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Daft_Cat

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  1. Daft_Cat
    While this is true, in this very specific context (wherein a DS-5535 is issued to an applicant despite a complete lack of legitimate security concerns), I have to imagine that the chances of the scenario posed by the person you are responding to is nil. The absolute worst case scenario, in my view, would be radio silence indefinitely rather than an outright refusal or a permanent entry ban.
  2. Daft_Cat
    So it sounds like there are a few unique things here. One - it sounds like you weren't able to satisfy the domicile requirements during the interview. Whether or not the newly provided information will be enough doesn't pertain to the DS-5535. I believe those are completely separate processes. I would imagine however, that if you only provided the updated domicile info a couple of weeks ago, it will take time to process (a good rule of thumb for the amount of time required for the consulate to process pretty much anything seems to be months, not days or weeks). Two - on the DS-5535, generally, the passport is not requested until after administrative processing is complete for the sole reason that it can take months or even upwards of a year (I'm personally past the 10 month point and still radio silence). If you've sent them your passport now, and haven't yet heard that your AP has cleared, you're risking them keeping it for an extended period of time. If you're a frequent traveler, and need it, you might thinking about asking for it back. Having said that, you mentioned that they asked for it in July, despite the fact that you were also being placed in AP. This is strange to me and doesn't seem to align with other posters here. Maybe you'll be cleared faster since they asked for both concurrently?
  3. Daft_Cat
    Were you contacted to provide a new police certificate & additional proof of domicile recently? Why the gap between the DS-5535 and the additional document submission? Were you asked to send your passport with your DS-5535 last summer? If so, that sounds like a unique combo to me. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the more common series of events is that all conditions for the green card are satisfied at the interview, and the refusal pertains only to the need to fill out a DS-5535 (with the request for your passport coming through only once AP is complete). In your case, it sounds like maybe there were additional (or slightly different) conditions? Alternatively, if the consulate only asked you for refreshed documentation in the last month or so, it's possible they're about to clear you. I think typically applicants with a DS-5535 are asked for a new medical prior to being asked for their passport, so that could be a possibility... though I can't recall if anyone else on this forum has reported being asked for documentation (other than a medical) that was otherwise cleared at the interview.
  4. Daft_Cat
    Here's hoping. Initial extension request was set to end early Jan - just received a second request for a three week extension. Probably more of a holiday capacity thing.
  5. Daft_Cat
    Spoke to soon. Attorney just reached out to let me know DoJ was asking for an additional 2-3 week extension (so towards the latter half of Jan). Not a motion to dismiss at least.
  6. Daft_Cat
    Sorry, yes! Forgot to mention - it's an IR-1. Would've been a CR-1 if not for all the pre-interview delays!
  7. Daft_Cat
    Am at work at the moment so can't easily check the DQ date, but will give a rough estimate. Others I'm more certain of. DQ Date: Approximately December 2022 Interview Date: Feb 16th, 2023 Date I received the DS-5535: Feb 16th, 2023 (it was in my email by the time my flight back to Toronto had landed) Date I sent in the DS-5535: Feb 19th Date I filed my WoM: September 6th
  8. Daft_Cat
    Nice to see some progress. Still all quiet on my end (interviewed mid-Feb). No request for medical thus far. Requested extension on WoM ends in a couple weeks.
  9. Daft_Cat
    I'll preface this by saying that your chances of not getting a DS-5535 are higher - especially now (it seems like fewer people in our boat have been showing up in this thread). I don't see why the issues you brought up would make a DS-5535 more likely, given that the majority of candidates seem to get them randomly. Remember that a lot of this (apparently) has to do with capacity issues at the consulate, as well as the backlog that formed during the pandemic - both of which may be improving. For those of us in Canada, the Nexus travel program encountered similar processing delays (generating lots of negative press) but has improved a lot over the past year or so. Having said that, it seems like everyone (including immigration attorneys) are really just guessing based on trends and hearsay - the whole thing is a bit of a black box and no one knows for sure. My advice to anyone in your shoes would simply be to not get ahead of yourself with planning for the future. My wife and I had waited a long time for an interview date, and our case was about as clear cut as they come. There were no obvious reasons to expect any hiccups or red flags and we had even begun planning the specifics of our move given the timelines around entering the US upon receipt of the Visa (I was coffee chatting with contacts at target firms in the US, my wife was checking out neighborhoods, etc.). We'd also been holding off on starting a family for a couple years knowing that a huge transition was imminent. It may sound like first-world problems, but the result is that all of our plans were upended with no certainty around timelines. I ended up wishing I had just known in advance that there was a decent chance this might happen so that I could have planned for it. The system is not functioning as it should right now, and you can't take any of the usual Visa timelines as gospel. Chances are you'll be fine (and I wish you the best of luck), but stay weary and avoid cementing any life-plans until you've got your visa in hand.
  10. Daft_Cat
    I filed it in September, so I was 7 months in. State Attorney filed a request for an extension at the nine-month point. I'm at the 10 month point now. Interview was in Feb.
  11. Daft_Cat
    We went with PIC Law. I believe they were recommended in this thread earlier (I've been a lurker for a while). Highly recommended, regardless of how this all turns out. My wife and I weren't sure whether to file, and had a couple different consults with them over a few months (we were only charged for the initial one). They were super transparent up front, and have been very communicative and engaged throughout. They also did a great job tailoring their strategy to the specifics of our case (though with the frequency of WOMs these days, I'm sure many firms out there have figured out all the angles). I don't remember the exact quote to fight the motion to dismiss, but it was definitely higher than $1000 (though not ridiculously higher - maybe around $2k).
  12. Daft_Cat
    It does not, but our attorney was very transparent about the increasing odds of a motion to dismiss and the additional costs therein (he tailored his strategy around this - hence the filing in PA over DC). My wife and I decided it was our best shot regardless. In the likely event that we do receive a motion to dismiss, the additional retainer to fight it is not nearly as expensive. Having said that, we're already a year in... so we may opt instead to just let it go in the hopes that our case ends up at the top of the pile sooner than later. Though the link you provided does offer up a good reason to consider pushing forward should it come to that! The attorney did note that the judge assigned to our case is historically friendly to the cause, and he has a good working relationship with the state attorney as well. Fingers crossed, but fully expecting the worst (which has been a good rule of thumb throughout this entire process).
  13. Daft_Cat
    Yeah, pretty much. They requested an extension last month and that will expire around early Jan. Our attorney is actually pretty optimistic (we filed in PA, which seems to have spared us an immediate motion for dismissal), but my wife and I are expecting the worst.
  14. Daft_Cat
    Figured I'd check in here. I'm going for a spousal visa and have been in DS-5535 AP since my interview last February. My interview went fine - all boxes ticked and seemed to have a pretty good rapport with the consulate employee who interviewed me. Suddenly, right as it was time to clear me, she notified me that I'd be getting a few additional questions before a visa could be issued. Her demeanor changed pretty much on a dime and she became noticeably evasive when I pressed for details / timelines (though she did seem to imply that it was a random selection). I'm coming up on a year now, and we've basically had to put all our plans on hold. Career, family-planning, etc. All of it has had to come to a grinding halt while we wait this out. The DS-5535 itself was a nightmare to complete. I'm in my early-thirties, so I had to reach back all the way to my childhood to cover my travel history. I'm a fairly frequent traveler as well, so you can imagine how difficult this was (though I've never visited any countries in the MENA region, so at least there's that). When it came to the accounts used for payment and exact travel dates etc., I was basically at a complete lost barring the most general info. My parents don't keep those kinds of records, so it was impossible to triangulate that far back. I also attended grad school in the US, which meant I had to go to great care to frame my work history during that period in a way that wouldn't raise any red flags (it was all legal). All in all just a completely deflating experience that shouldn't have been necessary given that I had already cleared the USCIC and NVC portions of the immigration process. Fortunately, our attorney believes that the nature of our case (and the majority of those placed in AP over the last couple years - seemingly at random) is such that our specific responses to the DS-5535 aren't super relevant to the ultimate outcome of the AP process. As ridiculous as it sounds, it's more of an excuse to keep us, and other unlucky applicants, in an extended holding pattern while they continue to deal with the post-pandemic backlog and capacity shortages. Apparently it is (or was) happening to a fairly sizeable percentage of applicants that interviewed in Montreal throughout 2022 and 2023. We finally bit the bullet on a WOM in September after a handful of stock replies from the consulate. Our attorney filed through PN where my wife's domicile is listed. We received a request for extension last month, so not a terrible sign at least. It's been radio silence otherwise. Before the request for an extension, the consulate tried to argue that the DS-5535 is equivalent to a "final decision", and no further timeline is owed. Apparently this is a new tactic they're using to try to dismiss.
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