Letter to Congressman/woman

[SR_ZJ 4]

Can anybody assist me in writing a letter to a congresswoman/man?I would also like to know if the waiting time is five months or six months for k1 visa?

[wbeem 567]

You don't have to write a letter. You can go to his or her web page and submit a message. Also, you can probably find a phone number to call. They'll have a staffer dedicated to helping constituents deal with other government agencies.

That said, don't expect great results. USCIS isn't funded by Congress and doesn't treat them much differently than they treat us. It was different a few years ago, according to my Congressman's office. Now they readily admit that they just can't be effective with USCIS.

[Megan & Luke 93]

Agreed. Many congressmen/women have stated they have no way to affect a USCIS petition any longer.

That said some have had either downright luck or coincidental luck with contacting theirs.

I was a July 2014 filer and after we hit 5 months I contacted my state's Senator. Their office was amazing - they got back to me promptly, followed up with USCIS on our behalf numerous times and kept me up to date on our case. "Coincidentally" two days after I spoke with my contact at the Senator's office and she strongly inquired on our behalf (we were a few days shy of 7 months), we had an approval. Surprisingly she continued to follow up for us until it hit the London embassy this past week. She contacted NVC on our behalf, asked for updates, and sent them along to me. Granted I was already on top of all of that myself, but it was extremely helpful and comforting to know that someone at least cared besides my fiance and I.

So really it comes down to how much effort your Senator or Congressman is willing to put into it. Some just accept USCIS's canned message and pass it along as "shucks, I can't do anything, sorry." I personally wrote a letter stating our information, case number, and expressing my frustration at the inconsistent processing times (we were at TSC).

Either way do whatever makes you feel better. If it feels like you are progressing by following up and giving it a shot, go for it. There's some templates of letters floating about the site, try the search function for 'senator letters' or 'congressman letters'. Just don't expect too much from it and if you are pleasantly surprised that's great! If you do decide to take that route - check your Senator or Congressman's website first. Most have a consent form you will need to give them in order for them to contact USCIS on your behalf. It helps to send this along with the letter to speed it up because they will not do anything until they have the signed consent form.

Good luck!

Edited February 26, 2015 by Megan & Luke

[usmsbow 795]

Someone else on VJ had good success with CT Senator Murphy's office. You might want to start with that office. That same person also wasn't too thrilled with CT's other Senatorial office.

Thread mentioning CT senators is here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/481749-january-2014-tsc-filers/page-71

[Jawaree 717]

Congress-persons must first get an authorization from the petitioner to make enquiries

They can mainly obtain current status by their special email address & num. used for USCIS

they cannot sway decisions or move things faster. there are coincidences at times.

You will be directed to contact the congress-person that covers the zip code of petitioner

you can find that online.

The laison will make contact (most) when they get the authorization in

[av8or1 246]

They need the privacy release form from the petitioner to make specific inquiries about a particular case, yes, but not to make general ones, such as a complaint regarding processing times imbalances.

[Jawaree 717]

Complaints on time is to be taken up with the ombudsman

and it has to be well over 6 mths waiting or the current

timeline issued by USCIS...Congress-person can question status

not timeline, they are mainly told PENDING ,if recently approved

and applicant not yet informed they will inform that liason.at times

they call the same day or day after approval and many think the

congress-person did it...nope

[wbeem 567]

Complaints on time is to be taken up with the ombudsman

and it has to be well over 6 mths waiting or the current

timeline issued by USCIS...Congress-person can question status

not timeline, they are mainly told PENDING ,if recently approved

and applicant not yet informed they will inform that liason.at times

they call the same day or day after approval and many think the

congress-person did it...nope

I'm over six months, but they keep moving the damn goal post for the timeline.

[Jawaree 717]

I'm over six months, but they keep moving the damn goal post for the timeline.

LOL....Sorry