How does getting your senator to help, work exactly?

[hplusj 135]

Hi everyone:

I'm trying to get my state senator's help with our case being stuck at NVC but I keep being told 'only expedites and only in life or death situations'. 

 

We just want some assistance in investigating reasons for the delay.  Has anyone talked to their state/district reps to get assistance other than an expedite, or even an expedite OTHER than a medical emergency?  How did you go about it?

 

Thank you so much for your advice.

[SalishSea 17,818]

6 minutes ago, hplusj said:

Hi everyone:

I'm trying to get my state senator's help with our case being stuck at NVC but I keep being told 'only expedites and only in life or death situations'. 

 

We just want some assistance in investigating reasons for the delay.  Has anyone talked to their state/district reps to get assistance other than an expedite, or even an expedite OTHER than a medical emergency?  How did you go about it?

 

Thank you so much for your advice.

US senators and reps have assistants who can make inquiries on behalf of their constituents, to federal agencies.   They usually have a link on their website, often with a permission form that you sign.

 

It isn’t a magic fix.   They often get the same info available to you, like “this case is in administrative processing due to background checks.”  Etc.

[hplusj 135]

2 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

US senators and reps have assistants who can make inquiries on behalf of their constituents, to federal agencies.   They usually have a link on their website, often with a permission form that you sign.

 

It isn’t a magic fix.   They often get the same info available to you, like “this case is in administrative processing due to background checks.”  Etc.

Yeah we've been speaking with the assistant to my senator, who is asking for documentation that proves we need the case expedited.

 

We just want an inquiry.  Do we try another rep?

[SalishSea 17,818]

Just now, hplusj said:

Yeah we've been speaking with the assistant to my senator, who is asking for documentation that proves we need the case expedited.

 

We just want an inquiry.  Do we try another rep?

Why not just provide them with documentation?   If you have a valid reason to expedite, you should have no problem providing evidence.

Just now, SalishSea said:

Why not just provide them with documentation?   If you have a valid reason to expedite, you should have no problem providing evidence.

Is your case outside of normal processing time?

[hplusj 135]

Just now, SalishSea said:

Why not just provide them with documentation?   If you have a valid reason to expedite, you should have no problem providing evidence.

We don't have a life or death situation... we have just been seated at NVC for four months with other K1s passing us, going to the same embassy.

If there's an issue with our case being passed up, we want to know or at least put some pressure on NVC to follow through.

[Gary Rich 261]

2 minutes ago, hplusj said:

Yeah we've been speaking with the assistant to my senator, who is asking for documentation that proves we need the case expedited.

 

We just want an inquiry.  Do we try another rep?

To be transparent.. I wrote letters to Homeland Security, the Department of State, and even the White House..(believe it or not.. it worked for me) (Thank you for writing to President Biden about your visa inquiry.  Your letter was forwarded to the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs for a reply.  We apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry.  Please open the attached document for our response to your visa inquiry.) 2 days later I had  my interview date

[SalishSea 17,818]

4 minutes ago, hplusj said:

We don't have a life or death situation... we have just been seated at NVC for four months with other K1s passing us, going to the same embassy.

If there's an issue with our case being passed up, we want to know or at least put some pressure on NVC to follow through.

NVC wait times are much longer than they were years back.   Maybe that’s the trade off for the current fast petition approval times?   
 
4 months hardly seems unusual or atypical.

Edited June 25 by SalishSea

[hplusj 135]

2 minutes ago, Gary Rich said:

To be transparent.. I wrote letters to Homeland Security, the Department of State, and even the White House..(believe it or not.. it worked for me) (Thank you for writing to President Biden about your visa inquiry.  Your letter was forwarded to the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs for a reply.  We apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry.  Please open the attached document for our response to your visa inquiry.) 2 days later I had  my interview date

Great info, thank you.  If I could DM you, maybe I can get some links as to where you sent your letters.  Were they online forms or snail mail? 

 

I'll pop in your messages, thanks

1 minute ago, SalishSea said:

NVC wait times are much longer than they were years back.   Maybe that’s the trade off for the current fast petition approval times?   
 

Doesn't seem to be universally applied, even within the same embassy.

I'd be content if K1s going to the same embassy were being taken in order.  This is very strange.

Edited June 25 by hplusj

[Gary Rich 261]

15 minutes ago, hplusj said:

Great info, thank you.  If I could DM you, maybe I can get some links as to where you sent your letters.  Were they online forms or snail mail? 

 

I'll pop in your messages, thanks

Doesn't seem to be universally applied, even within the same embassy.

I'd be content if K1s going to the same embassy were being taken in order.  This is very strange.

https://www.dhs.gov/    https://www.whitehouse.gov/    https://www.state.gov/ 

[pushbrk 12,872]

Just a note that your "State Senator" cannot be of assistance.  You want the assistance of a member of the US Senator FROM your State's staff.  US Senator, not State Senator.

[hplusj 135]

5 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Just a note that your "State Senator" cannot be of assistance.  You want the assistance of a member of the US Senator FROM your State's staff.  US Senator, not State Senator.

It was an honest mistake and a matter of semantics, and I would really appreciate you not picking apart my attempts to work on my case when this is a very painful experience for us.  What purpose does it serve?

I also didn't petition a minor league baseball team for assistance.  Should I clarify that as well, in case people think I'm speaking about a different kind of senator?

[hplusj 135]

Would it kill people to show a little kindness or did that pinned topic become null and void eight years ago

If you don't have anything productive to contribute, please leave us alone.

 

Just close the thread, mods, it's not even worth it anymore to ask a damn thing.

Edited June 26 by hplusj

[JKLSemicolon 411]

Kindness goes both ways. People are volunteering their time and expertise on this forum, and in the immigration process, precise language often does matter. @pushbrk has seen many gaps in understanding from people in the early stages of their immigration journey over the years and was offering a clarification for you and anyone else reading the thread, since it will be available on this site for years to come.
 

I have seen many people in this forum post about contacting elected officials but based on those threads, it does not seem to make a difference, especially if cases are still within processing times. 
 

As you have probably seen, the NVC FAQ confirms what you have been told about life or death emergencies being one of the only ways to have an expedite granted right now. That doesn’t mean you can’t still attempt to request one, or continue to reach out as you have been if that offers peace of mind; I myself requested an expedite from NVC in 2021 which was denied, but you have already seen one testimony in this thread that was more successful.

 

Just keep in mind that everyone wants their case to be processed as quickly as possible and have complete transparency from the agencies involved, but that’s not always the case. A little patience goes a long way and that is often the perspective that many of the contributors to this forum have gained as part of their journey.

 

Good luck to you.

[pushbrk 12,872]

3 hours ago, hplusj said:

It was an honest mistake and a matter of semantics, and I would really appreciate you not picking apart my attempts to work on my case when this is a very painful experience for us.  What purpose does it serve?

I also didn't petition a minor league baseball team for assistance.  Should I clarify that as well, in case people think I'm speaking about a different kind of senator?

It serves the purpose of informing you and any other reader, so you don't waste your time with a "State Senator".

Edited June 26 by pushbrk

[Mixel96 8]

so the bottom line here could just be that the NVC processing times are longer than they used to be. From the K1 flowchart (https://www.visajourney.com/guides/k1-fiance-visa-flowchart/ it would only be around 4 weeks.