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

[Superluminal 146]

2 hours ago, Irish89 said:

Hey there folks. I had sent the consulate an email on April 30th. On May 23rd I got an update on CEAC and waited for the consulate to email their boilerplate response. It never came. I then got another update on May 28th and again waited for an email. Still haven’t received an email yet. Not sure what significance any of these updates have as they were triggered by my email on April 30th.

I do know one person who also emailed the consulate on April 30th and recieved the boilerplate response on May 23rd. And oddly enough Superluminal sent an email on April 30th and also recieved updates on May 23 and 28th. 

lol they are going to think we coordinated 

Edited June 3 by Superluminal

[sundim 11]

Hello fellow DS-5535 club members,

 

I had my interview on May 17 2024 and got the DS-5535.  I have been reading and observing everyone's experience throughout our case since we applied for i-130 in 2022.  I had mistakenly thought our case would be simple so I didn't sign up until now.  We have been married nearly 8 years and 7 of those, my spouse lived with me in Toronto (we did a permanent residence application with Canada Immigration).  I knew Montreal might be a challenge but was naive and thought I wouldn't be selected.

 

I'm a Canadian born citizen.  I have one parent who was born in Canada.  My other parent was naturalized long ago, and born in a country that may be considered a problem by US immigration.  They are both deceased.  I have mixed ethnicity and ambiguous appearance but am generally white passing.

 

All my travel history is to the US and neither my partner nor I have done a TAL job.  Montreal embassy did not ask for a resume, but they did ask for my job history with descriptions in the DS-5535.  They did not ask for my spouse's.

 

During my interview, I got the impression that it was going very smoothly.  The first officer commented that it was "good" I had uploaded all my documents including updated tax transcripts and proof of assets. 

 

The second officer asked standard relationship questions and was somewhat casual and joked a little bit.  He asked me how long my spouse lived in the US since returning from Canada and when I answered, he said something along the lines of "good, that will make this process go faster."  I was confused because I thought the process was nearly done.  When he gave me the 221g requesting DS-5535, he commented that it says "refused" but that I shouldn't be alarmed.  He commented that there was nothing I could have done ahead of time to prevent this outcome.

 

My main suspicion for why I got selected is either it was random, or my parent's place of birth is a red flag.  The country is listed on my birth certificate and our marriage certificate.

 

I submitted my DS-5535 on May 20 and my case was updated the next day.  Since then, my case has been updated May 24 and May 31 which is every friday since my interview, which was also on a friday.  I emailed today to update my phone number.  I will be updating again in a month because I am renewing my passport.

 

Anyway that's my info dump.  Thank you to everyone for updating in this thread, it was very helpful when we were first researching this outcome.   And thank you to @Superluminal for maintaining the spreadsheet.  I will keep updating the thread as things happen.

[Irish89 44]

1 hour ago, Superluminal said:

lol they are going to think we coordinated 

Lol 😂 

[crooked-i 4]

First off I’d like to say this DS5535 stuff is completely unfair and sorry everyone is going through it I wish you guys a speedy process.

 

Not gonna lie reading these posts here gives me a lot of anxiety. My wife is a Canadian citizen born in Canada but is from Pakistan originally and her parents were born there. While I’m a naturalized US citizen 20 years ago. I also work as an engineer and have worked for a couple of defense contractors. We’re currently waiting for our IL and hearing that there seems to be some correlation with getting a DS 5535 and “red flag” country of origin is disheartening. Especially when my wife hasn’t even set foot in that country. And me being an engineer I hope they don’t red flag that as well. The thought of having this process extend another year or longer really sucks. What do you guys think are we doomed for the dreaded DS 5535?

Edited June 4 by crooked-i

[MTLaffectee 43]

18 minutes ago, crooked-i said:

First off I’d like to say this DS5535 stuff is completely unfair and sorry everyone is going through it I wish you guys a speedy process.

 

Not gonna lie reading these posts here gives me a lot of anxiety. My wife is a Canadian citizen born in Canada but is from Pakistan originally and her parents were born there. While I’m a naturalized US citizen 20 years ago. I also work as an engineer and have worked for a couple of defense contractors. We’re currently waiting for our IL and hearing that there seems to be some correlation with getting a DS 5535 and “red flag” country of origin is disheartening. Especially when my wife hasn’t even set foot in that country. And me being an engineer I hope they don’t red flag that as well. The thought of having this process extend another year or longer really sucks. What do you guys think are we doomed for the dreaded DS 5535?

 The trends point that way but I'm hoping you avoid this hell hole—best of luck. 

[sundim 11]

10 hours ago, crooked-i said:

First off I’d like to say this DS5535 stuff is completely unfair and sorry everyone is going through it I wish you guys a speedy process.

 

Not gonna lie reading these posts here gives me a lot of anxiety. My wife is a Canadian citizen born in Canada but is from Pakistan originally and her parents were born there. While I’m a naturalized US citizen 20 years ago. I also work as an engineer and have worked for a couple of defense contractors. We’re currently waiting for our IL and hearing that there seems to be some correlation with getting a DS 5535 and “red flag” country of origin is disheartening. Especially when my wife hasn’t even set foot in that country. And me being an engineer I hope they don’t red flag that as well. The thought of having this process extend another year or longer really sucks. What do you guys think are we doomed for the dreaded DS 5535?

I'm sorry this is causing you anxiety.  If I could go back and do it again, I would have been prepared with my DS-5535 info ready to submit ASAP (in your case, resume info for you as well), instead of rushing to do it while processing the bad feelings that come along with being refused.  Another thing I would have done was to prepare a plan for what happens after the interview.  I didn't make travel plans, but I also wasn't ready to stay in Canada for another year (big mistake).  I'm fine now, but in retrospect I should have had a backup plan.  If your wife doesn't get flagged, then no harm done.  If she does, then you're ready!  For me, being prepared and planning helps manage my anxiety.  I don't think you're doomed, just prepare for the worst and hope for the best.  Good luck to both of you 🍀

[SEP-27-DS_5535 32]

2 hours ago, sundim said:

I'm sorry this is causing you anxiety.  If I could go back and do it again, I would have been prepared with my DS-5535 info ready to submit ASAP (in your case, resume info for you as well), instead of rushing to do it while processing the bad feelings that come along with being refused.  Another thing I would have done was to prepare a plan for what happens after the interview.  I didn't make travel plans, but I also wasn't ready to stay in Canada for another year (big mistake).  I'm fine now, but in retrospect I should have had a backup plan.  If your wife doesn't get flagged, then no harm done.  If she does, then you're ready!  For me, being prepared and planning helps manage my anxiety.  I don't think you're doomed, just prepare for the worst and hope for the best.  Good luck to both of you 🍀

Interest fun fact! Montreal consulate has put my email address as a spam because I am not getting automated email response from Montreal consulate as you sent an email to them. It might be because I was emailing them twice a day.

[Superluminal 146]

3 minutes ago, SEP-27-DS_5535 said:

Interest fun fact! Montreal consulate has put my email address as a spam because I am not getting automated email response from Montreal consulate as you sent an email to them. It might be because I was emailing them twice a day.

That was probably an automated system from Microsoft if you send lots of emails that aren't read. Its one thing to request updates on a semi-regular basis, but twice a day probably got your email flagged. 

[CarmenD 147]

Wooo hoooo!!! Finally received a topic specific reply from the Consulate this afternoon acknowledging an email sent to it on March 3 supplementing answer to the previously submitted DS-5535.  Sent follow-up emails on April 14 and May 11.  Took three months and a day to send a personalized reply.  

[Ryan17 2]

On 5/23/2024 at 12:04 AM, APRIL2023 said:

 No updates. My interview was April 13, 2023. 

We seem to get frequent CEAC updates, but nothing else - interview was Jan 23rd, 5535 requested Feb 14th. 

[CarmenD 147]

4 hours ago, SEP-27-DS_5535 said:

It might be because I was emailing them twice a day.

Yup, that sounds about right.  I would quit that if I were you.  The answer will be same (case in administrative processing “cannot predict when the processing will be completed, please be assured that the Consulate and the State Department are aware of your concerns and will contact you as soon as the processing is complete”).   

[ak47 31]

43 minutes ago, Ryan17 said:

We seem to get frequent CEAC updates, but nothing else - interview was Jan 23rd, 5535 requested Feb 14th. 

Was you interview in 2023 ?

Edited June 4 by ak47

[CL23 6]

2 hours ago, Ryan17 said:

We seem to get frequent CEAC updates, but nothing else - interview was Jan 23rd, 5535 requested Feb 14th. 

January 23rd 2023? Or 2024? 

[mam521 1,987]

19 hours ago, CarmenD said:

Wooo hoooo!!! Finally received a topic specific reply from the Consulate this afternoon acknowledging an email sent to it on March 3 supplementing answer to the previously submitted DS-5535.  Sent follow-up emails on April 14 and May 11.  Took three months and a day to send a personalized reply.  

We really need an eye roll or wow emoji reaction.  Because just wow that it took 3 months.  

[CarmenD 147]

58 minutes ago, mam521 said:

We really need an eye roll or wow emoji reaction.  Because just wow that it took 3 months.  

Yup .. and an angry 😡 one also