Leo The Great

Thanks - Mom and dad entered U.S via Niagara Falls this weekend. They were asked to go to secondary area for mom's green card activation. CBP officer asked mom why your spouse is not immigrating with you. She told the officer that his visa is still in processing. Whole process took 15 minutes

Is it possible to open a bank account in US after immigration without waiting for SSN? If yes then what documents are required?

In addition to uploading, also carry 2022/2023 tax transcripts/1040 and W-2 to interview just in case they ask for it. No 3 item in the list is not required but you may carry Generally they look at the original documents during interview and keep the original police clearance certificates. Photocopies are not required for 1 thru 6.

Approx 5 months. Timelines are in spreadsheet. Someone filtered the spreadsheet on IR1 and CR1 categories so other visa type were disappeared. Now reverted it back

My parents were interviewed at Montreal consulate last year. Consulate issued visa to mom but served DS-5535 to dad. His case is still in processing. We contacted MTL regarding case status recently asking them if dad visa could be issued before medical expiry. MTL advised us that my mom should enter US before visa expiry to activate her green card and she can return to Canada while my dad case is in processing. My mom is crossing border by road via Niagara Falls soon. Dad will be driving her to US and will return to Canada next day. Is it OK to accompany her for green card activation while his(dad) case is in AP? What sort of proof my dad need to carry with him to show his ties to Canada? He has a full time job in Canada.

>> 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? It is processed in State Department DC involving different agencies You can go to redeaglelaw web site and read the Blog "Administrative Processing Backlog of 66,000 Visa Applicants" to understand the high level process.

nope

if you file a WOM, do updates also happen at different stages?

My guess is consulate attach your email and consulate reply to your case for record and this trigger an update.

Confirmation number (7.DS-160/DS-260 Barcode Number)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jV7rzX2eCRVoEDRhOtN9a6hDoHRLNEf1P3ZGZbQ0_Dc/edit#gid=0

Since your cases is in consulate , you need to upload the I-864 from new sponsor including all supporting documents and also send them to consulate once AP is done. It will add the processing time if they verify documents by new sponsor.

You can apply for Canadian passport from US later if you want to use your country passport for US immigration. Check this page and complete the wizard(questions) to see how you can get Canadian passport from US How to apply for an adult passport in Canada - Canada.ca

Montreal CO will issue you the visa. They may ask you for new medical from panel doctor if the case cannot be cleared before the expiry of medical (6 months). The processing time varies from 4 - 6 weeks or more once all documents are received by the consulate. Once you receive your visa then you need to activate by crossing the border.. Given the process involved you need to return to Canada from US and you need passport for that unless you have Nexus. Any advice from other experienced VJ members in this regard?

It looks like you can go to US to study on Canadian passport. You have to prove your ties to Canada at border since your spouse is in US. Once the DS-5535 clearance is received you can take a study break and return to Canada for few weeks to stamp your visa. Sending passport at this point when the clearance is pending is of no use. The embassy will email you once the clearance is received. They would need your passport at that time to stamp visa. Your 221g clearly says send passport if requested.

Canadian citizens do not need visas to study or participate in an exchange program in the U.S. However, Canadian students do need to obtain an I-20 (or DS-2019) Certificate of Eligibility from the university, school or exchange program they plan to attend. Upon receipt of the I-20 (or DS-2019), the student will be registered with SEVIS, the student tracking system, will be assigned a SEVIS number, and will be required to pay a registration fee. When crossing the border to begin their study or exchange program in the United States, the student will need to provide the Officer at the port of entry: A Canadian passport; The original I-20 (or DS-2019) certificate; Proof that the SEVIS fee has been paid; Proof of ability to pay school fees and living expenses in the United States; and Proof of ties to Canada. https://ca.usembassy.gov/visas/canadian-students/#:~:text=Canadian citizens do not need,program they plan to attend. What is the role of US consulate?

Sorry to hear about that. What is your visa category? It takes few months to more than a year to get clearance from DC once the DS-5535 is submitted for Immigrant and K1 visas. Clearance of DS-5535 cannot be expedited.

You may read the blog "Administrative Processing Backlog of 66,000 Visa Applicants" on redeaglelaw site. Breakdown of state department employees for each region is not given in the blog. Colored 221g slips are common in other countries consulate not in Montreal consulate. In Montreal, they serve you white printout with link to online DS-5535 form (15 years travel history, 15 years Employment history, addresses, passports numbers etc) and request for passport once the clearance is received from DC. You can look at this spreadsheet for Montreal to get some idea about processing times (3-14 months). https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jV7rzX2eCRVoEDRhOtN9a6hDoHRLNEf1P3ZGZbQ0_Dc/edit#gid=0

It is correct format and was accepted by embassy in our case Type of Criminal Record Check: Other(Provide Details)

"Important: Police certificates expire after two years, unless the certificate was issued from your country of previous residence and you have not returned there since the police certificate was issued." 1. Your Canadian police Certificate is valid until Feb 2025. 2. In my opinion expired police certificate from India from age of 16 years to Dec 2022(assuming you are Indian citizen) should work provided you have been living in Canada since Dec 2022 and never been to India for more than 6 months after Dec 2022 that you already said. Get opinion from other members with regards to #2 to be sure.

You can send a request to consulate for passport. It will be returned to you in few days

Some applicants received DS-5535 form next day or later although they were verbally approved by CO (No 221g were given to them after the interview). If you have time to go thru all three parts, you will find one or two such cases. The form is legit as we filled out the same form for DS-5535 but we were served with 221g and received DS-5535 email next day. .

We got 6 updates in 14 days after we submitted DS-5535 and resume (No emails from our end). After that radio silent and we got one update this month same day when consulate replied our email.

We also got DS-5535 and Resume request for IR5 category(Oct 2023). Consulate issued a visa to mom but served 221g to dad. Hoping other visa will be issued by end of this year.

Police certificates are valid for 2 years . You may look at the date on your police certificate. If it is more than 2 years old on the interview day then you will need a new certificate if you are still living in Canada. "Important: Police certificates expire after two years, unless the certificate was issued from your country of previous residence and you have not returned there since the police certificate was issued." Source: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-5-collect-financial-evidence-and-other-supporting-documents/step-7-collect-civil-documents.html