Contacting Col. Paul Cook, Local Congressmen

[sam farah 0]

October 9th Filer here, I know I'm not still in the proper processing time window, but i don't want have to wait untill it goes out of range then start to do something about it, and my Fiance is going crazy about process taking too long before she comes here.

I'm going to email my local congressman Paul Cook, what should I say in the email? I was going to explain how the California service center hasn't updated its processing times and its taking longer posted for them to process our cases in mannerly time. should include anything else? what you guys recommend?

I want my email to be taken in an important matter and something is done, not just for me, but for other CSC K1 Filers, instead of being ignored. I read a few posts saying that California congressmen wont do much regarding this situations, but I believe something can be done.

[Cathi 5,849]

I am sure your congressperson is well aware of the immigration timelines, USCIS is under staffed, and there is nothing a congressperson can do or say to anyone to change that. Even if you do go beyond what is normal processing times, the only thing he can do is inquire on your behalf. You still have a few months before you even need to worry about it. As much as everyone hates the fact that they have to wait, USCIS processes millions of visa petitions every year. It is what it is. Good luck on the rest of your journey.

[pachacuti 154]

I am sure your congressperson is well aware of the immigration timelines, USCIS is under staffed, and there is nothing a congressperson can do or say to anyone to change that. Even if you do go beyond what is normal processing times, the only thing he can do is inquire on your behalf. You still have a few months before you even need to worry about it. As much as everyone hates the fact that they have to wait, USCIS processes millions of visa petitions every year. It is what it is. Good luck on the rest of your journey.

Email your congressman. Why is everyone so complacent? They are understaffed?? Really? Then they are wayyyyyy over-funded. With all the fees they are raking in, they need to get better management to address workload processing, which includes using those funds to hire more people. Simply saying that they are understaffed is only playing USCIS apologist.

That being said, if the OP would like me to post what I sent (a general complaint letter, since I am only 111 days in and can't really start moaning about my own case, yet... I am mostly outraged for July and August -- and now September -- folks). We all need to whine and moan and complain. Only by voicing our outrage will things ever have any hope of changing. Stop making excuses for a federal agency that is failing in its mandate.

Sorry for the rant....

[Pitaya 2,577]

I am sure your congressperson is well aware of the immigration timelines, USCIS is under staffed, and there is nothing a congressperson can do or say to anyone to change that. Even if you do go beyond what is normal processing times, the only thing he can do is inquire on your behalf. You still have a few months before you even need to worry about it. As much as everyone hates the fact that they have to wait, USCIS processes millions of visa petitions every year. It is what it is. Good luck on the rest of your journey.

AGREE!!!

[I & B 273]

Email your congressman. Why is everyone so complacent? They are understaffed?? Really? Then they are wayyyyyy over-funded. With all the fees they are raking in, they need to get better management to address workload processing, which includes using those funds to hire more people. Simply saying that they are understaffed is only playing USCIS apologist.

That being said, if the OP would like me to post what I sent (a general complaint letter, since I am only 111 days in and can't really start moaning about my own case, yet... I am mostly outraged for July and August -- and now September -- folks). We all need to whine and moan and complain. Only by voicing our outrage will things ever have any hope of changing. Stop making excuses for a federal agency that is failing in its mandate.

Sorry for the rant....

This.

I think the most important thing for getting your letter taken seriously is to show that you really understand the problem, that you aren't just asking your congressperson to chase your own personal rabbit down a rabbit hole, and that you expect your elected officials to take action on your behalf when a government agency is failing you so horribly.

To that end, I suggest devoting two or three paragraphs to meticulously explaining the problem. Talk about how, based on the USCIS's published data, there has been virtually no review of K-1 visas for at least three months at the CSC. Further explain how the USCIS is obviously manipulating their processing time frame in order to avoid accountability for creating this backlog. Finally, talk about how it all seems to be related to the DACA program and possibly political pressures that are forcing the USCIS to let DACA petitioners jump in line against citizen petitioners with no end in sight. Be sure throughout to emphasize how the USCIS has become completely unaccountable for and opaque about all of these problems and is in desperate need of oversight.

Next, I'd add some words about your personal situation and how the delay is negatively affecting you and your spouse. Talk about financial and emotional impacts. If there is some special hardship (medical, etc.) you are facing, be sure to highlight it.

Remember, the USCIS is a service run for the benefit of US citizens, not a service that is supposed to cause so much unnecessary frustration. Everyone deserves better than this and its up to us, who have firsthand experience, to tell our representatives, who likely do not, all the ways in which it is broken. And we have to make clear that we expect them to fix those problems on our behalf, one way or another.

The reason, by the way, that I don't just provide a form letter copy of what I wrote is because I think these types of requests need to be personalized. I'd hate for a single form letter version to get spread widely so that congressional offices came to recognize it and discount it.

[Bayareaguy 156]

The reason, by the way, that I don't just provide a form letter copy of what I wrote is because I think these types of requests need to be personalized. I'd hate for a single form letter version to get spread widely so that congressional offices came to recognize it and discount it.

Yes, this is an important point. My congressman's webpage specifically mentions not to send letters copied from a web site or a form letter.

[sam farah 0]

This.

I think the most important thing for getting your letter taken seriously is to show that you really understand the problem, that you aren't just asking your congressperson to chase your own personal rabbit down a rabbit hole, and that you expect your elected officials to take action on your behalf when a government agency is failing you so horribly.

To that end, I suggest devoting two or three paragraphs to meticulously explaining the problem. Talk about how, based on the USCIS's published data, there has been virtually no review of K-1 visas for at least three months at the CSC. Further explain how the USCIS is obviously manipulating their processing time frame in order to avoid accountability for creating this backlog. Finally, talk about how it all seems to be related to the DACA program and possibly political pressures that are forcing the USCIS to let DACA petitioners jump in line against citizen petitioners with no end in sight. Be sure throughout to emphasize how the USCIS has become completely unaccountable for and opaque about all of these problems and is in desperate need of oversight.

Next, I'd add some words about your personal situation and how the delay is negatively affecting you and your spouse. Talk about financial and emotional impacts. If there is some special hardship (medical, etc.) you are facing, be sure to highlight it.

Remember, the USCIS is a service run for the benefit of US citizens, not a service that is supposed to cause so much unnecessary frustration. Everyone deserves better than this and its up to us, who have firsthand experience, to tell our representatives, who likely do not, all the ways in which it is broken. And we have to make clear that we expect them to fix those problems on our behalf, one way or another.

The reason, by the way, that I don't just provide a form letter copy of what I wrote is because I think these types of requests need to be personalized. I'd hate for a single form letter version to get spread widely so that congressional offices came to recognize it and discount it.

Thank you very much for your suggestion. I was talking to a buddy of mine and explaining the situation, he recommended that i hire a linguist to proper write this letter. just had a quick question. "what you mean by explain how the USCIS is obviously manipulating their processing time frame in order to avoid accountability for creating this backlog"? do you mean how they have not yet updated the processing times? and should I send an email or a letter in the mail?

[baron555 934]

All this angst could be alleviated if USCIS merely made their processing window 12 months. Then all would know that is takes many months before they even begin the process.

Some of you will feel a need to attach my comments since I have already gone through this phase of the process, that is natural and childish, we all had to wait (and in my personal case had to wait due to non-USCIS related details).

It is what it is.

[Bayareaguy 156]

All this angst could be alleviated if USCIS merely made their processing window 12 months. Then all would know that is takes many months before they even begin the process.

Some of you will feel a need to attach my comments since I have already gone through this phase of the process, that is natural and childish, we all had to wait (and in my personal case had to wait due to non-USCIS related details).

It is what it is.

Well, then it should be stated as such.

But their "goal" is 5 months, so?

And there is a thing called tact, Mr 3 1/2 month NOA2er and 9 month POE'er.

[Sarah Elle-Même 660]

Email your congressman. Why is everyone so complacent? They are understaffed?? Really? Then they are wayyyyyy over-funded. With all the fees they are raking in, they need to get better management to address workload processing, which includes using those funds to hire more people. Simply saying that they are understaffed is only playing USCIS apologist.

That being said, if the OP would like me to post what I sent (a general complaint letter, since I am only 111 days in and can't really start moaning about my own case, yet... I am mostly outraged for July and August -- and now September -- folks). We all need to whine and moan and complain. Only by voicing our outrage will things ever have any hope of changing. Stop making excuses for a federal agency that is failing in its mandate.

Sorry for the rant....

No offense but you don't know anything about how federal agencies work or how they are funded. Getting a few hundred dollars a pop per case "does not a budget make". They get most of their funds from the big budget that Congress votes on, which comes from all of our federal taxes and a few other places. There have been big waves of layoffs the past several years from many federal agencies, USCIS included. Look at ICE having to let over 2000 undocumented people in jails across the country go free because they couldn't afford to conclude their cases. It is about to get worse despite the sequester "stop-gap" measures.

If you really want to rant then all of you should be complaining to your Congresspeople to stop cutting federal programs. If you want your government to function better then use your voting power and get all those free market, libertarian, laissez-faire politicians out of office. These folks dominate both political parties, by the way, so lots of work to be done. This issue is way, way bigger than USCIS and all of your individual cases or mine. There's a lot of things to be outraged about these days that affect our whole society so do yourselves a favor and keep perspective.

Edited March 22, 2013 by Sarah and Adnan

[Bayareaguy 156]

H. Funding of USCIS

The USCIS funding structure is one of the principal challenges to efficient and timely delivery of immigration services. The manner in which USCIS obtains its funding affects every facet of USCIS operations, including the ability to: (1) implement new program and processing initiatives; (2) begin information technology and other transformation efforts; and (3) plan for the future. Congress mandates that USCIS be self-funded. This includes covering the cost of programs for which the agency charges no fees, i.e., “unfunded mandates,” such as asylum and refugee processing and U.S. armed forces naturalization filings, as well as operational overhead and information technology modernization.

Page 46 www.dhs.gov/cisombudsman email: cisombudsman@dhs.gov June 2007

Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Annual Report to Congress June 2007

[pachacuti 154]

No offense but you don't know anything about how federal agencies work or how they are funded. Getting a few hundred dollars a pop per case "does not a budget make". They get most of their funds from the big budget that Congress votes on, which comes from all of our federal taxes and a few other places. There have been big waves of layoffs the past several years from many federal agencies, USCIS included. Look at ICE having to let over 2000 undocumented people in jails across the country go free because they couldn't afford to conclude their cases. It is about to get worse despite the sequester "stop-gap" measures.

If you really want to rant then all of you should be complaining to your Congresspeople to stop cutting federal programs. If you want your government to function better then use your voting power and get all those free market, libertarian, laissez-faire politicians out of office. These folks dominate both political parties, by the way, so lots of work to be done. This issue is way, way bigger than USCIS and all of your individual cases or mine. There's a lot of things to be outraged about these days that affect our whole society so do yourselves a favor and keep perspective.

You starting out with "no offense" means you meant to offend me; that's cool. "Getting a few hundred dollars a pop per case does not a budget make"??? Really??? Look just run the numbers. K1 alone. 340 a case, 1500 cases a month for CSC alone. This is one service center and only one visa type. That is half a million dollars a month. That does indeed a budget make. And we aren't even looking at AOS, CR1, IR1, the other K visas, DACA, etc, etc, etc. We have more than a budget going on here.

USCIS is self-funded and it would appear they are flush with money. They need to use it for the purpose it was intended.

FWIW, I have also ranted to my congress critters and to the DHS ombudsman. I hope everyone else does the same.

[pachacuti 154]

This.

I think the most important thing for getting your letter taken seriously is to show that you really understand the problem, that you aren't just asking your congressperson to chase your own personal rabbit down a rabbit hole, and that you expect your elected officials to take action on your behalf when a government agency is failing you so horribly.

To that end, I suggest devoting two or three paragraphs to meticulously explaining the problem. Talk about how, based on the USCIS's published data, there has been virtually no review of K-1 visas for at least three months at the CSC. Further explain how the USCIS is obviously manipulating their processing time frame in order to avoid accountability for creating this backlog. Finally, talk about how it all seems to be related to the DACA program and possibly political pressures that are forcing the USCIS to let DACA petitioners jump in line against citizen petitioners with no end in sight. Be sure throughout to emphasize how the USCIS has become completely unaccountable for and opaque about all of these problems and is in desperate need of oversight.

Next, I'd add some words about your personal situation and how the delay is negatively affecting you and your spouse. Talk about financial and emotional impacts. If there is some special hardship (medical, etc.) you are facing, be sure to highlight it.

Remember, the USCIS is a service run for the benefit of US citizens, not a service that is supposed to cause so much unnecessary frustration. Everyone deserves better than this and its up to us, who have firsthand experience, to tell our representatives, who likely do not, all the ways in which it is broken. And we have to make clear that we expect them to fix those problems on our behalf, one way or another.

The reason, by the way, that I don't just provide a form letter copy of what I wrote is because I think these types of requests need to be personalized. I'd hate for a single form letter version to get spread widely so that congressional offices came to recognize it and discount it.

This is exactly the approach I have taken.

[pachacuti 154]

Well, then it should be stated as such.

But their "goal" is 5 months, so?

And there is a thing called tact, Mr 3 1/2 month NOA2er and 9 month POE'er.

Let me pile on

The K1 visa was set up by congress to avoid lengthy family separation. As such, in my opinion, 5 months is already too long (cause we are looking at 8 or so total months of separation... almost a whole year!). Expanding the window to a year would be inexcusable.

So, USCIS is failing at their mandate. They seam to be callous to the affect this situation is having on the families of American citizens. They have set up a system that is opaque and unaccountable. So, you can't even gauge what is going on or not. They act as if they are above any kind of regulation or oversight. They appear to be flush with resources, yet fail to use those resources in a responsible manner. This has got to stop.

[baron555 934]

Congress and the media are more interested in illegal aliens rather than legal aliens.

That is the key problem. Rather than fix and streamline the process for folks to follow a legal path, everyone including your President, only talks about the illegal ones. What's up with that?