August filers...

[BPM-MVS 0]

Kirsten L, will you share here your idea for "raising our voices"?

I would be happy to share my thoughts on that with you. Currently myself and a few others are attempting to get some media attention regarding what's going on. If we can get some local interest generated first--newspaper articles, radio broadcasts, etc., we can put together a press kit to send on to some of the big boys and girls in national television. That's where pressure can really be applied and accountability demanded. The goal is not just to put USCIS in an uncomfortable spotlight, but also to put pressure on the congressional committee that supposedly oversees it (but that clearly doesn't give a rat's butt because they don't ever have to deal with it). It's not about obtaining a congressional inquiry. Thanks to the Ombudsman and the GAO, we already have all the evidence needed regarding what's been going on. The point is to get some already long-recommended changes finally implemented. We want to force action.

If you have ideas about who in your general area you could contact in terms of media, I would highly recommend that you do so. Could you let me know who you're planning on contacting so that I can keep a record? Also, I think it wouldn't hurt to send the same letters to the people others are contacting. I can tell you that my first two letters have gone out to Vicki McKenna, who has a program called Up Front on WIBA News/Talk Radio out of Madison, WI; and Don Wade & Roma who have a morning radio broadcast on WLS Talk Radio in Chicago. I also plan on contacting the local Madison papers: The Isthmus, The Wisconsin State Journal, and the Capital Times. I may be able to swing a foot in the door at some local television stations if I play my cards right.

Read the reports I suggested. Know the facts. Then send as many letters and make as many phone calls as you can to as many key media folk as possible. The more these people see this issue coming across their desks or computer screens, the more they'll see there's a valuable story here. That's why it would be good to start a list of who's contacting whom and decide who could do overlap where. In your letters, I would recommend especially focusing on issues such as: unreasonable delays for separated families, poor management and business strategies, abysmal financial practices, and national security issues. There may be other things that occur to you, but these provide a strong base. You don't need to mention all of them, but two or three would be good so that those who read the letters can see that the problem is not small.

All of this needs to be done in a forthright but respectful way. Be calm. Be logical. Be as concise as possible. The more concise you are, the better chance you have of being read/heard.

If any of you wants to discuss further details of this strategy or ideas for pursuing it, feel free to contact myself or Onyxrev. In fact, contacting Onyxrev would be a very good idea right about now. He is experiencing a total hosing at USCIS' hands and is really discouraged at the moment. Knowing that there are other people who would like to join forces with us would seriously encourage him, I suspect.

Inertia and tolerance in relationship to USCIS' nonsense will get us nowhere. I look forward to hearing from you!!

Great information! I think I told you before that I work for a local government of a large City. I work in Technology PM. A quick Google on the 2007 USCIS Budget proposal found this:

Budget of the United States Government, FY 2007

The Budget provides additional resources for USCIS to more effectively ... Legislative proposal, —, 5040, 560. Citizenship and Immigration Services: ...

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2007/dhs.html - 61k

Please go tho the link but if you'de like the short version of the DHS $121,000.000 2007 poposal! A SPIN Master is at work to let all know that there are No propblems! in the 2007 approved budget. It includes AUTOMATING the approval. Please take this official Whitehouse.gov notice with a grain of salt!!! as they Blow their horn about the the Backlog they cleared at the end of 2005! CLEARLY avoiding the IMBRA law and final vote that would turn this process ugly! This is the Current 2007 budget proposal:

Here's a clip from the above link concerning USCIS budget and what they hope is the outcome:

Immigration Processing. The Budget provides an additional $112 million to automate U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) operations. As the Federal agency responsible for reviewing and granting immigration-related benefits, including temporary employment authorization, USCIS plays an important role in the implementation of a TWP. In 2006, USCIS will begin to automate the processing of immigration applications and will make it easier and faster for legal immigrants to file applications and receive benefits.

The close of 2006 will mark the end of the President’s five-year goal and $560 million initiative to achieve a six-month processing standard for immigration applications. At the end of 2005, the backlog had fallen by over 2.5 million cases (from a high of 3.8 million in January 2004). Automation of operations will maintain and improve upon this standard and prevent new backlogs from developing.

Lets hope this means an improved service from our Gov. and we get what we have PAID for through our Fed taxes.