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

[mariagomez 18]

On 10/3/2024 at 5:04 PM, mariagomez said:

Hi everyone! 

I had my interview back in May 3rd and I was given the dreaded form and have been waiting since. I’ve had several updates since but I’m wondering if the frequency means anything or this is normal processing? it goes as follows:

 

• may 4 (unsolicited
• may 10 (unsolicited)
• may 28 (unsolicited)
• august 28 (solicited)
• september 5 (unsolicited) 
• september 19 (unsolicited)

Update to this: We reached out to our congressman on Oct. 4th and our case was updated the same day! I'm really hoping this means good news for us very soon

[DS5535TXCAN 44]

5 hours ago, tdot2nj said:

Quick question what’s the timeframe from the consulate receiving the medical to status changing to issued?
 

My medical was received this morning. Status date was updated however still showing refused. 

Visa issuance is around the corner. Hopefully a quick turnaround for you!

[Hopelessincanada 4]

3 hours ago, DS5535TXCAN said:

Consulate responded today to our congressional inquiry: 

 

"We acknowledge receipt of the documents you have provided. This case is currently pending review by a consular officer. As soon as the review is complete, the Visa Unit will advise of the next steps if anything else is needed to complete processing the case." 

 

In the response they state the additional blurb "... in some cases, this involves extensive consular review and administrative processing. ..." 

 

Are we in some adjacent administrative processing hell, after DS5535 has been cleared? Why request the passport at all if the intention was not to process the case. Today will be 2 months today since MTL requested the passport. What is going on...😣😡

We’re nearing 6 months since we’ve submitted passport and docs—- mind you our case isn’t even ds5535. I contacted my congressman 2 weeks ago and called the office today asking about status- they never saw my email even though I got an auto reply from the office. 🙄 Every step of this process has been a nightmare of delays and errors. I resent everything to congressman, and they made sure they saw it this time. So we wait again. 

[sloth_life 36]

Sad to see this issue is still ongoing so many years later. I have not forgotten about all of you.

 

Is the spreadsheet still around that shows everybody's dates, e.g., NVC received your case, interview date, DS-5535 / 221g date, and eventual approval date (if approved)?

 

I spent a substantial amount of time researching this issue in late 2022 and eventually came to the conclusion that the Department of State is violating the law for the following reasons:

• Immediate relative visas should be adjudicated within 30 days, and are supposed to have a higher priority than non-immediate relative visas. But, many non-immediate relative visas are adjudicated more quickly than the immediate relative ones (e.g., diversity visa, SQ* for applicants currently in a country of safe harbor)
• They have all the information they need to determine whether administrative processing should be performed when the interview is scheduled. As such, not beginning the process until the interview creates a predictable and avoidable delay, thereby preventing them from adjudicating the visa within the 30 days

I recently filled out a SF-95 form and sent it to the Department of State. They're currently "processing" it lol, but not after sending me a dehumanizing email. It probably won't go anywhere, but I have proof of and claimed the following damages (though I'm sure I won't get any sort of compensation):

• Emotional pain and suffering
• Financial loss (e.g., dual household, earning power differential, legal fees)
• Loss of time (e.g., research, lawsuit preparation)

It would make me very happy if all the people who were wronged by the Department of State were to file this form. Happy to help folks if they're interested in filing it, but would need the spreadsheet to know how to reach out to to know if they're interested. I'm obviously not a lawyer, so can't provide legal advice.

Edited October 9 by sloth_life

[as2023 7]

Is the cost of the updated medical exam the same as the initial one? are there things that are skipped or everything ( xray,vaccines,blood ...) need to be done as in the initial one?

 

[ak47 32]

8 hours ago, tdot2nj said:

Hey guys im a little worried. I got a passport and medical request via my congressman from the MTL consulate on Sept 25. I sent my passport and it was delivered Oct 2. This morning my medical was submitted. This afternoon i got two emails from the consulate (immigrant visa unit) with the subject line “Yatri: U.S. DoS Visa system additional documents required notice” and they requested my medical and passport again. That has already been submitted. Has anyone experienced this? I replied to their email but not sure whats going on. 

Never seen this but looks like you can just send an email to consulate with the status of the medicals and they shall wait till the passport and medicals reach their desk as it can take a bit of time.

[DS5535TXCAN 44]

On 10/8/2024 at 6:51 PM, Hopelessincanada said:

We’re nearing 6 months since we’ve submitted passport and docs—- mind you our case isn’t even ds5535. I contacted my congressman 2 weeks ago and called the office today asking about status- they never saw my email even though I got an auto reply from the office. 🙄 Every step of this process has been a nightmare of delays and errors. I resent everything to congressman, and they made sure they saw it this time. So we wait again. 

That happend to us. Received an email confirmation from congressmen, then were ghosted and when we finally got in touch the congresman sent it right away. The crazy part is the consulate provided two different responses the same day. The first response was to my US citizen spouse who had inquired two weeks prior and the second response was to the congressmen who inquired that same day. It seems that the consulate does not care to read our emails and just sends template responses based on previously sent emails. The reason I bring this up is because we inquired so many times on whether we needed to provide any other supporting documents such as the medical and photos, and they kept ignoring us. 

 

First response to my spouse was that the case is STILL pending consular review (its been 8 weeks since request of first document; passport). 

 

Second response was to the congressmen inquiry and that email indicated that AP is complete and they are now requesting ALL documents (passport, medical, and passport photos) mind you that they already have the passport. 

 

It seems congressmen inquiry really does push it forward, at least in our case, and I hope that you will receive your issued visa soon!

 

 

[ken5535karma 16]

On 10/7/2024 at 9:13 PM, DS5535TXCAN said:

Praying for you and your partner for a speedy IV issuance. - Keep us updated on your status and progress, especially with the second interview/re-oath and what that process entails. 

 

As far as updates on our end:

Still no case updates. The last case update was 13SEP2024. However, we finally received email confirmation today from congress representative indicating that they inquired with the consulate. We're hoping we hear back from them shortly about a visa issuance or any other outstanding documents. 

 

We're annoyed at the lack of consistency with MTL😠. For example, when the consulate requested our passport back on 8AUG2024 we were only notified to provide the passport to the consulate, we emailed multiple times about providing the passport in person as well as whether a medical exam was required knowing its been more than 6 months since our previous medical and they ignored us completely. Instead, only met with breif email to submit what was requested.

 

Any one know if the consulate(s) has ever issued a visa without a updated medical/passport photos?

Thank you so much. Thanks everyone for helping us through this. 

Some updates for y'all

• I updated my DS-260 on Monday October 7th, they then moved my appointment up one day to October 8th.
• I attended my "re-oath appointment" at the consulate on Tuesday. Basically just went to the window, and the officer apologized for the wait, etc. which I appreciated. He then did some final checks and told me he was approving my visa. I even asked if I could pick my passport up instead of having it mailed out, and he said sure, we will call you tomorrow or Thursday. The case tracker now says "Issued"
• Just waiting for the phone call right now. Will update again when I have it.

[Maussanais 12]

Hi All,

 

I wanted to share a couple of updates and a question:

 

After being in Administrative Processing since my consulate interview on December 15th, 2023, I finally received an email on September 12th, 2024, requesting my passport, a new medical exam, and two photos. The consulate received my medical results on October 2nd, and my passport on October 3rd. However, I haven’t received any updates since then. I’m sharing this for anyone else who might be in the same situation.

 

Secondly, I’m planning to attend a funeral in the U.S crossing the land border. I have a valid Nexus card and a second passport (I’m a dual citizen). Is there anything that would prevent me from entering the U.S. while my passport is with the consulate? I’ve confirmed with a Canadian border agent that I can re-enter Canada using my Nexus card at the land border, even without my passport. Any input on this would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

[EveK 21]

Hi everyone, those who had to do medical again, were u required to give another Covid-19 vaccine for the new medical?

[SEP-27-DS_5535 33]

23 minutes ago, EveK said:

Hi everyone, those who had to do medical again, were u required to give another Covid-19 vaccine for the new medical?

Yes, within the last 12 months. If it’s not available then they’ll write N/A.

[canadian85 24]

2 hours ago, SEP-27-DS_5535 said:

Yes, within the last 12 months. If it’s not available then they’ll write N/A.

It is not available as of now in Ontario. If the doctor writes NA on it.. will it cause any issues for approval? Someone in the forum mentioned that you will be put in AP till you dont get the vaccine and provide the proof.. is it true? Can someone share their experience?

[anotheronewaiting 7]

3 hours ago, Maussanais said:

Hi All,

 

I wanted to share a couple of updates and a question:

 

After being in Administrative Processing since my consulate interview on December 15th, 2023, I finally received an email on September 12th, 2024, requesting my passport, a new medical exam, and two photos. The consulate received my medical results on October 2nd, and my passport on October 3rd. However, I haven’t received any updates since then. I’m sharing this for anyone else who might be in the same situation.

 

Secondly, I’m planning to attend a funeral in the U.S crossing the land border. I have a valid Nexus card and a second passport (I’m a dual citizen). Is there anything that would prevent me from entering the U.S. while my passport is with the consulate? I’ve confirmed with a Canadian border agent that I can re-enter Canada using my Nexus card at the land border, even without my passport. Any input on this would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Hi,

 

Our timelines are similar. I will post our timeframe below for your reference since we just got to the final step for my fiance's K1.

 

My fiance also has a nexus, and his passport has been with the consulate since August 2023, back when we interviewed. He has been able to cross with his nexus without issue, even up to the point of his visa getting issued. I think you will be fine to visit as long as your pick up/cross with your visa within the expected timeframe.

 

Here is our timeline:

 

NOA1: October 4, 2021

RFE: January 2023

NOA2: March 22, 2023

Interview: August 15th, 2023

Sent DS5535 back the same day as the interview

WOM filed January 2024 - which did nothing for our case 

8/1/24 Consulate requested passport back (even though they still had it... lol) and repeat medical

9/3/24 Repeat medical

10/7/24 Case approved

10/9/24 Issued

10/10/24 Ready for pick up (since we picked the pick up location as close as possible to the consulate to try to get it asap)

 

Here's to hoping AOS is better for all of us! 

 

 

[ShawnK 82]

Lol so I already have my precious (I've  became like Smeagol with it) shiny new Greencard in hand (adjusted in the US) I've  been in AP since April 2023 with zero movement.

 

Montreal just emailed me saying they are ready to finish processing my case and want a new passport, medical etc.. I've been living and working in the US (via L1) since the early Spring and my greencard was approved pretty quickly, in about 4 months.

 

So...just sharing for how bizarre it all is.

 

Lawyer advised you can email them but you don't need to do anything,  if you don't respond it just expires.

 

[mariagomez 18]

On 10/8/2024 at 4:07 PM, mariagomez said:

Update to this: We reached out to our congressman on Oct. 4th and our case was updated the same day! I'm really hoping this means good news for us very soon

another update: we received an email from our congressman’s office that the consulate was requesting me to send my passport to them to continue processing our application! got the package together and dropped it off today at canadapost! here’s to hoping this all ends soon!