Coco_2023

1 hour ago, AlAlp said:

There are some posts in the earlier pages that share the dates when they had updates. I don't think there's a set formula for this. I got a couple updates around the same time as yours. Let's hope it means something is happening.

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.

14 minutes ago, deeper_vision said:

I wasn’t born in Iran or the other flagged countries. Have you tried following up with the consulate?

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

6 minutes ago, deeper_vision said:

Hi everyone,

 

I had my visa interview at the Montreal consulate on October 15, 2024, and my case was put under AP with a DS-5535 form and my CV submitted—possibly flagged under TAL since I work in AI. On October 17, I received an email requesting my passport, which I sent the same day. It was delivered to the consulate on October 18, and I noticed a few unsolicited case updates in the next two weeks. My last update was on November 6. I emailed the consulate on November 12 to confirm if they received my passport and inquire about my case. On November 29, they acknowledged receipt of my passport and stated: "The case is currently pending review by a consular officer."

 

Does this mean my AP is finished and is awaiting final review, or has the consular officer not sent my case for AP yet? Any insights or similar experiences would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

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? 

7 hours ago, Pending DS5535 said:

Thanks to God, I finally got my long-awaited email of submitting passport and medical. my case details

IR5, interview Jan 24, 2014 (my husband and I, we both received DS5535, and I also received resume request, everything submitted on Jan 25)

I got today email for submitting the passport and new medical, but my husband is still in AP. I am so happy that I will join my daughter soon hopefully.

Please advise me should I use FedEx or Purolator for sending the passport. Any suggestions 

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?

9 minutes ago, AY647 said:

My interview for IR1 at Montreal was on October 10th, everything seemed to go well. In the end the officer said he can’t approve me due to an incomplete security check and that he’s keeping my passport and police check as well. He said it should take about 1 week for me to get passport back with visa. I’ve also uploaded the white slip I received, he also gave a sheet which tells how to track passport. He didn’t mention DS 5535 and I haven’t received any email yet for DS5535 and he said everything is complete document wise. For context I’m a permanent resident in Canada from a Muslim majority country. Would appreciate some insight on this, should I be concerned ? 

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!! 

54 minutes ago, Mango Pineapple said:

Hey everyone,

 

I've been following this forum for a little while (it comes up a lot when searching for information about DS-5535) and I thought I'd post my administrative processing timeline since it appears to be getting close to resolving.

 

I had my interview in Montreal on June 3 this year, and at the end the agent told me to submit a DS-5535 form and then mail my passport to them. The way he worded it sounded like I was supposed to mail the passport right after the form, so that's what I ended up doing just a few days after my interview.

 

The issue is that last week I got an email from the embassy asking me to send them my passport. It seems that the agent working on my case must not have checked wherever they have it stored. I tried calling them but it appears to all be an automated message, and the message told me to contact montreal-iv-dv@state.gov, which I emailed that same day along with the tracking number as proof that they already received my passport. Does anyone know of a different way to contact the consulate? I've been seeing that people are not having much luck contacting that email, from receiving a generic response to no response at all.

 

 

June 3 - Interview / Rejected 221g
June 4 - Case updated
June 5 - Submitted DS-5535
June 6 - Mailed passport to consulate
June 7 - Passport received at consulate
June 10 - Case updated
June 14 - Case updated
June 18 - Case updated

 

Sept 5 - Case updated
Sept 19 - Case updated
Sept 24 - Case updated. Received email asking for passport. Emailed consulate tracking number as proof.

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? 

12 hours ago, Abahoni said:

Praying for you along with so many people waiting after getting DS5535, be strong. I have been waiting since April 2023, nothing can be done but wait!

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👊

25 minutes ago, canadian85 said:

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Was your AP given to you just because they ran out of visas or is there something else that triggered an AP?

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?

12 minutes ago, CarmenD said:

100%. Zero consistency or anything resembling a pattern for case handling. Obviously, the Consulate is swamped clearing cases out of AP and all that entails, along with processing cases interviewing on an ongoing basis:  I’m mentally prepared (while hoping to be mistaken) for the process to drag on into mid-October for us, with any luck

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

24 minutes ago, AnnaSalu said:

 

I'm sorry to hear this! Did they provide any reasons why the chose to put you through this process? Are you applying alone, or with your family (wife, children, etc.)?

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...

38 minutes ago, Angiw said:

Hey guys.

 

Unfortunate to be a new member here in this thread.

 

EB-1A, Chinese Citizen, Canadian PR, Ph.D. from US, Materials Scientist in Canada

DQ: March, 2023

Interview: Sep 16, 2024

 

My CV was asked during interview, and I was given 221(g) with my passport back. The only requested document was my DS-5535.

 

The officer gave me two OF-194 sheets. One is 12-2010, on which they required Passports x2 (mine and my spouse's) under "you must present the documents listed above and/or the following information", and the other one is 06-2017, on which only the 221g, AP and 5535 squares were ticked. No instructions regarding passports are provided.

 

I filled the form (more like a questionnaire) online yesterday, and send message to my lawyer for confirmation. The lawyer said I should mail the passports immediately to them since it is requested.

 

So, I am quite confused. Do I actually need to mail the passports now, or I should wait for the processing of my DS-5535, and wait for notifications from the consulate?

 

Thanks in advance!

Not sure if this helps but my officer asked me not to send them anything from now on unless they specifically asked for it.

I was asked to email them my latest resume after the interview.

I wasn't given the forms you mentioned though, perhaps because I've got my Canadian citizenship?  I dunno... 

Hi everyone,

I had my interview at MTL this morning and was given the notorious DS-5535 link to fill out at the end of ineterview and since I was well expecting it before, submitted it right after the interview but an hour later got an email from MTL asking me to email my CV (jobs, studies, etc. without any gaps) which I sent it too right away...it's soul crushing knowing you are now officially inside this AP "black hole"...

Does anybody have any idea if I got AP'd because my field of study (AI and Robotics) is part of TAL list in which I was asked to email my CV or is it due to the fact that I am born in Iran since I guess those who get asked for their CV might get cleared out sooner?

I have never served at military whatsoever though, and the officer told me that it might get my AP process faster but there was no guarantees.

I was the only person to get AP'd in my family.

Btw, I wasn't able to add my info into the tracker spreadsheet since it's read-only so here they are:

EB2-NIW (PhD in AI & Robotics)
Country of chargeability: Iran 
Interview date: Sept 24, 2024
DQ: March 2023
PD: September 23,2021
 

1 hour ago, SunnyAvengers said:

Hi all - I went into AP at my interview at the Montreal consulate and needed to submit the DS-5535. I did so and finally heard back 9 months later. In August I received an email that I could courier my Passport to the consulate with a few documents. I redid my Medical / Criminal check - but they also asked that I update the DS-260 and submit a copy of the bar-coded confirmation page. The only problem is - the DS-260 application cannot be edited. I've read on forums this is because it is locked after you submit. Was the consular officer who sent me the email that I need to update it, also suppose to "unlock" it so I could actually make those edits? I forwarded a copy of their email request to: Canada.Visas@gdit-gss.com and Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov. One replied back they could not assist with DS-260 questions, the other generic reply said my application is under review and I would have to wait if there are any next steps. 

 

I'm ready with the entire checklist - medical, criminal check (that are counting down expiry dates already!), registered courier, etc. The only thing I need to do is update my DS-260 with my most recent address and travel history but I am unable to. Anyone experience this / have any tips? 

 

Timelines: 

Sept 15, 2023 - received notice of Interview Appointment 

Nov 6, 2023 - Interview Date / Refused and provided DS-5535 to submit

Nov 10, 2023 - DS-5535 submitted electronically 

Aug 1, 2024 - Received email to courier my Passport after a new Medical and Criminal Check, and updating DS-260 and reprinting the barcode page. 

 

Perhaps the officer is asking to fill the ds-5535 again with the latest changes (if there is any, ie in your address, travel history, job, etc.) and send them the new submission's barcode? 

49 minutes ago, AA-H said:

Dear @Coco_2023, during your interview on September 24th, could you kindly remind the officer at the end to not forget to press the enter key in their system to update your status? Missing that step has caused confusion for many of us.

I'm getting AP'd for 99.8% so I don't think even hitting the enter key several times makes much of a difference for applicants like me but I'll make sure they would do so in front of me 😂 

3 hours ago, Froozion said:

We are still on ready. Interview was the 9th. Also not heard from Montreal about the lack of visas yet. 

The officer probably forgot to hit the enter key on their systems to get your status changed or this is another bug in their systems LOL

5 minutes ago, Texasbound1 said:

Typo in the second last paragraph. Instead of other I meant nothing is close to expiry.

Congrats @Texasbound1 since you are approved which is fantastic! ...pretty sure you'll get your visa within the first week of October

What would be an optimum answer to why you are a national interest?  Asking since I am EB2-NIW too LOL
 

For those who had their interview in Montreal and brought kiddos under 5, what did you do if they got hungry while inside? I heard it could take a couple of hours, so just wondering how you managed that.

Also, any tips on keeping them entertained since electronics aren’t allowed? What worked for you guys when the boredom hit? LOL

34 minutes ago, AndrewsN said:

I had my interview Sep 6th (EB1). I received a verbal approval from the officer at the consulate.

 

Yesterday morning I received a notice indicating that they will be holding my passport until after October 1st because they’ve hit their limit of Visas issued for the fiscal year. 

I’m just hoping that this means they actually get to work on it in the first week of October and not closer to November. 

It's a bummer to hear that you'll have to wait a bit longer to get your actual visa, but a good news for those who have their interviews pre-scheduled by the end of September including myself that they are not canceled since eb1 has reached the cap on late Aug yet your interview was conducted on Sep 6.

I'm pretty sure you guys are first in the line after Oct 1 to get your visa printed 

I wonder tho why your CO didn't let you know at the interview since they already knew there was no visa left for your category...

12 hours ago, Froozion said:

I'm worried although we were approved on the 9th.... we may now not get our visa until October 1st. 

 

Has anyone who had interviews the first week of September had their ceac account go from ready to issued? How long did it take if so..? I know they say up to 12 days....

I wouldn't worry @Froozion since you already passed the last 2 important milestones: had a successful interview, and more importantly approved on the spot!

So I guess there just would be a very short delay in issuing the visa for you

26 minutes ago, mgsctravels said:

 

I suppose that in the grand scheme of things, running out of visas this fiscal isn't the end of the world since the annual resets on Oct. 1?

True but there 2 things, when an interview is canceled technically you would be placed at the end of the line. 

2nd, I've already booked my hotel and non-refundable flights for my whole family and blocked my calendar for the interview day and the day before (I run my own business) so who's compensating all these? LOL