For anyone who has contacted their Member of Congress about an immigration case

[jsnearline 2]

I did something I've never done before. I filed a constituent services case with my Member of Congress regarding an immigration case. Having previously worked as a contractor in the legislative affairs office of a federal agency, I'm assuming I won't get a response for three to four weeks. Does it move any faster for USCIS related issues?

[milimelo 4,539]

I did something I've never done before. I filed a constituent services case with my Member of Congress regarding an immigration case. Having previously worked as a contractor in the legislative affairs office of a federal agency, I'm assuming I won't get a response for three to four weeks. Does it move any faster for USCIS related issues?

My husband filed request for their help when my GC never showed up. They were fast in sending out a letter from the congressman and assigning a nice lady to work with us - took maybe less than a week. After that we did lots of emailing back and forth and every couple of weeks would get a letter from congressman notifying us of updates from USCIS and what's next. All in all, our congressman was great but I'd never recommend our Senator who sent back a canned response (and my husband remembered that for the election time).

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I contacted my Senator's office as my husband's previous contact with our Congressman did not get much response. I got action within a week when I asked them to investigate the delay with my ROC application. 3 business days after I contacted my Senator and they filed the request I received my approval.

Edited November 6, 2009 by Kathryn41

[jsnearline 2]

I contacted my Senator's office as my husband's previous contact with our Congressman did not get much response. I got action within a week when I asked them to investigate the delay with my ROC application. 3 business days after I contacted my Senator and they filed the request I received my approval.

I'm surprised, I would have guessed a Representative's staff would have been more responsive than a Senator's since House members are up for re-election every two years. Was it that your Congressman wasn't responsive or that USCIS didn't give your Congressman the time of day and only took notice when your Senator's office got in touch?

[Dakine 26]

Just called my senators immigration specialist again for help last week. She took care of our problem the day after I called her.

I'd contacted my congressman a couple years ago and his office was worthless.

Edited November 6, 2009 by Dakine

[Old Dominion 26]

It varies. An elected official can't change anything with immigration, but if some mistake has been made by a federal agency, it can be corrected within a month, usually.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The Congressman's office basically said he couldn't do anything and that it wouldn't matter if he filed a request or not - it wouldn't make a difference. He wouldn't even try. The Senator's office took the information and didn't promise anything other than they would follow up. They did. Another VJ member used the same Senator's office with the same results the year prior to my request.

I worked as an assistant to a Canadian Member of Parliament for a number of years. I know from personal experience that a lot of success depends on how much work the staff personnel are willing to put into the request. Some will go the extra mile and push for answers or information. Others will do the bare minimum and not bother to try and get farther. We had the same experiences back in Canada. I know we always tried to go the extra mile for our constituents even if it rocked the boat politically. No, elected officials can't change how things are done or interfere with the process but sometimes all things really need is a good 'shake up' to get the cobwebs out and someone to pay attention to what they should have been doing all along. And sometimes, there is a problem that can be identified and resolved because an elected official (or staff) took the time and trouble to investigate.

Edited November 7, 2009 by Kathryn41

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Yeah its 100% down to the staff and how thorough and aggressive they are.