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DV 2011 Interview at Montreal in October - placed in administrative processing 221g - how long wait?

aquamarinebeach

Registered Users (C)
Both my wife and myself had applied for the DV2011 lottery. We were common-law in Canada when we applied in 2009. When we applied for the lottery, we included each other as spouse even though we were not legally married as there was no option for common-law in the lottery and we did not think we were single.

A few months back my wife won the lottery. So, while filling up forms we sent to Kentucky (we entered our marriage date as the date on which we had our common-law marriage - i.e. November 2008).

Also we got legally married in July 2010. We went to our interview in Montreal in October 2010 and we provided evidence of both the common-law and legal marriage.

The interview with the consulate officer was okay except a few small things that I found weird
- for e.g. he asked us to provide an address where we would be living in the USA and an address where we would have the PR card mailed out (we had entered N/A on the forms) - and asked us to email that info ASAP (I emailed them the info of a friend the very next day - but come on - how do they expect people to have a US address?...if for e.g. you know no one in the USA or have never been there - which I am sure is the case for the majority of Diversity Lottery applicants)
Also the second thing I found weird was the way he was referring to everything categorically according to US laws...for e.g. saying categorically that the US does not recognize a common-law marriage....I mean come on....given that he works in Canada.....where common-law is legally recognized....and given that he is bound to come across different types of marriages especially when it comes to Diversity lottery applicants (i.e. mostly originating from countries with legal systems that are vastly different from those of the USA) - i.e. some countries only have religious weddings, some countries have same sex marriages.....and obviously when these people get married they are not concerned whether the USA recognizes their marriage or not....

Other than that he asked the generic questions - i.e line of work, expected moving date, checked checked documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, bank statements…).......All went smoothly.


Finally the consulate officer said he could not approve the visa right away because he would need to do check the validity of our common-law marriage in Canada in the context of US laws - he said that he would forward it to Washington...because he is not sure if (under US laws) my wife would be considered married or single when she entered the lottery.....as at the time she was not legally married.

And that's why he was placing it under administrative processing and gave us the white sheet of paper with 221(g) checked off - and with the comment "administrative processing". Also he kept our passports and asked if we had registered for the DHL delivery - to which we replied "yes" and he said – good, and that they have till September 2011 to process DV2011 applications and that it should take around 2 weeks to get our passports back. But it's been more than a month now and still no sign of the passports or no updates on the usvisa-info.com website. Also we did not get a DHL waybill number.

Also, the very next day after the interview (although I was not asked to submit any documentation) I both emailed and faxed Montreal info that I found from official US Government websites regarding common-law marriage:
The first website is: Immigrant Visa for a Spouse (IR1 or CR1)

travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_2991.html



“What is a "Spouse"?

A spouse is a legally wedded husband or wife.

* Merely living together does not qualify a marriage for immigration.
* Common-law spouses may qualify as spouses for immigration purposes depending on the laws of the country where the common-law marriage occurs.
* In cases of polygamy, only the first spouse may qualify as a spouse for immigration.
* Same-sex marriages are not recognized by immigration law for the purpose of immigrating to the U.S.”

The second website is: Glossary of Visa Terms

travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/glossary/glossary_1363.html#commonlawmarriage



“Spouse:Legally married husband or wife. A co-habiting partner does not qualify as a spouse for immigration purposes. A common-law husband or wife may or may not qualify as a spouse for immigration purposes, depending on the laws of the country where the relationship occurs.”

So far I have emailed them asking about the status of the case given that I was told I would receive passports back in 2 weeks
. And I got the short reply below.

"Your case and documents you have sent in are still in review, we will advise you once a decision is made on your file. "

That wait is killing me. Did anyone here go through administrative processing before and knows how long it takes for it to be complete?
 
Pal, I can understand your frustrations, BUT everything the CO s do in issuing visas are serious LEGAL matters with specific legal basis, not simple 'come-on' matters as you seems to think they need to be !!

You DID NOT KNOW the law and its your fault, not theirs. The burden of LEGAL proof is yours not theirs either.

Now you need to wait. They will let you know and if refused they will let you know the specific LEGAL basis for the refusal as well. But I hope you will get it.

BUT.....the way I see things (as far as marriage is concerned).....you will get it IF and ONLY IF the common law marriage is acceptble in the province of Canada where you are resident. Go check that.

However, there are 'number of' other LEGAL points both of you need to fulfill to get DVs which they will check further more I guess (you may get to know what they are if you spend sometime reading these forums)

Btw, those 2 'weird' things you thought he did....there's nothing weird about it...sorry that's how it works. And if you get to US (which I hope you will), please know that you should not expect to get away with 'come-on' arguments on the LEGAL matters here, especially those related to immigration.

Best!
 
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Pal, I can understand your frustrations, BUT everything the CO s do in issuing visas are serious LEGAL matters with specific legal basis, not simple 'come-on' matters as you seems to think they need to be !!

You DID NOT KNOW the law and its your fault, not theirs. The burden of LEGAL proof is yours not theirs either.

Now you need to wait. They will let you know and if refused they will let you know the specific LEGAL basis for the refusal as well. But I hope you will get it.

BUT.....the way I see things (as far as marriage is concerned).....you will get it IF and ONLY IF the common law marriage is acceptble in the province of Canada where you are resident. Go check that.

However, there are 'number of' other LEGAL points both of you need to fulfill to get DVs which they will check further more I guess (you may get to know what they are if you spend sometime reading these forums)

Btw, those 2 'weird' things you thought he did....there's nothing weird about it...sorry that's how it works. And if you get to US (which I hope you will), please know that you should not expect to get away with 'come-on' arguments on the LEGAL matters here, especially those related to immigration.

Best!

Hi NuvF,

i understand your feeling, but what can you do now other than waiting patiently ! your spouse and you did everything correctly according to canadian law . I think it ll take some times but you will be ok , pray to God constantly.
My wife(she is the winner) and I ll be scheduled late in september of 2011 at us embassy in Montreal due to her high case number, so i have some questions to ask you about the interview in Montreal:
Did you feel the CO was friendly questioning your wife ?
Were you questioned as the dependant and if yes what were the questions?
Were you ask to show your documents as the dependant?
I `d like to know those details in order to be prepared, thanks in advance for replying......................
 
The DV lottery is very clear about same sex marriages and even though it might be legal in other countries it is not legal in the US in all States. and so far not recognized under the DV lottery.

Common law marriage as you stated is not recognized every where...your words...so you knew when you entered that this might become an issue, which is now the case.

You can only wait since the person conducting the interview is only doing his job and want to do it right. You can't blame him for doing his job.

There are so many people waiting to get to the US...partially I understand , because it is a great country, but with unemployment the way it is and this morning on tv they showed that for 1 job at the fire department 80 people sent in applications and now they are more looking into the best candidate for the job.

So many who win the DV lottery, could end up not getting a job over here...something to consider.

If you did the right thing than you will get it, otherwise you are out of luck.
 
dadada72 - thanks...officer was respectful...only thing is made us feel he had not thoroughly looked at documents submitted...although we were there from 8 am to 3pm...for e.g...he did not know we had submitted documentation showing common-law marriage under citizenship n immigration canada in front of authorized commissioner of aoaths in alberta (where common-law ia legal) - we had to tell him the documentation was in the list of papers he was looking at...soe other questions as well...fo e.g how we were gonna support ourselves....had to point to bank statements....at which point he found them in the documentation and went inside to make photocopies....

We had already submitted all documentation asked from us by to the clerk before seeing consular officer - eg. birth certificate.......we submitted our degrees on our own to show we met requirement for DV....were not asked proof of work experience...so we did not submit it...consular officer only asked us questions about jobs we do....did not ask for any documentation.

They ask the same set of generic questions,..you have to swear to tell the truth, fingerprints, what countries you lived in....immigration status in canada, what field you work in, when u plan on moving to usa if approved...

No questions regarding our relationship....looked like he was confident our relationship was genuine....ie no separate interview for each of us...

For more examples, take a look at the website - visajourney.com - and look at Montreal consulate reviews....you will see that everyone gets nearly the same questions...even if interview is for K1 visa..or other visas....You should be selected for an interview man - of the 1000,000 selected not everyone decides to pay the fees, go forward or meets requirements....Just make sure you have all documentation ready for interview....Good luck
 
nuvf and bentlebee - I do understand your points but my main gripe is that WE WERE LEGALLY MARRIED at the interview and also why being told 2 weeks and keeping our passports when it was gonna take longer....

If officer wanted to he could just have asked us to change the marriage date on the forms from the commonlaw date to the legal date - as you may know....at the consulate, they asked us to update any info on the forms....for e.g new address......
also when we entered for lottery or when we sent forms to Kentucky, it was just a matter of filling up forms....no documentation is asked for....

Also at interview, we were there from 8 am to 3 pm....but did not sound like officer had looked at our documentation properly...for e.g...he asked how we were gonna support ourselves.....and we said we had savings...and had to tell him we had submitted documentation....at which point he looked for statements through our documents he had in front of him...n then went to photocopy...also questions about or country of birth - when he had our birth certificates in front of him...no hassle....we explained where we were born....and that we did submit birth certificates...at which point he went inside to enter on computer or photocopy....dont know...although we submitted original documents and 1 set of photocopies of all documents to the clerk that asked for documentation before seeing us...


Regarding our relationship, WE WERE LEGALLY MARRIED at interview time - also he did not ask any questions about our relationship (he seemed convinced that our relationship was genuine - ie. no questions on how long we knew each other, or no separate interviews)....the impression I got once again was that he did not thoroughly look at our documents - because he asked if we had any proof of the common law marriage - we said we had submitted a certificate of the marriage under citizenship n immigration canada....dated in 2008 and officially done by authorized commissioner of oaths in Calgary, Alberta (province where common-law is legal)


He could just have approved the visa....just like in case where people apply to the lottery as single....but then get married later on....and add their spouse...in that case...they ask them separate questions at the interview and issue visa right away if interview is successful....AND THEY WOULD HAVE THEM CHANGE INFO ON THE FORMS TO INCLUDE DATE OF MARRIAGE AND CHANGE STATUS FROM SINGLE TO MARRIED - in our case it would have sufficed to have us change the date of marriage from commonlaw date to legal marriage date...

Also later on I sent copy of confirmation of permanent resident residence (COPR) documentation forms of both wife and myself showing that when we became permanent residents of Canada - Citizenship n immigration of Canada recognized us as common-law partners.

JohnBM - not when I sent forms to Kentucky.....nothing was asked regarding marriage.....only work experience and educational background....for DV...you actually show proof of all documentation only at interview...when u appply for lottery or send forms to Kentucky...it's basically just filling forms...they do not ask any other documentations.....you only sumit docs at the interview.

And nuVF, no offence, but your post seems a bit on the bitter side...obviously the reason most of us posts on these boards is to feel more confident we r gonna see the light at the end of tunnel soon...and to make the blind waiting game more bearable...

If the consular officer wanted to deny us the visa, he could have done so at the interview....but he did not...he said everything seems okay....he was actually straightforward and said he just needs to send it to Washington because he does not have any knowledge about Canadian common-law marriages....

The reason for my post was to see if others had gone through admin processing...and hence to help myself and others in the same boat...And it does not help when you talk about refusals...and that I am gonna be told if I am refused why I am refused......

I's rather you not reply if these are the types of posts you are gonna make......Pls take the following as a joke man...LOL "You nearly sound like a US border officer questioning my motives for visiting the USA."

I am sure all of us here are looking for feedback of a more positive nature....
 
Nope you are wrong...you just can't change the dates on the forms. If your real marriage was after you won the DV and/or entered your spouse might not be eligble and you might have to go to the US by your self and your spouse on a visa.

What if every one else does what you suggest..."just change the dates on the papers"....

You might be under administrative processing for just 2 weeks, or month's depending what they are looking into.

Some people have scammed the system (I'm not saying you did) so they will be very careful and they know that thousands others are waiting with perhaps better papers...
 
nuvf and bentlebee - I do understand your points but my main gripe is that WE WERE LEGALLY MARRIED at the interview ....


Well, you're free to judge on anyone's motives in replying to your situation/comments, but as for me I did it in good faith to tell you about the realty of the situation.
Yes, I honestly wish you good luck.

The moment anyone fill in the eDV form, the US law requires that the info you provide in it conforms to US law.
But you indicated at that time you are legally married but infact you were not.

This seems to be the main point for your AP. The CO may really want to clarify what 'marriage' at the point of eDV is, whether they can accept 'common law' at that point.
He must have passed the plate to a dept. in DC to decide on that, and per my experience on DV cases, if it is passed to DC, 2 weeks is just wishful thinking.

Hang tight, you got time 'cos it is still early in the FY.

Best !
 
I do believe you did it in good faith Nuvf.....let's just say I am just an optimist by nature...albeit a very impatient one..lol...Yeah I am very thankful that I had an early interview....just panicked because I read some posts that seemed to indicate that AP can be a bit of a black hole - with some people in there for 2 or more years...but those seem to be mostly related to security clearances regarding common male muslim names....

However I still do not totally agree with "The moment anyone fill in the eDV form, the US law requires that the info you provide in it conforms to US law"

The eDv only gives you the option to select Single, Married (maybe divorced and separated as well - don't exactly remember) but no common-law - which i find strange because some of the US states do have common-law marriage in place.

I have known my wife for 10 years and we have lived together for 8 years and have been officially common-law for 3 years. So clearly, listing myself Single would be a lie according to my logic as well as conscience as well as would be disrespectful to my wife.

Also on the US government website, that seems to be a grey area as well...as per my quote above - i.e

“What is a "Spouse"?

A spouse is a legally wedded husband or wife.

* Merely living together does not qualify a marriage for immigration.
* Common-law spouses may qualify as spouses for immigration purposes depending on the laws of the country where the common-law marriage occurs.
* In cases of polygamy, only the first spouse may qualify as a spouse for immigration.
* Same-sex marriages are not recognized by immigration law for the purpose of immigrating to the U.S.”


And check out the excerpt below from the Us embassy of Belize's FAQ on The Diversity Lottery:

belize.usembassy.gov/diversity_visa.html

What about a common law marriage?

Applicants should include their spouse and ALL children on the lottery registration, regardless of whether they intend to immigrate. Applicants should list their legal spouse, even if they are separated and plan to divorce. Applicants with common law spouses should also list their common law spouse. In order to immigrate, the applicant would need to be legally married to their spouse. Such legal marriage may take place after the applicant registers for the Diversity Visa Lottery.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above is exactly is my situation - common-law at lottery stage, legally married at interview stage.
 
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Out of curiosity nufv - are you an immigration lawyer or have spent lots of time on immigration boards - just asking because of what u said:

"and per my experience on DV cases, if it is passed to DC, 2 weeks is just wishful thinking"

Also, would you happen to have an idea of how long Washington usually takes to process DV cases forwarded to them...?

Thanks in advance
 
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Hi, i'll be going through montreal. Quick question: What kind of police clearance certificate did you use, RCMP or local police criminal record check certificate?
Its urgent!

Thanks
 
This forum is real motivating,now what of administrative processing and the dv deadline of september 30th.anybody home clarify on this
 
Hello aquamarinebeach, Was your case approve? Please!!!!



Out of curiosity nufv - are you an immigration lawyer or have spent lots of time on immigration boards - just asking because of what u said:

"and per my experience on DV cases, if it is passed to DC, 2 weeks is just wishful thinking"

Also, would you happen to have an idea of how long Washington usually takes to process DV cases forwarded to them...?

Thanks in advance
 
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