  Without filing a WOM, there have been no cases approved since March of this year.  There is no timeline any more unfortunately.  And you are correct, there are several of us who have filed a WOM in the past few months as it seems to be the ONLY way to get movement.  

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GySrwbar5E0dzY4DCJ8s0eagm1up6TxedDBTPYiOlJw/edit#gid=1745669763

[Godzilla875 1]

3 minutes ago, LAMA9 said:

Sorry you are here.  What is your visa category?  

You can see on this spreadsheet for the length of time those of us have been waiting.  Without filing a WOM, there have been no cases approved since March of this year.  There is no timeline any more unfortunately.  And you are correct, there are several of us who have filed a WOM in the past few months as it seems to be the ONLY way to get movement.  

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GySrwbar5E0dzY4DCJ8s0eagm1up6TxedDBTPYiOlJw/edit#gid=1745669763

Thank you for the quick reply and the link - company VPN doesn't let me open it, will check later at home.

The visa category is DV - Diversity Visa (it's a lottery visa) - first you need to win the lottery, then hope than you are in those 30-40% of winners who are invited to interview, and then hope that your AP is cleared on time. Lottery in lottery in lottery, lol

[ThisIsHell 15]

Let me get this straight...

 

I contacted the Consulate's new email address (now the only address on their website, canada_contactus+ca+info+en@visaops.net).

 

They answered saying that email address was only for "visa appointment scheduling service" and they could not answer any questions regarding other subjects. 

 

Does this mean the Montreal consulate is effectively removing any way to get in touch with their visa processing units? 

[Godzilla875 1]

24 minutes ago, ThisIsHell said:

Let me get this straight...

 

I contacted the Consulate's new email address (now the only address on their website, canada_contactus+ca+info+en@visaops.net).

 

They answered saying that email address was only for "visa appointment scheduling service" and they could not answer any questions regarding other subjects. 

 

Does this mean the Montreal consulate is effectively removing any way to get in touch with their visa processing units? 

And, it's their contact email address for all consulates in Canada for all types of visa, including non-immigrant.

[LAMA9 118]

39 minutes ago, Godzilla875 said:

And, it's their contact email address for all consulates in Canada for all types of visa, including non-immigrant.

Wait -what?  We can't use this one anymore?  Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov

[ThisIsHell 15]

14 minutes ago, LAMA9 said:

Wait -what?  We can't use this one anymore?  Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov

Well they're still answering but they removed it from their website, so I wouldn't be surprised if they stopped responding eventually

[LAMA9 118]

Ridiculous.  They likely have OP3 (the most common respondent of inquiries) doing actual processing work now so they don't have anyone to answer the emails...I can only imagine how many they get per day, and of those - they serve no purpose other than us reminding them we are still here, so makes sense that they want to limit the use and only send out emails when they need a response or something.  From an operations perspective it makes sense, but it sure is frustrating.  

[ThisIsHell 15]

Also has anyone had their status updated? mine was updated 08/05, 08/08 and 08/09, still says refused 

Edited August 9, 2022 by ThisIsHell

[addpeace 40]

Just now, ThisIsHell said:

Also has anyone had their status updated? mine was updated 08/05, 08/08 and 08/09, still says refused 

Ours updated 8/3, 8/5 and 8/8. No change though. 

[Bog-can 6]

23 minutes ago, LAMA9 said:

Ridiculous.  They likely have OP3 (the most common respondent of inquiries) doing actual processing work now so they don't have anyone to answer the emails...I can only imagine how many they get per day, and of those - they serve no purpose other than us reminding them we are still here, so makes sense that they want to limit the use and only send out emails when they need a response or something.  From an operations perspective it makes sense, but it sure is frustrating.  

Let’s hope they still respond to the @state.gov email , but maybe they are hoping to reduce the volume this way by taking it off their website.   While I agree the bulk of their emails are not urgent,  there are some that are indeed urgent/valid issues that need resolution, and in need of a response from the consulate visa operations.  Most consulates overseas have phone, email and inquiry form options.  It’s beyond frustrating when you need a response and it either takes two weeks to get one or no response at all.  

[Marbles_ 7]

6 hours ago, Godzilla875 said:

Welcome me to your club!
Was interviewed early June and placed on DS5355, similar to most of the community members without obvious reason. I have been breaking my head trying to understand what wrong I did in my past life, couldn't find anything. Not sure it's their computer program or management's instructions, but they have too many applicants on AP, more than any other consulate in the world. If it's a program, then they must be the only consulate that has it. Just for stats - in my visa category, 1 out of 9 applicants was approved last week. The previous two weeks: 3 - out of 18. This just doesn't make sense.

My visa program requires me to complete immigration before September 30th. So, while it only two months past since I was AP-ed, not much time left for me to clear. Couple questions to help me:

1. What is the average time to clear, excluding extreme cases - I know it can be 3 months, it can be 9. What is a typical timeline? Assuming my case is typical, lol

2. Do lawsuits help? I did not see strong evidence supporting this from other forums, curious about your observations.

So sorry to have to welcome you to this club! I've been in DS-5535 for 6 months, I'm not in the Google Doc for some reason so I would say there are even more of us than what's represented in that info. I would file a WOM now or definitely talk to a lawyer to see if that can help delay your deadline as September 30th is not far away and there are people in here waiting almost a year with still no end in sight
Good luck!!!

[ohmygod 60]

On 8/9/2022 at 5:34 PM, Marbles_ said:

So sorry to have to welcome you to this club! I've been in DS-5535 for 6 months, I'm not in the Google Doc for some reason so I would say there are even more of us than what's represented in that info. I would file a WOM now or definitely talk to a lawyer to see if that can help delay your deadline as September 30th is not far away and there are people in here waiting almost a year with still no end in sight
Good luck!!!

Can we return passports after our travel is done? Or do we wait until they request? We have been asked to second medical and police check. We are thinking of sending passports along with police clearance and medical certificate. 

[LAMA9 118]

11 hours ago, ohmygod said:

Can we return passports after our travel is done? Or do we wait until they request? We have been asked to second medical and police check. We are thinking of sending passports along with police clearance and medical certificate. 

That's amazing news @ohmygod!  You should likely wait until they request it back.  Did you end up filing a WOM?  If not, this could be good news for October DS-5535s @ice-qube!

[ThisIsHell 15]

Hi folks, just wanted to give an update

 

Interview 08/04, given DS-5535. No apparent reason, Canadian born without a history of international travel. Working in the finance sector for reputable employers. My wife (the petitioner) suspected it might be because she has an online presence as a conservative/republican, but who knows. I also suspect it might be because I've done a few back and forth to visit my wife in the U.S. over the last year. Could also be just random. 

 

On 08/04 and 08/05, my wife and I contacted the consulate. We reminded them that earlier this year, the consulate had approved our expedited interview request as my wife has a life-threatening condition. We sent the doctor's note again and waited. On 08/05, the consulate acknowledged the receipt of the DS 5535, but did not say anything else. 

 

Early last week, we sent a few physical letters in the mail specifically addressed to higher-ups in the consulate, and their IV processing division. The case updated on 08/05, 08/08 and 08/09 but still said refused.

 

On 08/10, the status updated to issued, and I received a tracking number that very day. On 08/11, I received my passport with the approved visa in it. 

 

All in all, we don't know whether it was our emails or our physical letters that generated a movement in our case, but we feel very blessed. We were in AP for 6 days which appears to be an anomaly, likely because of the petitioner's life-threatening condition. 

 

Our thoughts are with those that are still stuck in AP for no apparent reason. There's some case law arguing that family separation is a form of irreparable harm. I suggest perhaps trying to get in touch with the consulate's higher-ups and making a case for your current situation. Not sure if that's what helped us but it's worth a shot. 

[addpeace 40]

1 minute ago, ThisIsHell said:

Hi folks, just wanted to give an update

 

Interview 08/04, given DS-5535. No apparent reason, Canadian born without a history of international travel. Working in the finance sector for reputable employers. My wife (the petitioner) suspected it might be because she has an online presence as a conservative/republican, but who knows. I also suspect it might be because I've done a few back and forth to visit my wife in the U.S. over the last year. Could also be just random. 

 

On 08/04 and 08/05, my wife and I contacted the consulate. We reminded them that earlier this year, the consulate had approved our expedited interview request as my wife has a life-threatening condition. We sent the doctor's note again and waited. On 08/05, the consulate acknowledged the receipt of the DS 5535, but did not say anything else. 

 

Early last week, we sent a few physical letters in the mail specifically addressed to higher-ups in the consulate, and their IV processing division. The case updated on 08/05, 08/08 and 08/09 but still said refused.

 

On 08/10, the status updated to issued, and I received a tracking number that very day. On 08/11, I received my passport with the approved visa in it. 

 

All in all, we don't know whether it was our emails or our physical letters that generated a movement in our case, but we feel very blessed. We were in AP for 6 days which appears to be an anomaly, likely because of the petitioner's life-threatening condition. 

 

Our thoughts are with those that are still stuck in AP for no apparent reason. There's some case law arguing that family separation is a form of irreparable harm. I suggest perhaps trying to get in touch with the consulate's higher-ups and making a case for your current situation. Not sure if that's what helped us but it's worth a shot. 

Do you happen to have the information still of the higher ups that you contacted? 
 

Congratulations by the way I was sending positive thoughts your way as soon as I read your first post.