A Guide to Writing Your Elected Representative(s) About the I-129F Slowdown at the CSC

[Kob 0]

... I think if the institution is shifting priorities for whatever reason to the detriment of one class of applicants, it is an injustice. Not to put to fine a point on it, but this is doubly compounded by the fact that in our case it is to the detriment of CITIZENS who have always FOLLOWED THE LAW. I am 100% behind DACA or DreamAct or what have you, but they should not be given precedence over family-based visa types, in my (not so) humble opinion. And as I have pointed out in several places, this has a lot to do with gross mismanagement at USCIS. ...

Completely agree!!

They showing theirs quick response to Obama's DreamAct, and apparently they do it without any additional financing provided to them

So, it may take them "years" to process all the 12 million illegal immigrant's children

I'm waiting for more then 8 months by now, and no news from California Service Center

If anyone plans to start a legal class action against them, please count me in

Edited April 3, 2013 by Kob

[jft 12]

Today I wrote my Congressional representative, who I know through various Democratic party activities, and got a reply back 45 minutes later :-). My rep (not his staffer BTW, but him personally) thanked me for sharing our plight as they are working on Immigration Reform now and he said it is good to know what needs to be changed before anything new is implemented. He promised to pass my letter on to his immigration staffer and case worker and offered to help my case in the future if I asked for it (I did not ask this time as we have been waiting just three months but if nothing happens by June then I'll probably take him up on his offer).

If I hear anything more from the Congressman or his staffers I will pass it on to everyone!

[VeganMari 12]

What if we do like a Change.org petition?

[jft 12]

What if we do like a Change.org petition?

It's been suggested but that now takes 100,000 signatures and I don't think we can get nearly that many.

[jft 12]

Here's some useful information. Below is a link to the various Congressional committees. Perhaps writing representatives on committees that oversee the USCIS would be better than writing your immediate Congressional rep? I assume that is Homeland Security, right?

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/committees/

Homeland security:

Senate: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/committees/SSGA

Senate (Sub) Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs and the Federal Workforce:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/committees/SSGA/SSGA16

House: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/committees/HSHM

[VeganMari 12]

It's been suggested but that now takes 100,000 signatures and I don't think we can get nearly that many.

Why would it need 100,000? I mean, there are a lot of petitions that have a goal that is a lot less than that. There is also thepetitionsite.com.

[jft 12]

Why would it need 100,000? I mean, there are a lot of petitions that have a goal that is a lot less than that. There is also thepetitionsite.com.

I was thinking about the petitions on the White House site, sorry.

[I & B 273]

For those who made it through this guide and found it useful--you may also want to see the latest work I did re calculating processing times going forward given the problems outlined here.

Go and check out my post on I-129F delay projections and be sure to check the links therein to check out my calculator spreadsheet as well.

[silentplummet 3]

This really burns me up. I haven't seen my fiancee since August. Every now and then I check my case status and the average processing times at the CSC as they steadily increase month by month. We sit a world apart, suffering, as we grasp at straws trying to plot out our future course together over an increasingly uncertain terrain of delays. Now here you have presented us with damning statistical evidence that suggests I am being kept in the dark for the benefit of some Washington pig's political manoeuvers. I am incensed. The sting of it is deafening, is numbing. The hopeless days and nights. All so our President can curry votes with illegal immigrants.

Why have we, the K-1 petitioners, been singled out for trying to do the right thing? What justice can there be in specifically prioritizing the petitions of illegal immigrants over ours? I understand that forceful measures such as deportation are destructive to families and that the children are not to blame for their situation. Yet neither are we to blame. Why are we being specifically punished for our earnest attempt to bring our family to the United States lawfully?

The message they have sent is clear.

Edited April 25, 2013 by silentplummet

[Ban Hammer 13,332]

Here's the letter I submitted to my senators and congresswoman. I don't encourage copying letters verbatim but feel free to steal a few key points or phrases ...

Dear Senator Johnson,

I am a resident of Sioux Falls and my fiancée is a native of the Philippines. I am writing to ask for your assistance regarding our I-129F (K1 Visa) petition that is currently awaiting approval at the USCIS California Service Center (CSC). The receipt number for our case status from uscis.gov is WAC**********.

In late October 2012, I submitted all documentation and information per I-129F requirements. All of those materials were transferred from the Texas lockbox to the CSC within a week. At the time that I submitted the petition, the USCIS National Service Goal for I-129F response was 5 months. That 5-month service timeframe will lapse for our petition on April 5, 2013.

I have been monitoring information which is available at the following web address ______________. This website provides undeniable indication that a substantial and unprecedented service slowdown of I-129F petitions has been occurring at the CSC since August 2012, due primarily to the CSC prioritization of I-821D (DACA) paperwork. I think you can agree that placing the formal requests of DACA applicants (now-grown children of illegal immigrants who were brought into the US illegally) far ahead of engaged US citizens (who are geographically separated from their alien fiancées) is inconsiderate, unethical and probably indicative of a political bias.

Senator, this matter truly affects me on a continual, personal level. I am separated from the woman I love dearly and to whom I provide emotional and financial support to on a daily basis. As long as these delays continue at the CSC, we cannot determine a timeframe for my future spouse's arrival in Sioux Falls. I also have two daughters (ages 13 and 11) from a prior marriage who live here locally and have yet to meet and bond with my fiancée. They too are feeling the brunt of this uncertainty.

I kindly ask you to make inquiries about our case, and see that the service assured to us, by federal policy, is indeed provided very soon. As this issue is also actively impacting thousands of fellow Americans daily, I hope you can inform and work with government peers to see that the systemic delays at the CSC I am referring to are examined and practically addressed. As a whole, the service centers for the USCIS seem to be sorely lacking in transparency and credibility to their public customers, and I am far from alone in making that observation.

I would like to meet with you at your earliest convenience so that we can share information and work together to explore this situation and find solutions. Feel free to contact me at any time for any questions or additional information that you might need. Thank you for your time and efforts to help me and my fiancée in this matter.

original version of post removed and reposted minus tinyurl link which references content removed earlier by vj moderation.

[Newsha 10]

This was EXTREMELY helpful and informative!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish it was pinned .... I'm a VJ member since August and I just found this incredibly useful thread thru Google

If I had your writing skills I would be the prime minister of Denmark today!!!!!! Kidding

I'm in AP for the past 6 months I doubt contacting my senator would do me any good though!

Although the wait is killing me right now and in the other hand I'm a non Pakistani living in Pakistan without my passport cuz my passport and birth-certificate are held by the consulate for half a year

The fact that I have no idea WHY am I waiting and what am I waiting for is giving me cancer

[Shaz&Aziz 1]

A Guide to Writing Your Elected Representative about the Current Backlog in K-1 Petition Processing at the USCISs California Service Center

Disclaimer: The following will most likely not get your case expedited. I cannot even guarantee it will help you get a response from your elected representatives. But I do believe it will provide some valuable basic information and best practices that will help get your complaint to the right pair of eyes and perhaps even get some extra attention there. Most importantly, I truly believe that if more people took the time to follow these guidelines and highlight the current problem at the CSC to their representatives, then we all stand a much better chance of there being meaningful pressure on the USCIS to get their act together. That may not mean your case itself will be explicitly expedited in some way, but it could mean that the K-1 backlog starts getting processed sooner, which has the same effect.

1. Who Are My Representatives?

Since the USCIS is a federal agency, state-level representatives will be of little or no help. Instead, you should identify who your congressperson and senators are. Everyone in the US has two senators for their state and one congressman for their district. It doesnt matter if you voted for them or even knew they existed; they are your representatives and they work for you.

You can find who your congressperson here.

You can find who your senators are here.

2. Which Representative Should I Contact?

A. Political Party

Ive seen some conflicting reports about whether Republicans or Democrats tend to be more responsive to constituent complaints. These reports, however, have to be discounted by the fact that we do not know exactly what has been written in each individual case. Elected representatives receive dozens and dozens (if not hundreds or thousands) of complaints each day and rely on their staffers to sort through and prioritize them. In my experience, these people (staffers and elected representatives) tend to want to help. Thats why they took the line of work they did. (Cynics may disagree.) But they have limited time and resources and cannot help everyone equally, so you can expect them to discount complaints that come across as rants or screeds, or complaints that are just poorly written and thought out. They might not do so consciously, but they are only human. In any case, I doubt very much that there is a significant correlation between political party and overall responsiveness. There are doubtlessly bad apples in both parties and there is, of course, always the possibility that the staffer screening your complaint has had a bad day. But dont let that deter you!

The only caveat to that has to do with how you go about talking about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in your complaint. This program is likely the cause of the recent backlog (see Part X below) and talking about it will be an important part of your complaint. But it was a program enacted through an executive order by President Obamaa Democrat, so Democratic representatives and their staffs may be more reluctant to vigorously pursue your case if they believe doing so would amount to an attack on that program. Republicans, on the other hand, will likely be more receptive to pursuing your case if they believe you have been wronged by a policy enacted by a Democratic president. Overall, I dont believe this should give you pause about contacted representatives of either party, but you should keep it in the back of your mind as you consider how exactly to phrase your complaint. You may want to emphasize the DACA programs role in your woes to Republicans and deemphasize it to Democrats.

B. Committee Member?

Both chambers have a role in the oversight of the immigration process. But those roles are, by-and-large, confined to smaller committees. If one of your three representatives is a member of one of these committees, then that means they should probably be your first choice. A member of one of these committees would be most tied into the agencies involved in immigration and have the most influence over those agencies.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Sub-Committee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security:

Democratic Members

Chuck Schumer, New York (Chairman)

Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont

Dianne Feinstein, California

####### Durbin, Illinois

Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota

Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut

Mazie Hirono, Hawaii

Republican Members

John Cornyn, Texas (Ranking Member)

Chuck Grassley, Iowa

Orrin G. Hatch, Utah

Jeff Sessions, Alabama

Jeff Flake, Arizona

Ted Cruz, Texas

Members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Border Security:

Democratic Members

Zoe Lofgren, California (Ranking Member)

Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas

Luis Guiterrez, Illinois

Joe Garcia, Florida

Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico

John Conyers, Jr., Michigan

Republican Members

Trey Gowdy, South Carolina (Chairman)

Ted Poe, Texas, Vice Chair

Lamar S. Smith, Texas

Steve King, Iowa

Jim Jordan, Ohio

Mark Amodei, Nevada

Raul Labrador, Idaho

George Holding, North Carolina

Bob Goodlatte, Virginia

You may also give similar priority to your senator if he or she is a member of the so-called Group of Eight, a group of senators who are currently publicly working on immigration reform legislation.

The Group of Eight:

John McCain, AZ

Marco Rudio, FL

Lindsey Graham, SC

Jeff Flake, AL

Charles Schumer, NY

Richard Durbin, IL

Robert Menendez, NJ

Micheael Bennet, CO

C. Senator or Congressman

If none of your representatives serves on one of these committees, then consider the following. In general, senators wield more influence within and without Washington than do congressmen and congresswomen. They tend to stick around longer and have deeper ties to various federal agencies. Congressmen and congresswomen, on the hand, can come and go every two years and may or more may not be plugged into the system or know how to get anything done. Moreover, The Senate is inherently more powerful than the House of Representatives when it comes to oversight and drafting new laws.

On the flip side, however, congressmen and congresswomen usually have fewer constituents (there are exceptions for states that have only one or two congresspersons, such as Wyoming), meaning they may be more responsive in general to constituent complaints and that your complaint stands a better chance of actually being seen by your congressperson (and not just staff).

I believe the balance leans in favor of contacting senators; however, there are other considerations that may tip the scale.

D. Other Considerations

First, you should do a wikipedia search of your representative to see how long he or she has been in office. A congressman who has been in office for 20 years and who thus has an experienced staff that knows the ins and outs of the USCIS may be better than a first term senator. You may also want to google the representatives name along with terms like immigration reform, deferred action for childhood arrivals, and the like to see if you can find them making a statement that shows they may have a personal interest in immigration issues.

E. Contacting More Than One Representative at Once

My inclination about this is that its best to give one representatives office some time to become invested in your case and make inquiries before you get others involved. But your mileage may vary. My whole underlying principle in this is to act towards my representatives and the USCIS in a professional and courteousbut sternmanner. I suggest you use your best judgment as, at the end of the day, all of this is going to be driven by how invested we can get representatives in our cases.

3. How Should I Contact My Chosen Representative(s)?

Once you have decided who you will contact, the best way to contact them is to submit a written copy of your complaint electronically. For most representatives (perhaps all?) you can find complaint submission portals on their congressional website. Simply go to their website, find the contact section, and follow the directions to submit your complaint.

After submitting, you should give the staff a few days to get back to you. Typically, however, you should expect to hear something back in 4-5 days, if not earlier. If you have not heard back in that time, you should call the office and leave a polite message that references your complaint and the date you submitted it. Be sure to leave your phone number and email address with anyone you speak to and ask that they get back to you as soon as possible.

4. What Should I Include in My Complaint?

NOTE: Do NOT copy anything written here verbatim. All complaints should be personalized. If you copy the language that I or someone else used, then you risk having your complaint ignored as a form letter.

A. Overview/Premise

Remember, the purpose of USCIS is to resolve immigration issue for the benefit of US citizens. It is supposed to work to bring them together, not serve as an impediment to their reconciliation. It is limited in providing super-efficient service in that (1) it accepts relatively low fees (which guarantee universal service access for even poor citizens) and (2) fee-based services must also cover the expenses of free services, such as the adjudication of refugee claims. But those two caveats in no way mean US citizens have to simply accept 8-9 month delays in processing. They dont even mean we should be accepting 5 months.

The bigger problem with K-1 visa processing is that K-1 petitioners are not a distinct class with sustainable lobbying power. To the extent K-1 petitioners turn to the political system for a fix, it is usually just to seek an individual redress. And, once an individuals case has been resolved (with or without help), the petitioner tends to move on and never raise the issue again, leaving the next group of poor saps to meet the same predicament. There is almost no incentive for the USCIS to fix the problem systematically and no incentive for politicians to devote their political capital to it. As long as they USCIS can generally report to congress that they are meeting their processing time frame goals, they will avoid a lot of scrutiny over their handling of non-political visas, such as the K-1.

But it doesnt have to be that way. Think back to before you applied for a K-1. Did you have any idea what a boondoggle you were in for? I didnt. And I suspect very few do because its just not something that gets talked about. Its a very particular area of policy that few have reason to think about. The silver lining to that, however, is that when people do find out how it works (or, god forbid, have to go through it like us) they quickly realize how absurd it is. The way the USCIS treats petitioners is like something out of an Orwellian satire. Its something people can instantly understand to be wrong and in need of commonsense fixes.

Taking all that into account, I suggest generally framing your letter with four principles in mind:

(1) Show that you understand the problem

By carefully explaining the problems with the way the USCIS treats K-1 petitioners, you will go a long way to showing your representative and their staff that you are not merely some disgruntled crank (Im sure they hear from their share of those). And the absurdity of the current paradigm is so self-apparent that it speaks for itself when carefully laid out. When staff can understand the system we are struggling against, they can better empathize with us. Moreover, they will better understand why you have chosen to escalate the problem to them and why they should further escalate your complaint through their channels.

(2) Be professional and avoid hyperbole

Its easy to get carried away when you write about a problem that affects you so personally as this. Believe me, I know. But flying off the handle will likely only backfire in this context. Remember, you want your representatives and staff to become emotionally and intellectually invested in how badly the current system is affecting you. You arent fighting against the representative. The representative probably has no idea exactly how bad the current processing backlog is because I doubt anyone has taken the time to explain it. Treat them professionally and honestly. Try to make them your ally and arm them with the facts so they can better fight for you.

(3) Show that its not just about you, but about a systemic problem that is affecting tens of thousands

This point ties in with the first but deserves special emphasis. Im sure many representatives still have no idea that there is such a widespread problem at the CSC. They are not experiencing it; we are. We have to educate them about it. It may not seem like it will help our individual cases, but, realistically, the best the possible thing for any of our cases would be for a senator or congressperson publicly rebuking the USCIS for their treatment of all cases.

(4) Make it clear that you expect your elected representatives to oversee such agencies on your behalf

Show that, while you are not naïve enough to expect your single representative to move heaven and earth on your behalf, you expect competent and diligent pursuit of an improved situation, both for yourself and other K-1 applicants. Give the representatives office time to work, but make it clear you expect them to do more than just go through the motions.

B. The Content and Organization of Your Letter

The following are sections you should include in your letter, along with an overview of the content you should include in each. Again, DO NOT copy any of this verbatim. You should personalize your letters to the greatest extent possible.

(1) Introduction

Begin with a polite salutation such as Dear Senator X. Then include a brief paragraph that (1) notes you are a constituent, (2) explains that you are writing to seek help in regards to problems with your K-1 visa petition, and (3) provides the date and reference number of your NOA1.

(2) Content About the Scope of the Problem at the USCISs California Service Center

I suggest dedicating 2-3 paragraphs to describing the current problems that are apparent at the California Service Center. Many of the problems in processing can be found analyzed in great detail in my post about I-129F processing data. In a nutshell, those and other problems are as follows:

a. The Slow Down in I-129F Petition Processing Since August, 2012

Over all, the number of I-129F completions per receipts has dropped off drastically since August, 2012. When the ratio of completions to receipts falls, the backlog of apps grows, guaranteeing longer waiting times for petitioners. We only have published data through January, 2013, but, based on that data, we know that the completions per receipts of I-129F visas were 33% below their two year average from August, 2012 to January, 2013. Even worse, for the last two months of reported dataDecemeber and Januarycompletions per receipts were down over 60% from their two year average, the lowest theyve been on record. This has a substantial backlog of apps to build up very quickly, guaranteeing long delays for anyone who filed since the summer of 2012. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence from visajourney.com and Igors list suggest the trend is much worse because there have likely been no improvements to completions per receipts since January, making the current period of inattention to I-129Fs the longest on record in recent years.

b. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (I-821D, aka DACA) Applications Are Getting Priority at the Expense of I-129F Petitions

There have previously been slowdowns in application processing. So some delays are nothing new. In fact, it seems the USCIS operates by batch processing certain types of apps on cyclesfocusing on a certain class of application for a few months and letting backlogs build for others, and then rotating to focus on the backlogs that have built up. But, after I conducted an extensive analysis of the data, I discovered that this time is different.

As I already pointed out, the resources devoted to I-129F processing is at record lows and likely has been for a record long period of time. But what I was surprised to discover is that it really is only I-129Fs that have been targeted for a slowdown these last few months. And its not because of an incredible flood of petitions over all, either; its because the CSC has been focusing on processing DACA applications at a pace that exceeds the two year average for completions per receipts of all application types. In other words, I-129F petitioners are being delayed not just so another application class can be processedbut so they can be processed quickly. This is patently unfair to I-129F petitioners and borderline outrageous from a political standpoint. Someone has got to start asking the USCIS tough questions about why they have put so much priority on a certain application class and then singled out another class so disproportionately to bear the cost.

c. The USCIS Has Blatantly Manipulated Its Processing Timeframe Dates to Avoid Accountability

The USCIS will only accept service requests (i.e., will only actually look into a petitioners complaints) if the petitioners petition was filed prior to a set processing time frame date. This makes sense for preventing petitioners from bogging down the service center from calling every day and demanding special attention. But what doesnt make sense is that the USCIS gets to set its own processing time frame dates without any apparent oversight or accountability. This means that, if they are running behind in processing a class of applications, they need not worry or respond to customer demands for better service; all they have to do is not update the processing time frame date and they will never have to even respond to customer complaints. Customers (i.e., US Citizens who have paid a fee and are relying on this government service), meanwhile, are left to turn to places like visajourney.com to guess about the true nature of their plight.

Well, thats exactly what has happened with I-129Fs over the past several months. As the USCIS has deliberately shifted resources away from their processing, it has simply stopped updating the I-129Fs processing time frame date, meaning that even customers delayed up to 2-3 months longer than their target processing time cannot even demand and answer from the USCIS. In fact, the USCIS has not updated their processing time frame date for I-129Fs in over three months; it has been July 18, 2012 since December. And that is just absurd on its face. What that means is that the USCIS is claiming to the world that it has been processing applications filed on July 18, 2012 for over three straight months without finishing them. Does anyone think thats even remotely close to whats really been happening? No. No one could claim that with a straight face. Whats really happening is obvious: The USCIS is manipulating the processing time frame date to avoid accountability. And they are doing so in a way so blatant that it is nothing short of an insult to both their customers and to the elected representatives who should be overseeing their operation.

d. The USCIS Is Extremely Opaque In Its Operations To the Detriment of Petitoners Ability to Plan Their Affairs

How did I find out about the slowdowns, the priority given to DACA applications, or the processing time frame manipulation? True, I did technically learn those things from the USCIS, but only because I spent hours and hours combing through their data and past practices. Why should I have to waste my time and productive energy towards getting answers the USCIS has readily available? Why do they make it so difficult to find out what is going on? Why cant they publish honest time frames so that people can plan their lives accordingly? These are all questions that need to be answered with changes at the USCIS. No government service should be run in a way where it is actively hiding its inner-workings from the very people who rely upon its services. The USCIS works for us but the only way they get away with such shenanigans is because they know we cant fire them. Well, we need our representatives to get serious about firing somebody on our behalf if this continues. We deserve better.

(3) Content About Your Personal Situation

As frustrating as the USCISs processes and policies are themselves, do not forget to end your letter strongly by highlighting how the processing delays and lack of answers have hurt you, your fiance, and your families. Some general things to focus on are the economic hardship of supporting two households, the added costs of travel to see each other (if even possible), the emotional toll of being apart, and the effect the separation is having on any children in the custody of either parent. Talk further about how the uncertainty of the approval date makes it extremely difficult to plan for moving, for a wedding, and for arranging employment. Finally, be sure to highlight special hardships such as medical conditions, possibilities of domestic abuse or other danger for the beneficiary, or anything else that risks the well-being of you or your fiance.

(4) Closing and Signature Line

I suggest closing in a stern but optimistic tone, urging your representative to help you and assuming they will do so. Then close with Sincerely, *Your Name*" and be sure to include an address block under your name that has the following information:

Your Address

Your Email Address

Your Personal Phone Number

5. What Happens Next?

After sending your complaint, you may have to wait a few days to hear back from the representative's office. That's normal. They will likely contact you and ask you to sign a privacy waiver so they can request info on your case. It should be ok to return this by email or fax so that their office can get right to work; be sure to ask if they don't say that explicitly, though.

Once you have signed the privacy waiver, they should hand your case off to their office's immigration liaison who will investigate. Just use your best judgment in working with this person as they can help you. Give them some time but don't feel bad about following up every few days or so if you don't hear back.

6. Final Thoughts

You may also want to consider contacting others beyond your elected representatives. If you have connections to local/regional media, it may be good to tell them your tale. Again, its not something many are aware is happening and I believe someone could make a very good investigative report about it. You may also want to send a copy of your complaint to the USCIS Ombudsman, though prepare yourself for a generic answer from his office.

In the end, its all about getting our applications back under active review as soon as possible. To do that I think we need to fully exhaust our influence in the political system. I hope this guide has been helpful to those looking to do just that. I will try my best to answer any individual questions people have, but I have to apologize in advance for not being able to read or edit everyones individual complaints. Just follow the guide and trust your story. Telling the truth is enough because the current truth is damning for the USCIS. We just need to get people to hear that truth. Thank you for your efforts; this cant be done alone.