I said I would do this, so here it is. I've copied the text and pasted it into this post. I'm also attaching the word document of it (Word 97 because it's .doc).
Please make sure you personalize these. It isn't meant to be sent as-is.
1 to YOUR representative in the U.S. House ("congressman")
1 to EACH of your TWO senators ("senator")
Feel free to cc the embassy 😉 (Dearest MaryKay...)
I just hope it helps get something going for us. This site has been so important to me: understanding the process, making choices, my mental health, all of it. I want to help where I can, too.
pth
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Greetings, ______________:
I am a U.S. Citizen/LPR/Immigrant. I am trying to bring my wife/child/mom/stranger who promised candy to America.
Unlike many others, I am working within the boundaries of the U.S. system, including the USCIS, the State Department, and the U.S. Embassy in Manila. We have navigated the first two, and we await an appointment from the Embassy for our final interview.
We thought that we were coming to the end of the process, and we began making plans for arrival in our heads. Unfortunately, it has been __________ months/weeks/minutes since the National Visa Center has approved us for an appointment. I’m not talking about the date of the interview; we haven’t even gotten word of when it will be.
Things get more complicated.
I spend time on a website, Visa Journey. It’s a Facebook-like site for those working through the immigration process. Since I had heard back from (my congressman), I posted how long we were expected to wait. Immediately, people began posting their dates. They are all different, even though we are all waiting for the same step.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila is quite proud of the way it has trimmed the backlog of non-immigrant visas from a two-year queue to only a few months. It seems they have done this by disregarding all immigrant visa appointment. One person noted that NOT ONE VISA JOURNEY MEMBER HAS POSTED AN INTERVIEW DATE in six months. It seems that nobody on the site has seen this before.
Tourism is important. Visits are important. But we are trying to build families here, and we are stuck in an eternal queue if they ignore the process.
It would be very supportive and helpful if you would encourage the Embassy to begin its work on immigrant visas. Also, many of us would like to know how this decision was made (and by whom). If there is something you need from me to do these things, please let me know.
As always, I remain grateful for the assistance you have provided in the past. I remain hopeful that our family is united soon. Please help.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME HERE
Congress U.S. Embassy Manila.doc