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

[CarmenD 150]

13 minutes ago, Canucklehead said:

Great response. 

 

Also has anyone who has emailed Montreal in the last few months gotten an email response? My last 3 emails have not been responded to, nor has my case been updated.

I emailed the Consulate for the first time (I’m about 6.5 months into AP after submitting answers to DS-5535) just last week.  Almost immediately I received this response

[Phil_K_IR1 83]

2 minutes ago, CarmenD said:

I emailed the Consulate for the first time (I’m about 6.5 months into AP after submitting answers to DS-5535) just last week.  Almost immediately I received this response

The automatic reply is normal. 

[CarmenD 150]

1 minute ago, Phil_K_IR1 said:

The automatic reply is normal. 

Yes, it is.  Let’s see if it gets a follow-up at all, and how long it takes 

[dj222 1]

I'm not sure if US immigration has data on my travels unless I used a US airline and flew to the United States through a transfer, although im curious to hear you guys' thoughts. I'm not even sure if my category (son of a US citizen) would be required to give information such as profession or travel in the interview. Anyway, I think it would be a safer bet to get a new passport as I have a lot of travel stamps in my current one. 

 

Also is it just the EB visas that are being asked for a CV? Or are spouses/fiance of US citizens being asked for them as well? This would be kind of weird if that was the case. Do they even screen by profession when considering spouses/fiances of US citizens when it comes to AP?

 

Does anyone have any data suggesting if AP or DS5355 is decided before the interview by a system or by the interviewer? Or maybe both?

 

 

Edited February 26 by JamesTan

[Canucklehead 102]

6 minutes ago, JamesTan said:

I'm not sure if US immigration has data on my travels unless I used a US airline and flew to the United States through a transfer, although im curious to hear you guys' thoughts. I'm not even sure if my category (son of a US citizen) would be required to give information such as profession or travel in the interview. Anyway, I think it would be a safer bet to get a new passport as I have a lot of travel stamps in my current one. 

 

Also is it just the EB visas that are being asked for a CV? Or are spouses/fiance of US citizens being asked for them as well? This would be kind of weird if that was the case. Do they even screen by profession when considering spouses/fiances of US citizens when it comes to AP?

 

Does anyone have any data suggesting if AP or DS5355 is decided before the interview by a system or by the interviewer? Or maybe both?

 

 

They definitely have the ability to see all of your border crossings to USA. If/when you receive a DS5355 (hopefully you don't), this website is super useful for tracking your travel history to the USA.

Edited February 26 by Canucklehead

[CarmenD 150]

2 hours ago, JamesTan said:

So I've been to about 50 different countries in the past 5-10 years. Will this raise some red flags? How likely will I be ds5355ed? I've also traveled to Turkey and UAE in the Middle East. I've had jobs where I was extremely successful and was able to negotiate more vacation time and travel on my dime. World travel is always an aspiration for me and don't regret it. I doubt anyone working for the government would be able to relate to my situation or else they will probably not be working there.

 

Just curious, why is Montreal more likely to receive ds5355? I mean there are embassies in parts of the world that I would assume are more likely to be vetted for security threats. If anything Canada is one of the US's closest allies and shares a lot of intelligence. I doubt the Iranian government would share information about their citizens trying to immigrate to USA.

 

Is there actual evidence rather than anecdotal that Montreal is special when it comes to ds5355?

 

Also once a ds5355 form is submitted, does anyone know where it is processed? Is it processed in Montreal? Or does it get sent to be processed in a central agency in the United States?

 

 

 

I’d be extremely surprised if you don’t end up in AP/DS-5535

 

The handling and duration of administrative processing depend on the nature of the case. The application may stay under review at the post with the consular officer who interviewed the applicant, allowing the officer to control the processing time. This often occurs when additional documentation, information, or time is needed to make a decision on a visa application.

 

In other instances, consular officers may be required to forward the case to the State Department in Washington, D.C., where the officer will not have access to information about the status of the case and lack authority to speed up processing. One indication that resolution might take a long time is when the officer returns the applicant’s passport at the end of the interview.

 

A Security Advisory Opinion(SAO) from the State Department in Washington, D.C., is required in cases involving national security concerns. SAOs are extensive biographic checks conducted by interagency partners from the intelligence community and law enforcement. They are a black box that can take months to years to complete, until the interagency partners, which are not disclosed to the applicant, provide their findings to the State Department. Consular officers do have the ability to follow up with the State Department about long-pending SAOs.

 

[Daft_Cat 136]

32 minutes ago, JamesTan said:

I'm not sure if US immigration has data on my travels unless I used a US airline and flew to the United States through a transfer, although im curious to hear you guys' thoughts. I'm not even sure if my category (son of a US citizen) would be required to give information such as profession or travel in the interview. Anyway, I think it would be a safer bet to get a new passport as I have a lot of travel stamps in my current one. 

As mentioned, they will have records of your US border crossings at the very least. I also believe Canada and the US collaborate closely on border-related matters, so I wouldn't assume they're approaching your case from a position of ignorance. 

Personally, I think it would be a super sketchy move to renew your passport early right before your interview. That will definitely raise eyebrows and potentially result in a direct line of questioning (versus the alternative where they might just assume you're a 20-30 something who spent some time backpacking). 
 

Quote

 

Also is it just the EB visas that are being asked for a CV? Or are spouses/fiance of US citizens being asked for them as well? This would be kind of weird if that was the case. Do they even screen by profession when considering spouses/fiances of US citizens when it comes to AP?

 

 

Work history (essentially a CV) is a core component of the DS-5535, so you might as well assume that all applicants in this thread shared employment details regardless of their visa class. Not sure why it would matter only for EB categories if the intent is to vet your background for potential security risks. 

While family visas provide a secure immigration pathway that doesn't require employment-based sponsorship, they are not "privileged" in the sense that they are exempt from a potential DS-5535. You mentioned you were 'extremely successful', so perhaps an AOS to one of the genius categories (e.g. an EB1) might help you avoid additional scrutiny. 

 

Quote

Does anyone have any data suggesting if AP or DS5355 is decided before the interview by a system or by the interviewer? Or maybe both?

 

Again, these questions are not easily answered. Posters on this forum and elsewhere report similar stories: an otherwise unremarkable interview followed by a seemingly unprompted DS-5535 while the officer is processing/finalizing the case. Relatively few individuals report direct lines of questioning on travel or background, which would seemingly point away from it being at the officer's discretion (although I'm sure they have the ability to trigger the process on their own). 

Edited February 26 by Daft_Cat

[CarmenD 150]

32 minutes ago, JamesTan said:

I'm not sure if US immigration has data on my travels unless I used a US airline and flew to the United States through a transfer, although im curious to hear you guys' thoughts. I'm not even sure if my category (son of a US citizen) would be required to give information such as profession or travel in the interview. Anyway, I think it would be a safer bet to get a new passport as I have a lot of travel stamps in my current one. 

 

Also is it just the EB visas that are being asked for a CV? Or are spouses/fiance of US citizens being asked for them as well? This would be kind of weird if that was the case. Do they even screen by profession when considering spouses/fiances of US citizens when it comes to AP?

 

Does anyone have any data suggesting if AP or DS5355 is decided before the interview by a system or by the interviewer? Or maybe both?

 

 

I you fly (regardless of airline) or come across a land border, it is being tracked and US Immigration has access to that information.  Count on it

[Ontarkie 14,223]

34 minutes ago, JamesTan said:

I'm not sure if US immigration has data on my travels unless I used a US airline and flew to the United States through a transfer, although im curious to hear you guys' thoughts. I'm not even sure if my category (son of a US citizen) would be required to give information such as profession or travel in the interview. Anyway, I think it would be a safer bet to get a new passport as I have a lot of travel stamps in my current one. 

 

Also is it just the EB visas that are being asked for a CV? Or are spouses/fiance of US citizens being asked for them as well? This would be kind of weird if that was the case. Do they even screen by profession when considering spouses/fiances of US citizens when it comes to AP?

 

Does anyone have any data suggesting if AP or DS5355 is decided before the interview by a system or by the interviewer? Or maybe both?

 

 

Your travel history follows your passport, you will also be asked for your previous passport number and passport.  Once they have your passport they can see it all. Trying to hind your past travel history is a good way to get a lifetime ban. 

[dj222 1]

10 minutes ago, Daft_Cat said:

As mentioned, they will have records of your US border crossings at the very least. I also believe Canada and the US collaborate closely on border-related matters, so I wouldn't assume they're approaching your case from a position of ignorance. 

Personally, I think it would be a super sketchy move to renew your passport early right before your interview. That will definitely raise eyebrows and potentially result in a direct line of questioning (versus the alternative where they might just assume you're a 20-30 something who spent some time backpacking). 
 

 

 

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Yeah I would assume that they have info my border crossing to the United States but for example my trip to Turkey and Egypt, I flew to UK from Canada, then to France, then Greece, then Egypt and turkey. Afterward I went to another country and flew back to Canada. These are all on different flight and I didn't book them at the same time.

 

For the passport, I only have 3 years left on my passport anyways and only have a couple of pages left. If immigrated to the US, I probably would want to renew it earlier before I moved rather than later and have to renew it in another country. Makes sense I think.

[Daft_Cat 136]

8 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

Your travel history follows your passport, you will also be asked for your previous passport number and passport.  Once they have your passport they can see it all. Trying to hind your past travel history is a good way to get a lifetime ban. 

Getting flashbacks to last year when I had to deal with exactly this issue. I only had a copy of my current passport as well as the one that had recently expired. I didn't keep any of my earlier ones. Unfortunately I couldn't find a clear process for obtaining historical numbers and didn't want to delay submission of my DS-5535 by weeks or months. 

My attorney advised me to interpret the question in a broader way as an inquiry into whether I've ever held a non-Canadian passport (vs. prior versions of the Canadian passport I hold today), to which the answer was no. He said he'd seen this question answered in both ways, and that neither approach had been flagged. So far the consulate hasn't requested additional info, so fingers crossed... but that's the only question that made me a bit nervous. 

In any case, my hope is that they have some ability to triangulate your current passport to earlier versions... But just goes to highlight how ambiguous and all-encompassing the DS-5535 process is.

Edited February 26 by Daft_Cat

[Daft_Cat 136]

17 minutes ago, JamesTan said:

 

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Yeah I would assume that they have info my border crossing to the United States but for example my trip to Turkey and Egypt, I flew to UK from Canada, then to France, then Greece, then Egypt and turkey. Afterward I went to another country and flew back to Canada. These are all on different flight and I didn't book them at the same time.

 

For the passport, I only have 3 years left on my passport anyways and only have a couple of pages left. If immigrated to the US, I probably would want to renew it earlier before I moved rather than later and have to renew it in another country. Makes sense I think.

It seems like you're determined to go against the advice of those that are currently stuck in the pit you're afraid of falling into. Evasive behavior around your travel history will 100% raise red flags and guarantee the outcome you're trying to avoid. Don't overthink this and don't try to outsmart the consulate.

Edited February 26 by Daft_Cat

[Canucklehead 102]

5 minutes ago, Daft_Cat said:

It seems like you're determined to go against the advice of those that are currently stuck in the pit you're afraid of falling into. Evasive behavior around your travel history will 100% raise red flags and guarantee the outcome you're trying to avoid. Don't overthink this and don't try to outsmart the consulate.

You'd be wise to follow this advice.

[MonB 0]

Question: my wife got a ds-5535, she is a Candian citizen, while we're waiting, can she visit the US??, (of course she will go back to CANADA) should we notify the consulate every time she visits the US??, or she has to wait until the process is done.

Thanks

[Superluminal 146]

26 minutes ago, Daft_Cat said:

Getting flashbacks to last year when I had to deal with exactly this issue. I only had a copy of my current passport as well as the one that had recently expired. I didn't keep any of my earlier ones. Unfortunately I couldn't find a clear process for obtaining historical numbers and didn't want to delay submission of my DS-5535 by weeks or months. 

My attorney advised me to interpret the question in a broader way as an inquiry into whether I've ever held a non-Canadian passport (vs. prior versions of the Canadian passport I hold today), to which the answer was no. He said he'd seen this question answered in both ways, and that neither approach had been flagged. So far the consulate hasn't requested additional info, so fingers crossed... but that's the only question that made me a bit nervous. 

In any case, my hope is that they have some ability to triangulate your current passport to earlier versions... But just goes to highlight how ambiguous and all-encompassing the DS-5535 process is.

I'm pretty sure they can triangulate. For example, I found if I put my previous passport number into the I-94 website, it pulls up travel information for my current passport number.