Montreal embassy EB-2 interview wait time-Part 2

[ALC 61]

On 9/24/2022 at 3:44 AM, Blueeyes1989 said:

Looks like F group ILs were issued for 6 months. Very good progress by Montreal. 

Indeed very encouraging! There should be less and less folks in FB as the months go on, since the visa bulletin has been frozen for them since the beginning of last fiscal year, so 15 months or so. Hopefully they are current by the end of next month when ILs come out. 

[topman 42]

@LMIV Just wanted to check how was your interview on Sept 23? What did they ask? I've mine on the 26th. Love to hear your interview experience.

[Ds553513 16]

Hi @topman I think @LMIV was going to reschedule the interview 

best of luck for your tomorrow interview.please share your interview experience 

Thank you

 

[LMIV 19]

18 hours ago, topman said:

@LMIV Just wanted to check how was your interview on Sept 23? What did they ask? I've mine on the 26th. Love to hear your interview experience.

We have to reschedule our interview - we had to wait until our interview date passed before submitting a request to reschedule so new date is TBD.  

 

Best of luck tomorrow!  Let us know how it goes!

[VA21202 109]

On 9/25/2022 at 3:58 PM, topman said:

@LMIV Just wanted to check how was your interview on Sept 23? What did they ask? I've mine on the 26th. Love to hear your interview experience.

Hi @topman. Hope your interview went well! Appreciate your experience/tips as I prepare to interview in 3 weeks. Thanks!

[Blueeyes1989 90]

@scatwin Check out this spreadsheet for interview timeline. Current wait time for EB interview at Montreal is 27 months, but it is expected to decrease rapidly in the coming months. 

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14yZKxht6igwJPXPU0EehKmmN2hx1g3EchEuB5G0yNO4/edit#gid=0

[farzady 42]

any updates on ILs?

 

I received the 60 days notice last night.

[ACC24 40]

1 hour ago, farzady said:

any updates on ILs?

 

I received the 60 days notice last night.

Same here I received 60 Day Notice.

[EternalWait 78]

@Blueeyes1989 DOS published the new stats. This time I see 116 in the E category and 236 in the F category, less than the 130 and 263 of previous month, but still significant numbers. This decrease, could it be due to the DV/other visas ?

[topman 42]

On 9/28/2022 at 4:37 PM, VA21202 said:

Hi @topman. Hope your interview went well! Appreciate your experience/tips as I prepare to interview in 3 weeks. Thanks!

Thanks, everyone for the best wishing on our interview. Our interview went alright but unfortunately, we received administrative processing for additional supplemental questions (DS 5535) that needed to be answered. We have responded via email by answering the last 15 years of employment, address, travel history, etc.

 

While researching on DS 5535, there is no apparent rhyme or reason on why folks receive this check but certainly, individuals having a middle eastern background or from higher security risk countries have a greater probability of getting a DS 5535. There is a separate thread on this forum, especially for individuals waiting on a response from the Montreal consulate after getting a DS 5535. It could take anywhere from 60 to 300+ days to get a response on administrative processing. I’m really hoping it is not another year of waiting to clear administrative processing.

 

@VA21202, The interview process is exactly like what everyone has already discussed on this thread. However, a few days before my interview, I reviewed 200+ pages of this thread and compiled a comprehensive list of interview questions that were ever asked by MTL. I’ve now added this list of all the interview questions to the EB tracker spreadsheet (interview question tab). The interview questions that were asked by the officer were already in this list. Hopefully, this will help you & others prepare for their interviews.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14yZKxht6igwJPXPU0EehKmmN2hx1g3EchEuB5G0yNO4/edit#gid=1282955452

 

One additional tip that I can share is to have your resume and unofficial college transcripts printed out along with the requested documents. I did not get asked for these two documents during my interview but I had read that this can be requested by the consular officer for EB cases.

 

Good luck with the upcoming interviews, and thanks so much for this support group for helping each other out! I couldn’t have waited this long without you all. 

[Blueeyes1989 90]

Latest interview trends: 

[can_do 18]

4 hours ago, topman said:

Thanks, everyone for the best wishing on our interview. Our interview went alright but unfortunately, we received administrative processing for additional supplemental questions (DS 5535) that needed to be answered. We have responded via email by answering the last 15 years of employment, address, travel history, etc.

 

While researching on DS 5535, there is no apparent rhyme or reason on why folks receive this check but certainly, individuals having a middle eastern background or from higher security risk countries have a greater probability of getting a DS 5535. There is a separate thread on this forum, especially for individuals waiting on a response from the Montreal consulate after getting a DS 5535. It could take anywhere from 60 to 300+ days to get a response on administrative processing. I’m really hoping it is not another year of waiting to clear administrative processing.

 

@VA21202, The interview process is exactly like what everyone has already discussed on this thread. However, a few days before my interview, I reviewed 200+ pages of this thread and compiled a comprehensive list of interview questions that were ever asked by MTL. I’ve now added this list of all the interview questions to the EB tracker spreadsheet (interview question tab). The interview questions that were asked by the officer were already in this list. Hopefully, this will help you & others prepare for their interviews.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14yZKxht6igwJPXPU0EehKmmN2hx1g3EchEuB5G0yNO4/edit#gid=1282955452

 

One additional tip that I can share is to have your resume and unofficial college transcripts printed out along with the requested documents. I did not get asked for these two documents during my interview but I had read that this can be requested by the consular officer for EB cases.

 

Good luck with the upcoming interviews, and thanks so much for this support group for helping each other out! I couldn’t have waited this long without you all. 

 

Thank you so much for sharing this.

Two things I've heard from other applicants:

1. It may be beneficial to have the DS 5535 filled, printed and ready for show if the CO even mentions it.

2. After 60 days, you may file a Writ of Mandamus.

What are your thoughts?

Its been a 2+ years wait and now more of the same... salute to your patience.

 

All the best.

[topman 42]

35 minutes ago, can_do said:

 

Thank you so much for sharing this.

Two things I've heard from other applicants:

1. It may be beneficial to have the DS 5535 filled, printed and ready for show if the CO even mentions it.

2. After 60 days, you may file a Writ of Mandamus.

What are your thoughts?

Its been a 2+ years wait and now more of the same... salute to your patience.

 

All the best.

Thanks for the support. Frankly, during the interview, the CO made it sound like it was a simple routine process, and we just need to answer some additional supplementary questions before the visa can be processed. There was no mention of "DS5535" during the interview but to be fair I wouldn't have even known what that is if CO mentioned it to us. 

 

I'm seriously considering Writ of Mandamus as an option to speed up the process. It seems some folks have been waiting for almost a year to get a response after getting a DS5535, and ultimately the only reason they get a response from Montreal is because WoM has been filed. I'm really hoping I don't need to go through WoM route as its expensive process and probably need to get approval from my employer before it gets filed. 

[can_do 18]

49 minutes ago, topman said:

Thanks for the support. Frankly, during the interview, the CO made it sound like it was a simple routine process, and we just need to answer some additional supplementary questions before the visa can be processed. There was no mention of "DS5535" during the interview but to be fair I wouldn't have even known what that is if CO mentioned it to us. 

 

I'm seriously considering Writ of Mandamus as an option to speed up the process. It seems some folks have been waiting for almost a year to get a response after getting a DS5535, and ultimately the only reason they get a response from Montreal is because WoM has been filed. I'm really hoping I don't need to go through WoM route as its expensive process and probably need to get approval from my employer before it gets filed. 

 

If I may, have you ever applied for a NEXUS card?

I'm just throwing random ideas here because waiting for the interview is one thing, but extreme vetting is excruciatingly difficult for all of us (you included).

On a positive note, I read that DS-5535 is sometimes used to slow things down because consulate staff cannot handle the volume. I hope that is the case with you.

 

I came across this article by a firm with a Canadian presence. Might be of some help. I hope karma plays its part with me :)

Delays in U.S. Immigration Administrative Processing What Can be Done.pdf

[farzady 42]

7 hours ago, topman said:

Thanks, everyone for the best wishing on our interview. Our interview went alright but unfortunately, we received administrative processing for additional supplemental questions (DS 5535) that needed to be answered. We have responded via email by answering the last 15 years of employment, address, travel history, etc.

 

While researching on DS 5535, there is no apparent rhyme or reason on why folks receive this check but certainly, individuals having a middle eastern background or from higher security risk countries have a greater probability of getting a DS 5535. There is a separate thread on this forum, especially for individuals waiting on a response from the Montreal consulate after getting a DS 5535. It could take anywhere from 60 to 300+ days to get a response on administrative processing. I’m really hoping it is not another year of waiting to clear administrative processing.

 

@VA21202, The interview process is exactly like what everyone has already discussed on this thread. However, a few days before my interview, I reviewed 200+ pages of this thread and compiled a comprehensive list of interview questions that were ever asked by MTL. I’ve now added this list of all the interview questions to the EB tracker spreadsheet (interview question tab). The interview questions that were asked by the officer were already in this list. Hopefully, this will help you & others prepare for their interviews.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14yZKxht6igwJPXPU0EehKmmN2hx1g3EchEuB5G0yNO4/edit#gid=1282955452

 

One additional tip that I can share is to have your resume and unofficial college transcripts printed out along with the requested documents. I did not get asked for these two documents during my interview but I had read that this can be requested by the consular officer for EB cases.

 

Good luck with the upcoming interviews, and thanks so much for this support group for helping each other out! I couldn’t have waited this long without you all. 

Thank you Topman for sharing your experience, and hopefully the DS5535 wont take more than 60 days. When they told you you need to fill out the 5535 form?