Daft_Cat

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.

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.

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 The form had been re-opened on my CEAC portal and I just updated any info that was out of date.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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yep. I checked a few hours ago and nothing, so it must've just happened.

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).

*edit - double post

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

I'm enrolled in Nexus and have been for a decade - another reason I couldn't believe I got the DS-5535. I wouldn't overthink it. I'm not sure there's as much bureaucratic communication/coordination between silos as one might think (unless you're on some sort of watchlist). If it's any consolation, I remember the risk assessment stage taking a long time when I initially applied - several months at least. I know they had an awful pandemic backlog as well, so there could still be some trailing effects.

There are at least a couple of us.

For what it's worth I'm sure it's not entirely linear. Just because my interview date is the farthest back doesn't mean others in this thread won't get asked for your medical in the meantime! It may depend in large part on whose desk we end up on. Not every officer is created equal.

That was somewhere in the last thread. Numbers may be off somewhat but it was something egregious like that. Also, for those keeping count: 4th update in the last month and a half came through this morning.

Sent one email last month, have had a few updates since then but no communication from them yet. They’ve definitely slowed down. I imagine the lack of communication is reflective of limited capacity- they’re probably getting absolutely blasted with angry emails and genuinely can’t respond to all of them.

While it will surely improve eventually, at the moment the backlog seems to be intensifying. The wait time for applicants on this forum (and similar ones) has grown to around 1 year+, and the chief legal tool at our disposal (a lawsuit called a Writ of Mandamus) is no longer as effective as it once was thanks to the State Department's increased willingness to file a motion to dismiss to deter applicants from filing. According to the very limited data we have, there are approximately 66k applicants in AP (would have to assume that's global) with only 35~ resources dedicated to clearing them. So basically it's a massive resourcing problem that's only made worse by certain consulates over-utilizing the DS-5535 process.

A little excessive is an understatement. I would imagine that the regression on applicants with that much travel history is a much smaller group than you think, and unfortunately it does increase your chances of getting a DS-5535. That's the question you asked, and that is the honest answer. On the flip side, I'm certain you wouldn't trade those experiences for anything, including avoiding a potential DS-5535, and there's nothing to be gained by hiding your passion for travel if asked at the interview. I doubt it will have any bearing on the result. Maybe try shifting your mindset a bit. It's best not to overthink it or try to outsmart the process given that the outcome is genuinely outside of your control. It's also worth recognizing that while it's entirely possible (and perhaps even likely) that you slip by unscathed, if you do get AP, it's not the end of the world. You've been waiting so long already, what's another 6 months to a year? It's not ideal (as we can all attest), but it's not the end of the world either. It's a road-bump in your plans, not a derailment. And again, that's if it happens. Which it very well may not.

It seems like you're determined to go against the advice of those that are currently stuck in the pit you're afraid of falling into. Evasive behavior around your travel history will 100% raise red flags and guarantee the outcome you're trying to avoid. Don't overthink this and don't try to outsmart the consulate.

Getting flashbacks to last year when I had to deal with exactly this issue. I only had a copy of my current passport as well as the one that had recently expired. I didn't keep any of my earlier ones. Unfortunately I couldn't find a clear process for obtaining historical numbers and didn't want to delay submission of my DS-5535 by weeks or months. My attorney advised me to interpret the question in a broader way as an inquiry into whether I've ever held a non-Canadian passport (vs. prior versions of the Canadian passport I hold today), to which the answer was no. He said he'd seen this question answered in both ways, and that neither approach had been flagged. So far the consulate hasn't requested additional info, so fingers crossed... but that's the only question that made me a bit nervous. In any case, my hope is that they have some ability to triangulate your current passport to earlier versions... But just goes to highlight how ambiguous and all-encompassing the DS-5535 process is.

As mentioned, they will have records of your US border crossings at the very least. I also believe Canada and the US collaborate closely on border-related matters, so I wouldn't assume they're approaching your case from a position of ignorance. Personally, I think it would be a super sketchy move to renew your passport early right before your interview. That will definitely raise eyebrows and potentially result in a direct line of questioning (versus the alternative where they might just assume you're a 20-30 something who spent some time backpacking). Work history (essentially a CV) is a core component of the DS-5535, so you might as well assume that all applicants in this thread shared employment details regardless of their visa class. Not sure why it would matter only for EB categories if the intent is to vet your background for potential security risks. While family visas provide a secure immigration pathway that doesn't require employment-based sponsorship, they are not "privileged" in the sense that they are exempt from a potential DS-5535. You mentioned you were 'extremely successful', so perhaps an AOS to one of the genius categories (e.g. an EB1) might help you avoid additional scrutiny. Again, these questions are not easily answered. Posters on this forum and elsewhere report similar stories: an otherwise unremarkable interview followed by a seemingly unprompted DS-5535 while the officer is processing/finalizing the case. Relatively few individuals report direct lines of questioning on travel or background, which would seemingly point away from it being at the officer's discretion (although I'm sure they have the ability to trigger the process on their own).