Daft_Cat
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anotheronewaiting reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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ajxl888 reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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mam521 reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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mam521 reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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Canucklehead reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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brkendream reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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MTLaffectee reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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WMBB reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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Ontarkie reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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APRIL2023 reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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Hi everyone! Quick update from me: was notified by the consulate this morning that my passport is being returned. My status on the CEAC tracker has changed to "Issued" as of an hour ago. Surprisingly quick for me. They're sending it back just 1.5 weeks after I sent it through - since others that interviewed around the same time as me are still waiting, I do wonder if my WoM had an impact... albeit much more slowly than it would've a year ago. Thanks again for all the support throughout the process and I hope to see more movement for everyone still waiting soon.
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Hey all, Sorry for the radio silence. Passport and new medical sent in a week and a half ago. A couple updates since but still “refused” on CEAC. Expecting a few weeks at least - will keep you guys posted.
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Daft_Cat reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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Daft_Cat reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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The last email I sent was in January - it never got a response, but it did seem to trigger a flurry of updates (though I also had a WoM in play, so that complicates the interpretation of events a bit). The response they sent you is standard boiler plate - the language around visa denial and ineligibility is a new tactic used to fight legal challenges. I wouldn't overthink it. You've got to be at or near the top of the pile. Sometimes they respond to emails, sometimes they don't. The key differentiator will be when you start seeing successive, unprompted updates spaced 1-2 weeks apart. I bet it'll start happening soon! Also, for those who asked about the DS-260, I received a follow-up email this morning asking me to update it and include a copy of the confirmation page with the materials I'm sending in. It was no sweat. The form had been re-opened on my CEAC portal and I just updated any info that was out of date. No additional fee was required.
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I said that exact same thing when I got my first update in Mid-Jan. I had sent them an unanswered email a couple weeks prior and wrote it off as just them reading the message. …then I got a second update a couple weeks later. Then another, the week after that. And it basically went on like that until today. One confounding factor is that I also had an ongoing WoM case at the same time, but it’s hard to say what’s triggering what. Plus the state department had already filed their motion to dismiss, so who knows if it was even having an influence. I wouldn’t give up hope that your update could be the start of a similar process for you - especially given how long you’ve been waiting. It’s possible our emails get escalated and become more effective after certain time thresholds. Tough to say what kickstarts things.
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Daft_Cat reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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Nothing like that! At least not yet. The email phrasing was that they’re “ready to move forward with my application,” which hopefully means they aren’t going back to square one on the DS-260, which was a headache the first time around. The required docs were my medical, my passport, and two new passport photos. We fought the MTD and the US Attorney has until early April to respond. My guess is their response will indicate they’re moving forward with my visa and that the suit is now without cause.
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Daft_Cat reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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Daft_Cat reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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Daft_Cat reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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They definitely will. No doubt there. For the poster who asked: My interview was Feb, 2023. Filed a WoM in September of 2023, received 2 extension requests over the subsequent months, and then finally got hit with a Motion to Dismiss in Jan, 2024. We decided to fight it, and were eagerly awaiting the State Department's deadline to respond in early April. There'd been a number of unsolicited case updates on my file since mid-Jan, so we knew something was afoot. As for what got us over the hump, tough to say! Was the upcoming MtD deadline the catalyst? Could be, but then again, it's also possible that I was simply next in line. We'd been waiting a long time, so I wouldn't necessarily read too much into our unique sequence of events.
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Daft_Cat reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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Daft_Cat reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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Hi everyone, Some good news on my end: I got an email from the consulate today requesting my passport and a new medical. Thanks to everyone that reached out with their support and I hope my approval is encouragement to others that are still waiting! Hopefully this is a sign that things are moving again.
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Yep. I checked a few hours ago and nothing, so it must've just happened.
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I’m not sure what’s going on either, but someone must be listening because I just got an unsolicited case update (the first in 25 days).
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*edit - double post
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Filed at the 9 month point. Generic MTD in Jan after two initially promising extension requests. Filed our response in late Feb, waiting on the US attorneys response in early April. At that point the judge will decide whether to dismiss or not. If they don't, I suppose we move into some adjudication process (which can take a long time to get scheduled) but I expect the consulate would clear me before we get to that point.
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Other than 4 or 5 unsolicited updates that occurred from mid Jan to early March, nothing. Updates seem to have dried up as well. Still fighting the us attorney’s motion to dismiss; will keep the forum updated.
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Even this seems generous. I feel like the majority of users here have no links to any of the countries formally named in the DS-5535 legislation. I think it's random to some degree, and perhaps leveraged as a delay tactic to reduce capacity bottlenecks at the consulate.
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Daft_Cat reacted to a post in a topic:
The dreaded DS-5535 thread for Montreal Only. Post here and support each other (PART 3)
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I think it's a moving target. Definitely on the longer end of those estimates though, and I think it's important for people to understand that it's no longer a silver bullet.
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I understand (and empathize) that this is a coping mechanism, but I'd wager significant money that a substantial portion of these users are still waiting unless they filed a writ of mandamus prior to the summer of last year or simply got lucky in a way that doesn't seem to be occurring anymore. I lurked this thread for almost a year before posting, and the trend has been continuous: people waiting longer and longer. Posters come and go for whatever reason, but the trend is the trend. I get that it's tough to accept that this forum is likely more or less representative and that it's easier (in the short term) to believe that those of us that have been waiting 1 year+ probably have special circumstances or are otherwise outliers. But there is absolutely no evidence that this is the case - if anything, the evidence is to the contrary. There are 66K people in administrative processing and only ~35 people clearing them. This is starting to make national news. We aren't just the unlucky ones. The situation is what it is, and it's important for everyone who ends up here to have an accurate understanding of the situation, including realistic timelines and potential options, so that they can anchor their expectations and plan accordingly and not be persuaded to take expensive & ultimately premature steps (like filing a WoM too early).
