Calling on our Senators and Congressman

[visaveteran1 33]

I had a very bad experience at the US Embassy in Moscow with what is known as the Public Liaison Unit trying to DCF. I don't hold out a lot of hope for much but I felt some accountability was called for, so I contacted my Senator. I guess the best outcome would be for the Embsasy to get chastised for their bad behavior and dishonesty to a US citizen and that my K-3 might o be expedited to some degree.

I am asking other VJers to tell me if they had any luck working with a senator or congressman. Did they help? Did things move faster? Or is it all a waste of time?

Also, I'm a little worried that the Moscow embassy might black list me and make things tough on my wife when she comes for her interview. Any thoughts or feedback?

Thanks!

[ChinaDavid 0]

I had a very bad experience at the US Embassy in Moscow with what is known as the Public Liaison Unit trying to DCF. I don't hold out a lot of hope for much but I felt some accountability was called for, so I contacted my Senator. I guess the best outcome would be for the Embsasy to get chastised for their bad behavior and dishonesty to a US citizen and that my K-3 might o be expedited to some degree.

I am asking other VJers to tell me if they had any luck working with a senator or congressman. Did they help? Did things move faster? Or is it all a waste of time?

Also, I'm a little worried that the Moscow embassy might black list me and make things tough on my wife when she comes for her interview. Any thoughts or feedback?

Thanks!

I have had an aide of my Congressman intervene on several occasions, but only to seek information. I was required to fill out a form and send it to my Congressman to allow access to my wife's case records, with me as petitioner. It is similar to a limited power of attorney. They cannot, however, expedite the process. They can help find out what is going on, the status of the case, etc. I had little luck with either of my Senators. One did not respond and the other's aide send me a useless response that paraphrased (erroneously) the USCIS timelines. She did not understand the information and how it was presented. Hopefully, your Senators' aides are more responsive and better informed.

However, this same Congressman's aide was able to work wonders for me in other issues. One in particular... I had sent in my passport for additional visa pages. I did not realize how backlogged they were (the form gave one timeframe, but when I went looking for my passport, the website gave a much longer timeframe). I was running out of time to get back my passport and obtain my visa to China for my upcoming trip. I emailed the Passport Center several times and got the most ridiculous responses. Time was really running short, so I contacted my Congressman's aide. I called her early in the afternoon, and before the day was over, she had located my passport. It arrived the following day by overnight mail WITH the additional visa pages, and without me having to pay the fee for expedited processing. It was amazing.

But when it comes to visa applications, the Embassies or Consulates are seemingly in worlds unto themselves. The Congressman or Senator can ask for status, but can fix few wrongs, if any. I am on a first name basis with my Congressman's aide, we have emailed each other numerous times and telephoned each other several times. However, she can do almost nothing when it comes to my wife's visa application.

In my opinion, it is never a waste of time making a good contact at your Senator's or Congressman's office.

[ChinaDavid 0]

By the way, you cannot DCF a K3 application at any Consulate or Embassey anywhere in the world. If you meet the qualifications, you can DCF a CR1 application. Sounds like you were trying to DCF a K3.