Letter to congressman/congresswoman ????

[ckurt 23]

I keep hearing people writing letters to their congressman or congresswoman regarding their K1 visas. I am just curious, does it help? If so, can anyone please give us an idea what to write and how long we should wait until we write it? It has been almost 2 months since my NOA1 and I know its too early for me to start panicking, however I would like to know if anyone ever wrote a letter to their congressman and if it actually helped. Any help would be appreciated

[duraaraa 203]

I keep hearing people writing letters to their congressman or congresswoman regarding their K1 visas. I am just curious, does it help? If so, can anyone please give us an idea what to write and how long we should wait until we write it? It has been almost 2 months since my NOA1 and I know its too early for me to start panicking, however I would like to know if anyone ever wrote a letter to their congressman and if it actually helped. Any help would be appreciated

From what I've gathered reading the boards, there are cases in which it seems to have helped, and cases in which it seems to have done nothing. It's never really a bad idea to try this, though. I'll do it as well, if my case takes longer than it's supposed to (I'm a December filer, so I still have a little while to wait.)

I'm sure the length and content of the letter varies on a case to case basis, but my suggestion would be to explain the benefit you are applying for, how long it is supposed to take, and how long it actually is taking, and kindly ask them to investigate it on your behalf.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Unless there is something unusual about your case (USCIS or consular staff made an error in law, your case has been sent to the wrong location, etc.) then writing to a congressional representative essentially does nothing, but it makes people feel better and so acts as a positive placebo.

If your case is typical and is just pending due to normal processing times (or AP) then there is absolutely nothing they can do for you, other than to tell you your case is pending (which you should already know).

[Ning 619]

From what I've gathered reading the boards, there are cases in which it seems to have helped, and cases in which it seems to have done nothing. It's never really a bad idea to try this, though. I'll do it as well, if my case takes longer than it's supposed to (I'm a December filer, so I still have a little while to wait.)

I'm sure the length and content of the letter varies on a case to case basis, but my suggestion would be to explain the benefit you are applying for, how long it is supposed to take, and how long it actually is taking, and kindly ask them to investigate it on your behalf.

Both of you need to understand how this is actually done before you go forward. My guess is neither of you has ever had any contact with your congress rep. I advise you to do so and you will find they are experts in doing nothing. They all have a process for doing what you want them to do and a staff member trained to placate the public.

Find your politicians web site. They of course are on the golf course. There you will find they have a form to fill out which you will mail to them. They will respond in a few weeks with a message that explains USCIS is busy but will get to your case soon.

Keep in mind as you do all of this a politician has no power at all over USCIS. They can do nothing to help you unless there is a serious problem. The best they can do is make you feel you have done all you can do.

Its true that in a few cases I have seen here on V J they did do something but its rare.

[Greenshoots 2]

My immigration lawyer gave me the same response as HYPNOS. If you are within the normal processing time then they cannot help; if there is an egregious problem, maybe they can help. Then, you read the posts here about people getting congressional help and voila, approved. Of course, we have no way of knowing if they would have been approved or not. I am at 6 months tomorrow. I have decided that I will call my local senator or senators and simply talk to them and ask them if they think they can help. I won't call irate or be filled with emotion. My tack will be to simply point out that that the government should be able to provide some service and six months is hardly reasonable.

On a side note, my immigration lawyer does not beleive that the dream act is causing the delay. However, I read a post on the center for immigration study site that does think the dream act is slamming USCIS and delaying us. ?

p.s. the ebb and flow of the centers means that they could pick up speed and process your petition within a reasonable time.

[Love's JAA 100]

I don't see, from a logical viewpoint, how calling your elected official to help expedite your petition would be helpful when you are still within the normal processing time frame. Then everyone would be doing this, and so you would have USCIS responding to 1,000s of phone calls from reps, to speed up all these petition approvals? There has to be a compelling reason for an official to get involved AND for USCIS to respond.

As far as reason for the delays, I cannot help but to believe DACA is a big reason for it. I mean, an additional half million and growing applications to process thrown at USCIS. How can it not cause delays, especially when they are getting approved a lot faster than the I-129Fs.

I guess the reason doesn't matter, since we have to just wait, no matter the reason.

[I & B 273]

My view is that the current status quo merely represents an especially bad time for a system that is woefully inadequate at its best. I commend those who are willing to wait patiently out of a desire to not cause a fuss for others, but I think the reality is that K-1 filers need to be much more vocal about their displeasure with a service that almost everyone agrees is absurd and unaccountable, even if their current petition is not especially delayed by the USCIS's own arbitrary standards.

The US government is huge and complex. I'm not cynical enough to think that our elected officials or agencies deliberately do a poor job at oversight, but, given limited resources and knowledge within layers of bureaucracy, it makes sense that services will inevitably fall short of citizens' expectations if citizens just sit quietly on their disappointment and do not let their reps know when things aren't working right. The USCIS is supposed to be run for the benefit of citizens, not to make citizens' lives more difficult. The reality of administering such an agency through relatively low fees (guaranteeing access) and concerns about fraud and national security that will affect non-petitioners is always going to delay processing to an extent, but that does not mean petitioners should just throw up their hands and accept that 6-7 months, or even 5 months, is a reasonable waiting period. We need to make it clear to elected officials that we want them to pay more attention to and improve this particular service.

Why do people think the DACA filings are getting priority at CSC, anyway? It's certainly not because those petitioners were content to accept their current lot and vote for politicians who were complacent about it; it's because those beneficiaries and their friends made a huge stink about the status quo and made it clear to elected representatives that their votes depended on changes. K-1 petitioners will perhaps always lack the unity and lobbying power of hispanic groups, but that does not mean we cannot make any difference.

To answer the OP more directly, I'm right at the 5 month mark and by no means currently delayed to a point where I meet the USCIS's own arbitrary standards for expedition or review. But I can see the writing on the wall and I'm not just going to sit back and wait a few more months to start a series of inquiries that itself may take several weeks and months. So I wrote one of my senators a very thorough letter that dealt both with the USCIS's systemic problems (opaqueness, lack of accountability, manipulation of the processing time frame, operation under seemingly purely political--not statutory--priorities, etc.) and with the hardship that being delayed several more months would cause me and my spouse. I received a very thoughtful and concerned response from a staffer less than 48 hours later and have since had my complaint forwarded to the USCIS legislative liaison, who I am waiting to hear back from.

I know that I may not get my file looked at any sooner than I would have if I had not written anything. But I may. And, more importantly, I know that there is someone in a serious position at the USCIS who is receiving complaints from a senator's office. If the senator's office receives and passes on enough complaints, I'm sure the senator himself will get wind of it. And all it will take is one or two congressmen or senators who seriously look into the issue to get something changed, if not now, then when immigration reform is drafted over the summer. It might not happen because of my letter or yours. It might not happen at all. But I can guarantee you it will never happen if we don't raise a fuss, and that'd be a shame for both current and future K-1 petitioners.

Edited March 20, 2013 by I & B

[RSR1 0]

It certainly helped me. You have to be outside the normal processing time for them to help you. It also depends on the person doing the inquiry for you.... If its simply an E-mail they send you will probable get the standard response like when you call USCIS. If the staffer actually calls and speaks to a manager things get done......my approval came three days after the woman for the congressman office called. I looked at several I-129F case# around mine and they are still in initial review. It doesn't hurt to try but you will have to wait until you are past the normanl processing time

[ckurt 23]

Thank you for all the replies

[tomvan 2]

I think they should be processing cases as normal as FIRST COME FIRST SERVE, except some particular cases that deserve special treaments. I don't mind to wait 6-8 months for NOA2 if every body will get the same. However, there are some people get very, very fast and some are waitting for too long. That's make you sad!!!

[Sveta & Ron 23]

during the time svta was being interviewed I contacted my senator and with their contacts I was able find out more infomation then embassy was giving and in our case I like think they was able to push embassy to get us the visa by a deadline we had. also keep in mind if the public never inform their senators how ins/dhs/and so forth how they know just how bad the problem is with that sid make sure the senator has strong feelings about ins/dhs ect. I first ried the state rep for my district and after first call they NEVER returned calls or emails then again it was the donkey party rep

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

it did not help here in my State as both Senators and representative are Repuplicans. they assigned me a worker and have done nothing

Good luck

[I & B 273]

I think they should be processing cases as normal as FIRST COME FIRST SERVE, except some particular cases that deserve special treaments. I don't mind to wait 6-8 months for NOA2 if every body will get the same. However, there are some people get very, very fast and some are waitting for too long. That's make you sad!!!

Just to be clear, when I wrote my senator, I explicitly told them that I did not want them to jump my application in line and that instead wanted them to investigate the systematic delay currently building up. I still got a response and my complaint in its entirety forwarded to the USCIS liaison. I do also think my fiancée may qualify for hardship relief for reasons I'd rather not detail publicly, but the reality is that hardship would not really exist as such if the USCIS was accountable and timely so that we could make plans with a degree of certainty. The best way to address that hardship and similar cases of hardship would thus be for someone to tackle the systematic problems. But I don't think that will happen without a lot of individual outrage being broadcast loud and clear.

Re the inconsistent processing times, I'm fairly sure this is mathematical gimmick. Since the uscis time frame is based on the average--and not the median--processing time, they can artificially lower it by pushing a small number of applications through exceedingly fast while letting the rest linger untouched. Yet another obvious problem that needs to be fixed.

Edited March 20, 2013 by I & B

[HawaiianCecil 31]

My view is that the current status quo merely represents an especially bad time for a system that is woefully inadequate at its best. I commend those who are willing to wait patiently out of a desire to not cause a fuss for others, but I think the reality is that K-1 filers need to be much more vocal about their displeasure with a service that almost everyone agrees is absurd and unaccountable, even if their current petition is not especially delayed by the USCIS's own arbitrary standards.

The US government is huge and complex. I'm not cynical enough to think that our elected officials or agencies deliberately do a poor job at oversight, but, given limited resources and knowledge within layers of bureaucracy, it makes sense that services will inevitably fall short of citizens' expectations if citizens just sit quietly on their disappointment and do not let their reps know when things aren't working right. The USCIS is supposed to be run for the benefit of citizens, not to make citizens' lives more difficult. The reality of administering such an agency through relatively low fees (guaranteeing access) and concerns about fraud and national security that will affect non-petitioners is always going to delay processing to an extent, but that does not mean petitioners should just throw up their hands and accept that 6-7 months, or even 5 months, is a reasonable waiting period. We need to make it clear to elected officials that we want them to pay more attention to and improve this particular service.

Why do people think the DACA filings are getting priority at CSC, anyway? It's certainly not because those petitioners were content to accept their current lot and vote for politicians who were complacent about it; it's because those beneficiaries and their friends made a huge stink about the status quo and made it clear to elected representatives that their votes depended on changes. K-1 petitioners will perhaps always lack the unity and lobbying power of hispanic groups, but that does not mean we cannot make any difference.

To answer the OP more directly, I'm right at the 5 month mark and by no means currently delayed to a point where I meet the USCIS's own arbitrary standards for expedition or review. But I can see the writing on the wall and I'm not just going to sit back and wait a few more months to start a series of inquiries that itself may take several weeks and months. So I wrote one of my senators a very thorough letter that dealt both with the USCIS's systemic problems (opaqueness, lack of accountability, manipulation of the processing time frame, operation under seemingly purely political--not statutory--priorities, etc.) and with the hardship that being delayed several more months would cause me and my spouse. I received a very thoughtful and concerned response from a staffer less than 48 hours later and have since had my complaint forwarded to the USCIS legislative liaison, who I am waiting to hear back from.

I know that I may not get my file looked at any sooner than I would have if I had not written anything. But I may. And, more importantly, I know that there is someone in a serious position at the USCIS who is receiving complaints from a senator's office. If the senator's office receives and passes on enough complaints, I'm sure the senator himself will get wind of it. And all it will take is one or two congressmen or senators who seriously look into the issue to get something changed, if not now, then when immigration reform is drafted over the summer. It might not happen because of my letter or yours. It might not happen at all. But I can guarantee you it will never happen if we don't raise a fuss, and that'd be a shame for both current and future K-1 petitioners.

Very well stated! I did the same thing when I was at 4.5 months of waiting, a month later, I received my approval. I have no way of knowing if it was because my Congresswoman's office made an official inquiry but I wanted my voice heard in some way. The system is so utterly broken that reform needs to be demanded, one way or another!

[Greenshoots 2]

There was a detailed report on Oregon Public Radio about the Veteran's Admin. Vets coming back from Iraq and Afghan are having to wait 500 days for a disability adjudication and the backlog is projected to grow to 1 million vets....