I'm a CRJ FO (active) in the US with an ATP--I just received a rejection email for an application I sent back in Summer/Fall 2008 about 5 weeks ago--I had applied for both ab-initio (when it was up still) and DEFO.
I would imagine they are not doing ab initio anymore...who knows what the future holds though.
I am the same as you... current CRJ FO with ATP, but have about 1500Hrs heavy time. I also applied in about the same time frame. They call me and said they wanted to set up a phone interview, and then a possible interview in HKG. About 2 weeks went by and I got an email saying they were not hiring people who did not live in SE Asia, but they would keep my CV on file.
So dont know what happend?