Coco_2023

I've actually lost my hope and moved on with my life tbh since my case is the worst of the worst, I've got a phd in AI & Robotics (TAL), I was born in Iran, and Trump is in the office. My son keeps checking the file status...

Any idea of how many unsolicited updates usually received before a case is finalized (gets out of refusal state)? My interview was on September last year and I got the first unsolicited update on my case 10 days ago.

I've sent them a follow up email 2 times since then but they don't even bother to reply me with a generic email template😥 Email address: Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov

At least you've got the pass request email. I am in AI field too and was put in AP and asked for my resume upon my interview on September 20 but since then I've had only one update on Oct 8... Are you born in Iran or the other 6 countries that the US always tend to put the males (even 11 yrs old) in AP by default?

A question - does it still move the needle if a relative of mine who is an American citizen and lives there gets their congressman/senator to send a case inquiry email to the US consulate in Montreal or does the person have to be my immediate family?

Congrats! Was your interview on 2014 or 2024? Also what's your occupation that triggered a resume request since I was asked for my resume too as I have a PhD in AI

Has anybody who's born in Iran ever come out of this AP hole at all?

I hope I am wrong but this reads the ds-5535 (Administrative Processing) Montréal is getting innovative and sneaky lately since they've realized how notorious they've become after covid time... They've even recently put a small link at the bottom of the interview invite emails for those who are born in certain countries saying you need to fill out this online form (form.office.com which we all know what it is for) to provide 'additional information' prior to the interview without mentioning ds-5535!!

This is the same email address I was asked to send my resume to after my interview. Congrats on the passport request tho! What's you visa category?

Thanks for your kindness. I hope we all get out of this nonsense situation as quickly as possible but I'm glad we have forums like this to exchange our experience and support each other👊

I actually got double AP'd since I received ds-5535 and also asked to send my latest resume later that has all my studies, papers I published, my phd dissertation, etc. And my job history without any gaps. Resume is asked for those in TAL So I asked the officer if the country I was born (Iran) was the reason that I received ds-5535 since I never served in military neither in Canada nor anywhere else, so she said "yeah, and that your field of study and work is AI and robotics" Looks like they see people who studied AI as a security threat. I got all my degrees—from high school to my PhD—in Canada though!

Has anyone ever been denied after getting into AP?

Hope you guys get the clearance asap. My officer told me they would send all AP cases including the TAL to Washington DC so I don't think the consulates spend much of their time on that... I think the broken communications among the federal government agencies, laziness and lack of experienced staff play a bigger role in this mess

I applied with my wifey and 2 young kiddos who are all born and raised in Canada except myself. I asked the officer if the country I was born was the reason that I received ds-5535 since I never served in military neither in Canada nor anywhere else, so she said "yeah, and that your field of study and work is AI and robotics"

My interview was completed but as expected I received the DS-5535 instead and officially went into the "black hole" AP! Here are my notes: There are changing tables in the 2 washrooms, they are clean Do not block the 2 enterance of the building at the street since they belong to RBC branch inside the building The security team who are local resources won't let anybody to enter even if it is raining outside and you are with your young kids, unless they call you...we waited outside for 20 mins after our appointment time since it was busy In /out took 2.5 hours The officers are all told to be nice and patient though almost all are junior since the first officer insisted that I had to give her my labor certification although I told her I was eb2-niw and that I ran my own startup firm so asked the officer to consult with their admin and so then the admin officer apologized and told the junior officer that I was right The 2nd officer asked me the following questions before handing me a paper that had "hey we are out of visa by end of Sept...", and "DS-5535" checked off : - Why America? - At what age did you move to Canada? (Me: I was 11, the officer: what was your parents' job at the time? Me: university professor) - Why now? - Why do you think you are nationally important? - What motivated you to study and work in the AI field? - How many employees do you currently have? Why do you have american employees working for your company in Canada? What is their education level and background? (Me: I don't know off the top of my head but you can contact my HR manager and get your answers if my employees agree to share their personal info) - Why do you plan to extent your firm into the US while you alredy have your customers in Canada? - Why did you apply for EB-5 thru investment and cancelled it? At the end of I offered the officer to take my resume since I already knew it would be asked for those who studied in TAL list but the officer said it was not required but then an hour later I got an email asking my resume to be emailed back!! I guess I am being "punished" for things I never had any control over...