Do Congressional Reps Really Have Clout with INS?

[coyote 3]

Has anyone had the experience that their Congressman (or Congresswoman) has made a difference in the wait time? At which stage in the process?

Thanks --

[Dan J 277]

Has anyone had the experience that their Congressman (or Congresswoman) has made a difference in the wait time? At which stage in the process?

Thanks --

They wont do anything unless your case is outside of normal wait times, or if you might qualify for an expedited case.

[mox 298]

Has anyone had the experience that their Congressman (or Congresswoman) has made a difference in the wait time? At which stage in the process?

Thanks --

The pedant in me wants to tell you there is no such thing as the INS anymore.

Congressional input has indeed helped in some cases, but most representatives will not get involved in a case until it has gone past the current processing time. Once it's gone past that time, a congressman (his/her office actually) can submit a request (I forget what it's called) that must be responded to, I believe, within 72 hours. So if the file has been unduly held up, it's possible that this inquiry will get it moving again. On the other hand USCIS has been known to blow congress off, and there's nothing much they can do when that happens. But to answer your question, yes it has worked in the past, but it won't move your case faster than it would normally go.

Edited February 23, 2008 by mox

[mox 298]

Just did a quick bit of research, and USCIS has 48 hours to respond to a congressional inquiry.

Just to clarify, you can't use a congressional inquiry to speed up the processing of your case. Your congressman's office won't even submit an inquiry until you've gone past the current processing times, which means that currently your case would have to be at least 7 months old. Nobody gets to jump the queue, although you will occasionally see other filers run past you.

Edited February 23, 2008 by mox

[coyote 3]

Dan: What qualifies for expediting the case? thanks! (nice photos, btw)

[mox 298]

Dan: What qualifies for expediting the case? thanks! (nice photos, btw)

Expedites are only available in very select circumstances, and don't usually involve your congressperson. A typical expedite would be for a military service person who is due to be deployed, or if the beneficiary is Cuban, or if there is a family emergency.

Do you have a situation that you believe warrants congressional involvement or an expedite?

[coyote 3]

Actually, guys, my congressman's aide is checking on the application for me. I have a wonderful activist congressman who deals with a lot of immigration issues. But I was horrified by a recent call to the USCIS in which I was informed that the processing time for an I-129 at the California Service Center is now 8 months instead of 6. This despite Congressional inquiries and new hires at the agency. But I have no idea if even this query will help. Here's what I'm proposing for all of us:

Hi, Everyone:

This website is a useful tool for obtaining information but it seems to me that we're still operating as individuals rather than a group. With some targeted political activism, it seems to me we'd have a better chance of getting results.

I was spurred to try to stir up some action by an April 3 call to the USCIS - apparently the wait has now increased from six months to eight months for action on an I-129 application at the California Service Center. This despite the reported increases in personnel.

I'm also concerned about the apparent violation of statute when it comes to allowing fiances to work. An official with the Ameican Immigration Lawyers Association told me categorically that the K-1 visa allows the fiance to work the minute he or she sets foot on American soil. Yet the USCIS is requiring yet another fee and application, which delays the fiance's ability to work for another 3-4 months, while he or she waits for the agency to issue the permit. There are additional cost factors related to poor planning for this process, but you get the picture.

I'm sure those of you who are applying for other kinds of visas have similar issues.

The point is that, if my last phone call is any indication, things seem to be getting worse rather than better, despite the resignation of Emilio Gonzalez, the Bush appointee who has been responsible for many of the bad decisions that are affecting us.

I'm sure I'm not the first to suggest some kind of concerted political action. Can folks get me up to date on what's been done so far? Here are the ideas that spring to mind for me:

1. Letter writing campaign.

2. Demonstrations in several cities, with media outreach.

3. Website designed specifically to inform public about these issues.

Have these already gotten underway? If not, are people willing to volunteer a few hours to work on this? Does anyone have political organizing experience? Can we coordinate with immigrant rights groups?

Let me know!

Susan Zakin

[rebeccajo 14]

Congressional assistance does indeed work. Many of the aides are very experienced in wait times and can tell you if you are outside of normal times. A good aide will be patently honest with you and tell you if you are not outside of times - if you just need to be more patient.

[panamania79 2]

Has anyone had the experience that their Congressman (or Congresswoman) has made a difference in the wait time? At which stage in the process?

Thanks --

My congressman helped me.My case was outside the normal processing time and the USCIS was trying to tell me that it really wasn't.I called my congressman,in a matter of days,I got the results I had been waiting so long for.

[coyote 3]

Well, you are all correct. They can't do anything if it's still within "normal" wait times, but at least the case is flagged as having a senator or congressman involved -- can't hurt.

the thing that is disturbing is that the USCIS can move the goal posts. when we submitted our application the "normal" wait time was 6 months and now it's 8 months.

none of this seems "normal" to me. but thanks for the input, anyway. all this does is make me want to live in my fiance's country. at least there is no pretence that it's a functional democracy. I'm feeling more sympathetic to obama's ministers these days.

[johnichka 0]

I requested and my Congressman's rep did call on May 15th. My NOA1 date is October 19th. The officer told the rep that the petition went to an officer on May 6th and to give it another 30 days.

I had contacted my 2 Senators at the same time (Durbin and Obama) Durbin responded to my inquiry last week - Obama has never responded.

Durbin's representative called USCIS yesterday and she called me back stating that I should have NOT gotten more than one Congressional rep involved. She said she called USCIS and that the file was already tagged with a Congressman's call previously. She said that I may in fact be slowing down the process by have another Congressional rep call and inquire. That I don't undertand.

So, she said that USCIS was going to get back to her within a few days and she would call me back. So, to answer the question of "Does getting a Congressional Rep involved help you?" in my case, not yet. We are day 227 as of today, or 7 1/2 months.....