2nd Letter to House Jud Cmte - I-130 delays by USCIS

[Salo&Romashka 83]

After browsing past topics related to DACA on these forums I found the work of another petitioner who examined the impact on I-129F petitions using statistical analysis before USCIS made processing data/ volumes/ performance public. In his signature there is also a post with a guide how to contact elected officials. I vote we use his suggestions as a reference for the final draft:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/421608-a-guide-to-writing-your-elected-representatives-about-the-i-129f-slowdown-at-the-csc/#entry6085151

b. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (I-821D, aka “DACA”) Applications Are Getting Priority at the Expense of I-129F Petitions

There have previously been slowdowns in application processing. So some delays are nothing new. In fact, it seems the USCIS operates by batch processing certain types of apps on cycles—focusing on a certain class of application for a few months and letting backlogs build for others, and then rotating to focus on the backlogs that have built up. But, after I conducted an extensive analysis of the data, I discovered that this time is different.

As I already pointed out, the resources devoted to I-129F processing is at record lows and likely has been for a record long period of time. But what I was surprised to discover is that it really is only I-129Fs that have been targeted for a slowdown these last few months. And it’s not because of an incredible flood of petitions over all, either; it’s because the CSC has been focusing on processing DACA applications at a pace that exceeds the two year average for completions per receipts of all application types. In other words, I-129F petitioners are being delayed not just so another application class can be processed—but so they can be processed quickly. This is patently unfair to I-129F petitioners and borderline outrageous from a political standpoint. Someone has got to start asking the USCIS tough questions about why they have put so much priority on a certain application class and then singled out another class so disproportionately to bear the cost.

c. The USCIS Has Blatantly Manipulated It’s “Processing Timeframe” Dates to Avoid Accountability

The USCIS will only accept service requests (i.e., will only actually look into a petitioner’s complaints) if the petitioner’s petition was filed prior to a set “processing time frame” date. This makes sense for preventing petitioners from bogging down the service center from calling every day and demanding special attention. But what doesn’t make sense is that the USCIS gets to set its own “processing time frame” dates without any apparent oversight or accountability. This means that, if they are running behind in processing a class of applications, they need not worry or respond to customer demands for better service; all they have to do is not update the “processing time frame” date and they will never have to even respond to customer complaints. Customers (i.e., US Citizens who have paid a fee and are relying on this government service), meanwhile, are left to turn to places like visajourney.com to guess about the true nature of their plight.

Well, that’s exactly what has happened with I-129Fs over the past several months. As the USCIS has deliberately shifted resources away from their processing, it has simply stopped updating the I-129F’s processing time frame date, meaning that even customers delayed up to 2-3 months longer than their “target” processing time cannot even demand and answer from the USCIS. In fact, the USCIS has not updated their “processing time frame” date for I-129Fs in over three months; it has been July 18, 2012 since December. And that is just absurd on its face. What that means is that the USCIS is claiming to the world that it has been processing applications filed on July 18, 2012 for over three straight months without finishing them. Does anyone think that’s even remotely close to what’s really been happening? No. No one could claim that with a straight face. What’s really happening is obvious: The USCIS is manipulating the processing time frame date to avoid accountability. And they are doing so in a way so blatant that it is nothing short of an insult to both their customers and to the elected representatives who should be overseeing their operation.

d. The USCIS Is Extremely Opaque In Its Operations To the Detriment of Petitoners’ Ability to Plan Their Affairs

How did I find out about the slowdowns, the priority given to DACA applications, or the processing time frame manipulation? True, I did technically learn those things from the USCIS, but only because I spent hours and hours combing through their data and past practices. Why should I have to waste my time and productive energy towards getting answers the USCIS has readily available? Why do they make it so difficult to find out what is going on? Why can’t they publish honest time frames so that people can plan their lives accordingly? These are all questions that need to be answered with changes at the USCIS. No government service should be run in a way where it is actively hiding its inner-workings from the very people who rely upon its services. The USCIS works for us but the only way they get away with such shenanigans is because they know we can’t fire them. Well, we need our representatives to get serious about firing somebody on our behalf if this continues. We deserve better.

Many thanks to I & B for the contribution.

[naam_2013 72]

Salo,

I applaud I&B's hardwork, this is all good, but we need to keep the letter concise - trust me no one will be interested in reading a 3 page letter from us.

Thanks to you too for the research.

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

Have a fantastic visit, Santa Hotter Otter! And smooth POE ..

Thank you! We are having a lovely time and the TSA guy at the POE was almost friendly!

[Kaylara 814]

I think that focusing on point C and D of what Salo wrote is most likely to get a positive result. I honestly think that any mention of DACA aside from the fact that they stopped processing ours (and the fiance visas) in order to speed the DACA petitions through is only going to make people shut down. We want equitable treatment. We have to walk a fine line with making that very clear without being obnoxious.

[Kaylara 814]

Ok, I've gone through and pulled all the data on the IR/CR I130's since the beginning of 2012. Let me just make the information a bit easier to read, and I'll post it.

[Kaylara 814]

Ok, here it is in graphic form because I can't upload a spreadsheet itself. Please let me know if I'm missing available information or if you want me to track the I-129F's over the same time period. Also, can we get copies of the changes in the dashboard information from the USCIS over the past year? Or do I need to scour the monthly threads for that info? Because we can put this information with references and footnotes up on the same blog account that's in my sig. This way, whomever is reading our emails/faxes has all the information consolidated in one place, and would only need to look there to be able to find the proof of what we're saying.

[Salo&Romashka 83]

Those reports should be posted on the 15th of each month. The data used is already two months old and USCIS still can't release it on time.

[Kaylara 814]

Yep, those posting dates are all over the place.

[naam_2013 72]

Kaylara: Great work on the SS. We can put this at the end of letter and refer to it in the body of the letter.

[Kaylara 814]

Ok, let me put the date on the stakeholder letter. I must have missed it because I was doing it in the middle of the night.

[Kaylara 814]

Here you go!

[naam_2013 72]

If you folks are OK, I propose to change the subject of this (2nd) letter to:

"DACA applications are getting priority at the expense of I-130 petitions of US Citizens"

[thedude6752000 360]

Good! I like it.

[naam_2013 72]

I have prepared the final version of "my letter":

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17feftlJz_NLvpEBS-hGXLDABmJLC-SleoRVgoaBXvL4/edit?usp=sharing

The letter edited by BOS_LHR is still on its original URL:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11ymKxccFkwNCS782HQTh7RiV-WryCfEd0GiQXzc_QEk/edit

Please get ready and reach out to your friends and family to support us again on Tue, 12/10. I believe in the power of people - we can make a difference.

Thanks to all of you for your research and hard work for this cause.

[thedude6752000 360]

Lets get this out their guys! Today is a snow day in many places, spread the message far and wide!