New Letter Writing Campaign-- This time, Congress

[ingrid_rachel 18]

I'm in!!!!!! My husband spent a year in Mexico awaiting approval of his Green Card, in order to enter the United States legally. But what did his brother? Enter the United States with wife and daughters using a tourist visa, stay in Chicago, and ask WIC and Medicaid, because they say their daughters have these rights in the United States.

[BOS_LHR 829]

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

They're linked in this thread, which has excerpted the most relevant emails.

[Blueberry Pancake 311]

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?

Here : http://pl.scribd.com/doc/145514197/2013-HQFO-00304-Combined-Redacted-Part1

[Pitaya 2,577]

~Moved form IR1/CR1 Filing/Progress to General Immigration-Related Discussion Forum~

~Commentary applicable to several visa processes~

[Salo&Romashka 83]

In this letter writing campaign we need to have a purpose that will either force transparency on USCIS or affect legislation on immigration. Complaining that we are being ignored won't get us much sympathy or cause someone to lose their job. I'm not comfortable going that far myself because my petition is still pending and we need people doing the jobs assigned to them, not falling further behind.

Who does USCIS answer to?

The President first, but good luck getting him to do anything. It was by executive decision this mess came about and I don't think he'll want people knowing that.

Congress is second, but they're a house divided nearing recess. Both parties are trying to win votes through immigration legislation but neither is willing to work with the other. The best hope is a piece meal approach that addresses our priorities separately rather than a huge bill that will take take forever to pass.

I would say the USCIS Ombudsman Office is third, but the quality of their efforts has been lacking as of late. Their yearly reports went from detailed analysis and recommendations of nearly 200 pages to 25 page picture books. If you read the last two years' reports you'll see that I-130s aren't even mentioned.

The last is the public, voters who care and media with an agenda. The right message to the right audience can spread using social media but we have a complaint that is difficult to parse into soundbites or something interesting to a public with a short attention span.

Some of the answers we are seeking may be publicly available already. We just might not be looking in the right places or asking the right people. Anyone want to help me track down these reports?

    (b) Annual Reports.--            (1) In <<NOTE: Deadline.>> general.--Beginning 90 days after         the end of the first fiscal year for which any appropriation         authorized by section 204(b) is made, and 90 days after the end         of each fiscal year thereafter, the Attorney General shall         submit a report to the Committees on the Judiciary and         Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives         concerning the status of--                    (A) the Immigration Services and Infrastructure                 Improvements Account including any unobligated balances                 of appropriations in the Account; and                    (B) the Attorney General's efforts to eliminate                 backlogs in any immigration benefit application                 described in paragraph (2).            (2) Report elements.--The report shall include--                    (A) State-by-State data on--                          (i) the number of naturalization cases                       adjudicated in each quarter of each fiscal year;                          (ii) the average processing time for                       naturalization applications;                          (iii) the number of naturalization                       applications pending for up to 6 months, 12                       months, 18 months, 24 months, 36 months, and 48                       months or more;                          (iv) estimated processing times adjudicating                       newly submitted naturalization applications;                          (v) an analysis of the appropriate processing                       times for naturalization applications; and                          (vi) the additional resources and process                       changes needed to eliminate the backlog for                       naturalization adjudications;                    (B) the status of applications or, where applicable,                 petitions described in subparagraph (C), by Immigration                 and Naturalization Service district, including--                          (i) the number of cases adjudicated in each                       quarter of each fiscal year;                          (ii) the average processing time for such                       applications or petitions;[[Page 114 STAT. 1265]]                          (iii) the number of applications or petitions                       pending for up to 6 months, 12 months, 18 months,                       24 months, 36 months, and 48 months or more;                          (iv) the estimated processing times                       adjudicating newly submitted applications or                       petitions;                          (v) an analysis of the appropriate processing                       times for applications or petitions; and                          (vi) a description of the additional resources                       and process changes needed to eliminate the                       backlog for such processing and adjudications;

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-106publ313/html/PLAW-106publ313.htm

[Blueberry Pancake 311]

Some of the answers we are seeking may be publicly available already. We just might not be looking in the right places or asking the right people. Anyone want to help me track down these reports?

I tried but found nothing. (Yet?)

If we don't find it, could we file a FOIA request?

[David & Diana R 1,005]

1.) I, personally, think that there should be a path to citizenship that doesn't involve half a century of waiting for your normal person. I even support DACA.

2.) However, I do not for one minute think that they should be prioritized above US Citizens who are bringing their family members in legally. That was a decision that the USCIS made, instead of any number of other ways they could have dealt with the situation.

3.) They did not have to stop processing stand-alone I130's. 4.) They could have spread the work load out by taking adjudicators from all divisions, and then hiring more people. They could have continued shipping the I130's to the field offices. 5.) They could have announced the problem to the public so that we could have made better plans for our families, or delayed our filing dates until they dealt with the influx of DACA applications. They could have revived the K3 visa and actually processed it in a decent amount of time. (Like the K1's who are blazing through in under a month, or the LPR's spouses who are under 5 months.) 6.)They could have, at any point in time in the past several months, told us the truth and gotten their asses in gear fixing the problem. They could have given us accurate processing times. They did none of these things. Instead, they tried to convince us that increasingly long amounts of time were normal processing times, and we should be happy for the privilege of waiting to be with our family members for years, despite their main goal being FAMILY UNITY.

THAT is what we should focus on. If they are incapable of following the law, and responsibility that they have, and instead spend all of their time trying to figure out how to get around their own rules, then they should not have that power anymore, or more severe penalties/actual recourse for the petitions needs to be inserted into the process. They need accountability, and at the moment they have none. And they have worked to counteract any kind of recourse we might have had simply by changing their priority date, not updating their processing times, refusing to provide actual answers. We need to pressure congress into removing the absolute power that they have over the cases and inserting some kind of actual oversight and accountability. (And the fact that the USCIS was caught with agents claiming overtime hours while sitting at their desk watching Netflix instead of working on cases, while we sat here without our spouses, is disgusting. Seriously, whomever approved that overtime scheme should be fired. Immediately.)

Stating that the DACA applicants were prioritized above us is true. As were fiance's, and the spouses of LPR's. However, I think attempting to pressure the government on the topic of Amnesty is missing the point entirely and will not at all fix the underlying problems that exist inside of the USCIS. Which is what we want. It's not the DACA applicants fault that the USCIS did this. It's not Obama's fault either. The USCIS, independently, decided that stopping the processing of the I130's in the field before the NBC was open was a good course of action. (Seriously, go read the FOIA documents.) The blame rests solely on them, and THEY should be the one we hold responsible.

I only have time to break down the first few lines of your post.

1.) I, personally, think that there should be a path to citizenship that doesn't involve half a century of waiting for your normal person. First off this is a lie, or to be politically correct an untruth or exaggeration at least. I have not heard of anyone on VJ spending 50 years to get their family member here.

2.) However, I do not for one minute think that they should be prioritized above US Citizens who are bringing their family members in legally. Whether they "prioritized" or not is irrelevant. When you add tens of thousands of applications and maybe upwards of 11 million to come it just takes more time. Even if they were all adjudicated as they came in it still means thousands of more hours of work.

3.) They did not have to stop processing stand-alone I130's. Did they STOP processing these? If they did I am not aware.

4.) They could have spread the work load out by taking adjudicators from all divisions, and then hiring more people. I think they did hire more people, opening a new center and adding hundreds of positions. But hiring more people, especially through the government takes time. They have a lot of catching up to do for sure. And as I seem to recall many applications were sent to other processing centers in an effort to catch up.

5.) They could have announced the problem to the public so that we could have made better plans for our families, or delayed our filing dates until they dealt with the influx of DACA applications. Announced the problem to the public??? Are you kidding? You know how fast people would be fired if they announced this problem? If I am not mistaken I think there was a man at the very top who ordered that this additional work load be placed on the staff. You gonna be the one to announce to the public that this top official created this mess? And how would the delaying of "our" applications solve anything? It would just mean that DACA only apps would be processed while we waited to file? You think that would shorten the wait? No way.

6.)They could have, at any point in time in the past several months, told us the truth and gotten their asses in gear fixing the problem. They could have told us the truth but really now, what government official is going to stick her or his head out to be chopped. And you say they should have gotten their asses in gear and fix the problem? With all due respect you are living on another planet. They will simply say that a sudden influx of applications slowed everything down...and that is the TRUTH!

So it all boils down to who is to blame here. The illegals? Not, if I were here illegally I would certainly apply to become a citizen under DACA, I don't blame them. But the truth of the matter is they have no business being here in the first place.

And you have spoken about how poorly illegal aliens are treated here in the USA. So why are they all clamoring to come here? Because this is the best damn country in the world, that's why!

Have you ever been to a third world country? I mean have you gotten out of your fancy 4 star hotel and really been with the people of that country. I have been to the Philippines several times and my wife grew up in a slum, yes just like the ones you see on TV where the kids are picking through trash at the dump...that they live on! But you know what? I have never met more kind and friendly people. They prepared meals for me and my wife when they didn't have anything to eat themselves. But guess what. None of my wife's, now my family members have ever entered any country illegally. Because they know it is ILLEGAL. Despite the horrific conditions in which they live they are smiling, laughing and for the most part are content. My wife grew up eating one meal a day if she was lucky. There were many days when they went without food. Many where they only had a cup of rice with salt on it for the entire day. So you see I can relate to why people want to immigrate to the USA but I still believe that it must be done legally. Just because you snuck in 14 years ago should not mean you can stay. No you must leave, apply for a visa and if and when you are approved we will welcome you with open arms.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

[Blueberry Pancake 311]

DACA only grants a temporary residency, so you wouldn't be able to apply for a citizenship under DACA even if you really wanted to.

Also, they knew what consequences DACA would bring on other filers. They decided to "hurt" K-1 filers first, then us, CR-1 filers and continue to do so.

They could have evenly distributed the workload, but instead decided to give priority to DACA.

Have you seen the numbers?

As of August 2013 there were 520,000 DACA petitions accepted by USCIS.
430,000 of them were approved.

See here: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/f...ca-13-8-15.pdf

Meanwhile, just in the first quarter of this year 117,000 I-130s were accepted by NBC, and 992 were approved.
2nd quarter: 136,000 filed. 1,300 approved.

http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/f...y2013_qtr2.pdf

Only recently they started transferring cases to the service centers. What took them so long?

[David & Diana R 1,005]

DACA only grants a temporary residency, so you wouldn't be able to apply for a citizenship under DACA even if you really wanted to.

Also, they knew what consequences DACA would bring on other filers. They decided to "hurt" K-1 filers first, then us, CR-1 filers and continue to do so.

They could have evenly distributed the workload, but instead decided to give priority to DACA.

Have you seen the numbers?

As of August 2013 there were 520,000 DACA petitions accepted by USCIS.

430,000 of them were approved.

See here: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/f...ca-13-8-15.pdf

Meanwhile, just in the first quarter of this year 117,000 I-130s were accepted by NBC, and 992 were approved.

2nd quarter: 136,000 filed. 1,300 approved.

http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/f...y2013_qtr2.pdf

Only recently they started transferring cases to the service centers. What took them so long?

Answer: Bureaucracy

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

DACA only grants a temporary residency, so you wouldn't be able to apply for a citizenship under DACA even if you really wanted to.

Also, they knew what consequences DACA would bring on other filers. They decided to "hurt" K-1 filers first, then us, CR-1 filers and continue to do so.

They could have evenly distributed the workload, but instead decided to give priority to DACA.

Have you seen the numbers?

As of August 2013 there were 520,000 DACA petitions accepted by USCIS.

430,000 of them were approved.

See here: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/f...ca-13-8-15.pdf

Meanwhile, just in the first quarter of this year 117,000 I-130s were accepted by NBC, and 992 were approved.

2nd quarter: 136,000 filed. 1,300 approved.

http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/f...y2013_qtr2.pdf

Only recently they started transferring cases to the service centers. What took them so long?

Those figures are shocking, I hadn't seen them before and we need to make people aware of them. I'm sure it would sort out the system no end if they were not allowed to collect payment from us until they had sent our petitions on to NVC as then there would be an incentive to actually process cases. Wishful thinking sadly though!

Edited November 22, 2013 by Hotter Otter

[ah24 11]

DACA only grants a temporary residency, so you wouldn't be able to apply for a citizenship under DACA even if you really wanted to.

Also, they knew what consequences DACA would bring on other filers. They decided to "hurt" K-1 filers first, then us, CR-1 filers and continue to do so.

They could have evenly distributed the workload, but instead decided to give priority to DACA.

Have you seen the numbers?

As of August 2013 there were 520,000 DACA petitions accepted by USCIS.

430,000 of them were approved.

See here: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/f...ca-13-8-15.pdf

Meanwhile, just in the first quarter of this year 117,000 I-130s were accepted by NBC, and 992 were approved.

2nd quarter: 136,000 filed. 1,300 approved.

http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/f...y2013_qtr2.pdf

Only recently they started transferring cases to the service centers. What took them so long?

OMG

[camden 20]

We're in again.

[Lifehastomoveon 37]

When can we expect the next campaign? How strong it wil be?

[Salo&Romashka 83]

I've been doing a lot of thinking about how we can keep this issue on the minds of elected officials and now I have an idea for the second letter. I've attached a proposed example in .pdf format.

Basically we need something that gets our message out quickly and powerfully. Using the format of a 'Missing' poster, anyone willing to submit another email or fax would be given a chance to put a face to the petition you've been waiting so long on. It has a shock value because it's using a familiar format but in a very different way. Anyone who has a word processor can easily edit the poster to add the details of their loved one. If you can post on this forum, you have all the computer skills you need to edit the .doc file. I will attach the file to a future post if people like this idea.

missing-idea.pdf

Edited November 26, 2013 by Salo&Romashka

[Salo&Romashka 83]

Any comments on the idea? I needed a face to put on the poster for the example.