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

[APRIL2023 59]

6 hours ago, mam521 said:

Just a heads up for when you guys do finally clear security and can rejoin your loved ones - as a permanent resident, you will not have an I-94 record to rely on.  Once you become an LPR, the US no longer has to worry about your status and overstays.  That said, if you plan to apply for citizenship under the 3 or 5 year rule, depending which you choose, you will have to provide travel history.  I highly recommend getting into the habit of filling out a spreadsheet to track this information so you're not stuck rifling through your airline's app and credit card statements to rebuild this history and even worse - if you cross by land, trying to track that information down.  

 

For those of you who may be perusing the forum and weren't aware but are on work visas, especially those on TN's, ALWAYS pull your I-94 record to verify you've been statused correctly by CBP.  Many people have been in a situation where they should have been statused as a TN and CBP entered B.  You're not legally entitled to work when you're on a B visa.  This has to be fixed. 

 

Additionally, people don't pay attention to the expiration because their visa is supposedly good for 3 years (depending on type), but the I-94 will be for less.  This is often tied to the expiration of the visa holder's passport.  The visa holder needs to get a new passport and present it to CBP prior to the expiration listed on the I-94.  The officer will then extend the I-94 expiration to match the visa expiration.  Both the incorrect status and the I-94 corrected extension can be done at a Deferred Inspection site.  

Thank you!!! Very helpful! 

[APRIL2023 59]

47 minutes ago, CarmenD said:

Thanks.  I’ll keep following up with polite inquiries.  I’ve yet to ask for confirmation on receipt of DS-5535 at the Consulate 😆 

It’s a hit and miss with responses for me for emails regarding receipt of documents. They tend to response first with a templates email (if they choose to response) that does not address your questions at all. It’s only after a few back and forth email until someone actually READ your inquiries and answer your questions. 
 

My status will then get updated after each email response. Now I’m just hesitant to email them at all, because then it’ll look they did some work on my case, when in reality, all the status updates are “triggered” from my end. I feel like I’m not “building a good case” for this stupid wait that I, like many of you here, are stuck in. 

[APRIL2023 59]

1 hour ago, CarmenD said:

Thanks.  I’ll keep following up with polite inquiries.  I’ve yet to ask for confirmation on receipt of DS-5535 at the Consulate 😆 

Also expect at least a 2 weeks wait for a response. That’s the case for me as well! Good luck!

[CarmenD 150]

32 minutes ago, APRIL2023 said:

Also expect at least a 2 weeks wait for a response. That’s the case for me as well! Good luck!

Thank you 🫶

[Phil_K_IR1 83]

Just sharing that since our case updates on Feb 2, Feb 5, and then Feb 12 it's been radio silence. 
 

Gotta love this process. 

Edited February 23 by Phil_K_IR1

[dmitrych 14]

Hi everyone,
Just an update: I decided to file AOS from within the US. I've been already here on a dual-intent visa, so I guess I'm lucky I have this option with no conflict about immigrant intent.
This also means I'm throwing away the progress made through consular processing, and betting that my AOS will take less than about 8 more months my consular processing would've taken.

At least I won't have to fly again for the visa, and for the repeat medical which just expired.

I guess I will be a guinea pig and find out how it goes (and will let you know).

[Ontarkie 14,223]

2 hours ago, dmitrych said:

Hi everyone,
Just an update: I decided to file AOS from within the US. I've been already here on a dual-intent visa, so I guess I'm lucky I have this option with no conflict about immigrant intent.
This also means I'm throwing away the progress made through consular processing, and betting that my AOS will take less than about 8 more months my consular processing would've taken.

At least I won't have to fly again for the visa, and for the repeat medical which just expired.

I guess I will be a guinea pig and find out how it goes (and will let you know).

Great option when you have a dual intent visa already. Now it is time for you to hope on over to the AOS from Work, Student and Tourist Visas. 

[Darkknight574 1]

3 hours ago, dmitrych said:

Hi everyone,
Just an update: I decided to file AOS from within the US. I've been already here on a dual-intent visa, so I guess I'm lucky I have this option with no conflict about immigrant intent.
This also means I'm throwing away the progress made through consular processing, and betting that my AOS will take less than about 8 more months my consular processing would've taken.

At least I won't have to fly again for the visa, and for the repeat medical which just expired.

I guess I will be a guinea pig and find out how it goes (and will let you know).

Thanks for letting us know. I have the same option with my L visa but haven’t used it yet. Do you know the current timeline for AOS? Also any concern regarding the immigration fraud and refusal by going this route? 

[dmitrych 14]

26 minutes ago, Darkknight574 said:

Thanks for letting us know. I have the same option with my L visa but haven’t used it yet. Do you know the current timeline for AOS? Also any concern regarding the immigration fraud and refusal by going this route? 

 

Looks like Ontarkie is hinting we should not derail the thread. I know that in my case there's no fraud concern, because I'm in a dual-intent status, but I'd recommend you to discuss the details of your case with a lawyer to make sure nothing else is missed. I'll message you in a DM about the timelines. Or maybe if there's enough of us coming from DS-5535, then maybe we can create a whole new thread in the AOS section of the forums?

[CarmenD 150]

On 1/31/2024 at 2:14 PM, ShawnK said:

@Cadtoverm

 

Just curious and to help any potential lurkers anticipate and get mentally prepared for their own DS5535, do you or your spouse, your parents, have any ties to the Middle East, South/Central Asia (the Stans) Africa, Eastern Europe/RUSSIA, China, Latin/Central/South America? 

 

I think if someone or his/her spouse or parents, has any ties to any of these places, a DS5535 is more likely.

 

 

 

 

That covers a lot of ground!  My husband is of Hungarian descent, I am a Cuban born US Naturalized Citizen 😨 

[dj222 1]

This thread is freaking me out. I have my F1 child of a US citizen interview soon(maybe in the next couple of months). Im am Chinese born but I have been a Canadian citizen for 25+ years. Over the last 10 years I've been backpacking/travelling around the world and been to many different countries (40+). I lived in some for a few months as well (as a tourist) I didn't even know this was an issue. I never been to any of the countries that are part of the "muslim" ban by trump however.

 

Any ideas what I should do to avoid getting stuck with a ds-5355 notice?  

 

Somethings I have question about:

 

1. Is being linked to China also a cause of concern as being from "muslim" countries?

2. How would US immigration officers know my history of travel to raise any red flags?

3. My guess is I should get a new passport so it won't show pages of different stamps from different areas of travel, but will a brand new passport raise any red flags as well?

4. Were any of you guys asked your history of travel before being issued your ds-5355 notice?

[northface 30]

2 hours ago, JamesTan said:

This thread is freaking me out. I have my F1 child of a US citizen interview soon(maybe in the next couple of months). Im am Chinese born but I have been a Canadian citizen for 25+ years. Over the last 10 years I've been backpacking/travelling around the world and been to many different countries (40+). I lived in some for a few months as well (as a tourist) I didn't even know this was an issue. I never been to any of the countries that are part of the "muslim" ban by trump however.

 

Any ideas what I should do to avoid getting stuck with a ds-5355 notice?  

 

Somethings I have question about:

 

1. Is being linked to China also a cause of concern as being from "muslim" countries?

--- Yes. Charged by born country, not citizenship ,  even though lived  in Canada for 25 years++ .

 

2. How would US immigration officers know my history of travel to raise any red flags?

--- Custom entry records by air.

 

3. My guess is I should get a new passport so it won't show pages of different stamps from different areas of travel, but will a brand new passport raise any red flags as well?

---- Useless, they check finger print to identity you no matter whatever passport you hold.

 

4. Were any of you guys asked your history of travel before being issued your ds-5355 notice? 

----maybe, it is impossible not travel , but  I think ds-5535 more likely trigered by education( MSc, PHD), career high tech jobs etc , you might google "TAL" "TAL" still "TAL"

 

 

2 hours ago, JamesTan said:

 

 

 

[dj222 1]

also i see in the google sheet doc that most of the cases were in the fiance/spouse/eb categories and non were in the family based categories, f1, f2, f3, f4 etc. Are these categories more likely to be served a ds5355 compared to family based categories?

Edited February 26 by JamesTan

[Inveigh 69]

On 2/23/2024 at 2:39 PM, Superluminal said:

I would be skeptical about the opinion of a lawfirm who provides WoMs as a service to be bias free about the efficacy of WoMs.

In my experience from talking to a bunch of different firms, I would take 50% of what they say as the truth and 50% as a sales pitch.

 

Respectful firms however usually give you thorough, thorough explanations if they would take your case or not and How & Why they believe it would be in your best convenience and interest TO file or NOT TO file at the current time.

 

AT MINIUMUM I would talk to 3-5 Law Firms before deciding to choose the right representative. 

 

Youll usually know what your case is like in reality if a bunch of lawyers start cross referencing what the other lawyers say.

 

Just my healthy piece of advice imo after throwing $4000.00 of my own money into a fire-pit.

[Daft_Cat 136]

15 hours ago, JamesTan said:

Any ideas what I should do to avoid getting stuck with a ds-5355 notice?  

I'm not sure anyone can really answer that. This thread's more for people that have already received one. Few if any of us can say with certainty why we got one... except that Montreal seems to give them out more than the average consulate.

 

Quote

 

1. Is being linked to China also a cause of concern as being from "muslim" countries?

2. How would US immigration officers know my history of travel to raise any red flags?

3. My guess is I should get a new passport so it won't show pages of different stamps from different areas of travel, but will a brand new passport raise any red flags as well?
4. Were any of you guys asked your history of travel before being issued your ds-5355 notice?

 

1. I would be shocked if it wasn't. 

2. I'm not sure the consulate knows your travel history in any fulsome way - that's partially what the DS-5535 is supposed to illuminate for applicants whose profile triggers the process. 

3. Doubt it would have any effect whatsoever. My officer didn't choose to give me a DS-5535 after looking at my passport (or any of my documents) - it appeared to me like she got a prompt on her computer when she was otherwise ready to clear me. Either way, not a great idea to go out of your way to hide info at your interview.

4. I don't think so - unless it's part of the standard applicant journey and I've since forgotten. Safe to assume that if your name was on some list, it would've popped up much earlier than your interview - likely in the USCIS phase. That's probably part of why the DS-5535 has a super high (albeit slow) approval rate. 
 

Quote

also i see in the google sheet doc that most of the cases were in the fiance/spouse/eb categories and non were in the family based categories, f1, f2, f3, f4 etc. Are these categories more likely to be served a ds5355 compared to family based categories?

No idea, but anecdotally I haven't seen many DS-5535ers with those Visa classes (though perhaps they're less common to begin with). 

Edited February 26 by Daft_Cat