The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)

[Pending DS5535 21]

1 minute ago, Pending DS5535 said:

Yes VO told to my husband and me at the interview day that it is out of MONTREAL consulate, all DS5535 needs clearance from Washington DC, (it is not first-in-first-out basis).

How you can say that they never told this to anyone, VO officer told us clearly about the expected timeline (1 or 3 or 6 months).

 

2 minutes ago, Pending DS5535 said:

Yes VO told to my husband and me on the interview day that it is out of MONTREAL consulate, all DS5535 needs clearance from Washington DC, (it is not first-in-first-out basis).

How you can say that they never told this to anyone, The VO officer told us clearly about the expected timeline (1 or 3 or 6 months).

There was a lady on the same day for interview who also got DS5535, she was from Somalia originally but Canadian citizen, her son and daughter were also given ds5535 in last quarter of 2023, but they told us, they both were cleared in 58 days. Many people may have not joined this forum if they got clearance within 2 months.

[Phil_K_IR1 83]

2 minutes ago, Pending DS5535 said:

 

There was a lady on the same day for interview who also got DS5535, she was from Somalia originally but Canadian citizen, her son and daughter were also given ds5535 in last quarter of 2023, but they told us, they both were cleared in 58 days. Many people may have not joined this forum if they got clearance within 2 months.

There's certainly confirmation bias here. But a lot of people using this forum (if not all) are in the "waiting black hole". 
 

Praying that your situation moves fast. 

[APRIL2023 59]

1 hour ago, CarmenD said:

Yes, it truly sucks, doesn’t it?  From what I’ve read though, it seems at least you’ve advanced to “Issued” and awaiting return of the visa immigrant stamped passport .. after over a year.  You’re almost there!  No other options to explore other than packing up and crossing the border 😂 No other visa type.  Applying as Spouse of a US Citizen is it.  The MTL Consulate has acknowledged receipt of my inquiry today, and I expect an update status (the response will most likely be .. undergoing AP and will contact you once completed, blah, blah, blah)

in three business days.  Thanks for the reply 🫶

Oh no that’s not me. Still waiting blindly for response. My interview was in April 2023 and no movements at all what so ever!

[APRIL2023 59]

56 minutes ago, Pending DS5535 said:

Can we go on a TN visa, I told the consulate that I even have a job offer (my husband and I are on IR5 Visa application, as our US-born daughter has sponsored us, was handed over ds5535 and resume from the Montreal consulate in Jan 2024), and VO asked if I have a proof of Job letter which provided at the interview? I requested to expedite it, but he said the Montreal consulate has no control, it is dependent on Washington, and how quickly they respond. He also said it is not a first-in-first-out basis. Sometimes they clear it in 30 days, sometimes, it takes 6 months. 

My understanding is that yes you may qualify for a TN visa (if the job qualifies) since it is not an immigrant visa. Ultimately it is the decision of the boarder officer for the final approval. Just be ready to make the case that you’ll return to Canada once your DS5535 is cleared and will proceed immigration via consular processing. 
 

also just to show that this is a broken system. You can’t officially immigrate to the country due to security concerns, but u can travel freely (with Canadian passport) and work there. 

Edited February 16 by APRIL2023
Edits

[CarmenD 150]

6 minutes ago, APRIL2023 said:

Oh no that’s not me. Still waiting blindly for response. My interview was in April 2023 and no movements at all what so ever!

So sorry, my apologies.  I totally misread that 😳

[CarmenD 150]

3 hours ago, Phil_K_IR1 said:

People here were consistently told a few weeks (likely to get you to go happy lol). 
 

We were told a couple weeks. That was over 3 months ago. 
 

It seems MTL is sending everyone to DC clearance, blah. 

My husband was also told “a couple of weeks”.  He traveled extensively for work (including the US) around the world  over almost 20 years, and had to provide additional details on all travel outside Canada for the last 15 years .. going back to 2008.  That triggered the DS-5535.  It’s a black hole due to the security checks that are sent to various US agencies to verify his profile (final clearance is requested from the FBI, CIA, DHS, ICE, and others, including Washington DC) 

Until a positive response is received from each agency, the US embassy will not issue the visa

[tdot2nj 71]

I recommend all of you to check out Curtis Morrison’s (Red Eagle Law Attorney) video episode 63. He goes over the latest declaration from Carson Wu in regards to the DS-5535 process. I found it very informative. You can find it on youtube. One thing that I found that stuck out for me from the declaration was that it is not a first come first serve basis for this process. We are all just in a pool, and anyone’s process can take shorter or longer than others. They are also possibly looking to move this process over to NVC for immigrant visa at some point in 2024. Hopefully this will help with the backlog. Our file is also sent over to DC and does not stay with the consulate. He also goes over in the video of why we got flagged and asked to provide this form.
 

[MRJ9987 31]

8 hours ago, tdot2nj said:

I recommend all of you to check out Curtis Morrison’s (Red Eagle Law Attorney) video episode 63. He goes over the latest declaration from Carson Wu in regards to the DS-5535 process. I found it very informative. You can find it on youtube. One thing that I found that stuck out for me from the declaration was that it is not a first come first serve basis for this process. We are all just in a pool, and anyone’s process can take shorter or longer than others. They are also possibly looking to move this process over to NVC for immigrant visa at some point in 2024. Hopefully this will help with the backlog. Our file is also sent over to DC and does not stay with the consulate. He also goes over in the video of why we got flagged and asked to provide this form.
 

Where can I find the video?  Is it on YouTube?  

[Crazy Cat 41,811]

9 hours ago, tdot2nj said:

They are also possibly looking to move this process over to NVC for immigrant visa at some point in 2024.

Won't that just mean a bottleneck at NVC and a longer wait for an interview?

[CarmenD 150]

1 hour ago, MRJ9987 said:

Where can I find the video?  Is it on YouTube?  

It is also on his Tweeter feed 

 

[MRJ9987 31]

23 hours ago, CarmenD said:

It is also on his Tweeter feed 

 

Thanks, appreciate it. Will check it out. 

[Canucklehead 102]

On 2/16/2024 at 1:37 PM, Pending DS5535 said:

Yes VO told to my husband and me at the interview day that it is out of MONTREAL consulate, all DS5535 needs clearance from Washington DC, (it is not first-in-first-out basis).

How you can say that they never told this to anyone, VO officer told us clearly about the expected timeline (1 or 3 or 6 months).

The person who responded to you never said that they never tell anyone. They said it is rare that they give out this info, which it is.

 

Don't bring negative energy into this forum.

[snowfalls 9]

Hi all, I interviewed at the Montreal Consulate and I was issued a 221(g) refusal worksheet along with a mailing instructions info sheet. I had brought all the required documents and was told that they were "perfect". However, my passport was returned to me on the spot, and I was instructed on the worksheet to mail it back after completing a form online about my travel/residential history. I don't understand what brought on the refusal and extra steps considering that the interview seemed to have gone very well and I had all my documents in check. Not sure if this factors into it, but for reference, I was born in a foreign country and have been a Canadian citizen since I was a toddler. 

 

Does anyone have any idea how long this process will take, especially regarding when I can expect to get my passport back? I'm very concerned because I'm now enrolled in school that will start in 2.5 months in the US and won't be able to travel without my passport. Should I contact the Montreal office about this?

Feeling at a loss for what to do at this point, any advice is very much appreciated, thank you.

[Crazy Cat 41,811]

***Additional new topic merged into thread***

Edited February 19 by Crazy Cat

[APRIL2023 59]

1 hour ago, Canucklehead said:

The person who responded to you never said that they never tell anyone. They said it is rare that they give out this info, which it is.

 

Don't bring negative energy into this forum.

It’s all dependent on the VO as well. Based on what I read so far some are “nicer” than others. The guy that I got clearly hated his job. He told me that no timeline can be given as this a “black hole of wait time”. He can’t give me a reason for AP or why I am flagged as my case “appeared pretty straight forward”. So I’m pretty convinced that the VO has no control over who to place on AP, once they are flagged on the system for whatever reason.  He also rolled his eyes when I asked him to clarify some points he made. Clearly they have to deal with frustrated applicants on a daily basis once visa is denied.