New Letter Writing Campaign-- This time, Congress

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

I'm in if we do this the right way. We need to communicate our issues coherently and accurately like in the last letter and make sure the right people get it. Railing against DACA and illegals will not help our cause, we can't change what's happened but we can show what went wrong and we can call for faster ajudication on our cases. We might not even get anywhere but it feels better to try.

Individually we were ignored, together we got a response, lets see if we can do this again!

[En-oh-eh-to now 147]

We need support from all members here for the best effect. The original outline:

1. There is statistical and documented proof that the USCIS let I-130's for citizens pile up in order to faster process I-130 waivers and DACA's

2. This also happened last year with I-129's and DACA's

3. Congress must investigate, as this is a violation of the INA

4. Congress must not pass an amnesty bill which will hurt legal US families

5. Congress must ensure that the USCIS does not return to its old tricks of putting one group on the backburner, in particular in order to help illegal aliens in this country.

Some of us strongly oppose no. 4 and probably part of no. 5. Hey, we're not too far apart on this. We still make a strong case if we remove no. 4 and edit no. 5. The downside is that we would lose the support that anti-amnesty lobby could bring to our cause. The upside of course would be that we would have everyone on VJ bringing their full support. We all did this together, and we can do it again.

[SSB12 9]

So when are we doing this ?

Please provide us the email addresses too.

Thank you!

[Salo&Romashka 83]

My suggestion is that we follow the money. USCIS is a fee based agency mainly and it depends on filing fees we pay to function. The final reason petitions were left to sit it can probably be traced back to a lack of resources. However, to take on a workload without adequate funding is a violation of Anti-Deficiency laws. If you study recommendations made by the Ombudsman from 2006-2007 you can see that USCIS has considered this in the past:

The Ombudsman Urges Consideration of a Revolving Trust to Fund USCIS

In the 2006 Annual Report (at p. 29), the Ombudsman suggested that USCIS approachCongress to establish a revolving trust account that would be replenished from future fees. A revolving trust would: (1) enable the agency to test innovative processes; (2) address unexpected program requirements from new legislation; (3) avoid potential temporary anti-deficiency concerns; and (4) encourage USCIS leadership to develop new processes instead of continuing programs which do not enhance customer service, efficiency, and national security, but nevertheless generate essential revenue. In its 2006 Annual Report Response (at p. 12), the agency stated:

USCIS has researched this and has found that even though fees would eventually replenish the appropriated funds deposited in the fund, the legislation required to enact such a vehicle is not deficit neutral. Therefore, any legislation would have budget scorekeeping implications within the context of the scorekeeping conventions of the Administration and the Congress.

USCIS does not discuss the benefits or drawbacks of a revolving trust. It only comments on the budget scorekeeping questions. The Ombudsman continues to believe that a revolving trust would resolve many of the USCIS revenue and funding problems.

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/2007%20Annual%20Report.pdf

The truth is that part of your fee is also paying for someone else's processing. Just look at the fee schedules for forms to see some paperwork is done for 'free'. http://www.uscis.gov/forms%C2'>

'The total fee for Forms I-821D, I-765 and the I-765WS is $465. This fee includes a $380 fee for Form I-765 and an $85 biometric services fee.'

Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Biometrics are standard costs for many people at one time or another. The cost for those services has been set and it's probably enough to cover the work. For some reason this fee based agency decided to process I-821D at no cost. Storing, sorting, data entry, adjudication, transferring and processing that form takes time and resources. If USCIS was not gaining anything in fees for all those forms, the resources had to come from somewhere else.

Guess what I-821d is the form for?

[Blueberry Pancake 311]

Guess what I-821d is the form for?

DACA...

[En-oh-eh-to now 147]

We bore the brunt of this, thanks to USCIS.

Edit: We = OUR FAMILIES

Edited November 22, 2013 by En-oh-eh-to now

[lilQueenP 15]

Funny thing is my husband has traveled to Latin America numerous times & on his trips to Mexico, he was offered help getting over the border, but he refused to do it the illegal way. His cousin did & walked right across with no problem (the border guards aren't looking for black guys crossing the Mexican border).

I sent a letter to my congresswoman & got a "don't bother us again for another 6 months" response. I'll continue to work on this. Can you guys share what you're working on? I'm thinking that some well-worded op-eds (letters to the editors) would be good. Can we start a huge campaign between us, sending letters to as many newspapers and magazines as we can manage? The only way to stop this (David & Zoila are right) is to hurt the vote for Obama & his party. If we make the public aware of the problem, it can affect more than just complaining to the offices... although I think both are important. I've been telling people this is going on & they think I'm making it up.

[Cathi 5,754]

I hate to be a doom and gloomer but are you serious? While I agree it would be great if the government fixed this they just are not. You are in the clouds somewhere. If they really did write you an email it was some poor intern who has no authority to do anything. I hate to be so negative but Obama's priority right now is get as many illegals who are already here amnesty. They don't give a damn about us American that are married or engaged....it's all gonna go to the illegals, millions of them first. Sorry but that's MHO.

the "illegal"people you speak of were children under the age of 18 who were brought here by their parents, they had no choice in the matter. In my opinion they should have the chance to become legal here in the US, most of whom only know this as the country they grew up in, they know no other life. Their adult parents who brought them here illegally are not given the same opportunity.

[Blueberry Pancake 311]

I found this article pretty interesting... http://freebeacon.com/only-2-1-percent-of-dreamers-denied-work-permits-in-dhs-reviews/

I don't have anything against the DACA program per se, and agree they did not have a choice when they were illegally brought to the U.S. as children.

However, they did have a choice not to commit crimes.

"Vaughn said the program’s requirements are not strong enough. Illegal aliens with a history of criminal behavior, such as false claims to citizenship, identity theft, and immigration fraud, are excused."

But, USCIS made over $200 million thanks to DACA, so maybe they will have enough now to hire more people!

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

We need support from all members here for the best effect. The original outline:

1. There is statistical and documented proof that the USCIS let I-130's for citizens pile up in order to faster process I-130 waivers and DACA's

2. This also happened last year with I-129's and DACA's

3. Congress must investigate, as this is a violation of the INA

4. Congress must not pass an amnesty bill which will hurt legal US families

5. Congress must ensure that the USCIS does not return to its old tricks of putting one group on the backburner, in particular in order to help illegal aliens in this country.

Some of us strongly oppose no. 4 and probably part of no. 5. Hey, we're not too far apart on this. We still make a strong case if we remove no. 4 and edit no. 5. The downside is that we would lose the support that anti-amnesty lobby could bring to our cause. The upside of course would be that we would have everyone on VJ bringing their full support. We all did this together, and we can do it again.

I fully agree with this. As you know I'm one of those who disagrees with No 4 and I also feel its probable that a lot of the people who oppose amnesty find anything to do with the word immigration a big turn off and would not hugely back us anyway. Of course there are some who will support us out of self interest because it's a way to criticise the administration but I can't see them being a huge help. The more focussed we are and the less possible tangents arising from our wording the better.

With no. 5 we could easily word it as USCIS should not be allowed to effectively stockpile and ignore one type of petition while processing another to the detriment of families. We want fairness and parity. Link it in with no. 1 and there is nothing wrong with using the evidence of the effect of DACA on our proposals as an excellent case study, especially as we can prove this happened. Without attacking illegal aliens we can word it to emphasise that we are people who are doing the right thing, and are being penalised for it at present.

I would like to thank most of the people in this thread for listening to the opinion of others and being respectful when disagreeing without being aggressive. I will admit that when the debate about illegals came up I thought this thread would descend into bickering and get locked as we all understandably have strong opinions so I'm happy we are on track!

[KazuriSana 324]

I'm sorry, but I will not participate in this mass emailing/faxing nor will I recruit anyone to do so. I do not like how lots of people here attack illegal immigrants. There needs to be a way to process ALL applications quickly and fairly, not putting some people underneath others. We're all human beings after all.

I will not participate either, nor will I encourage anyone to. This approach of attacking others just isnt the way to win and influence USCIS, or any other agency.

[nanana 74]

I agree that "illigal" immigrants should face their misdeeds, but in the other hand we shouldn't attack them as the reason for slow uscis. the letter just need to be edit in accurate way to our goals and focused more on us - people doing things in legal way , paid way.

I am in

[Misha'sgirl 44]

Does living the American dream and taking American jobs include working below the minimum wage and doing jobs most Americans wouldn't want to do?

Just curious.

I'm going to clear some things up for you. These illegals are most deffinately "living the American dream" when you compare it to how they were living in their own Country. You don't even have to live in a third world Country to get paid way less than U.S. minimum wage. My fiance is a Russian citizen, with a seven year education in Electrical Engineering and Agriculture. Guess how much he is paid?! Almost $3.00 an hour. U.S. minimum wage is $7.25 unless you work nights, then usually it's $8.25 to $9. So yeah, I do think it's alright to deem these illegals "living the American dream" when you see the facts here.

[Misha'sgirl 44]

Overstaying your visa (The same as) - Someone asking to stay at your house for a week and never leaving

Entering the country without approval or documentation (The same as) - Someone you do not know either breaking into your house or entering your house without permission

DACA (The same as) - A stranger leaving a stranded child at your door "Your problem now"

Amnesty (The same as) - You adding a stranger to your house deed and tell them they can live there with you

USCIS placing priority on "illegals" (The same as) - Telling a stranger to eat your food first before your own children

I'm sure you get the drift if you just place it into more personal aspects...

Finally some intelligence!

[thedude6752000 360]

As the one who started this thread, I will agree that diverting our energy into fighting amnesty is probably not a good idea. I will point out that DACA and I-130 waiver program for illegal relatives are both unconstitutional extensions of the President's powers. I will also point out that the amnesty bill as it is currently written would be a disaster for us. If we are not going to oppose the bill, then I think we should at least demand that it make reforms to streamline immigration for the relatives of US citizens as well.

Also where can I find all of the FOA emails from the USCIS on DACA and I-130's?

Edited November 22, 2013 by thedude6752000