Overview of Congressman / Senator Inquiry Process
Just want to add more details so that people in the forum are more comfortable with the idea of contacting congressman/senator. Each congressman / woman / senator has one or more dedicated staff for handling interfaces with federal agencies such as USCIS. Normally, congressman or senator has more than one office location (in my case three offices for my congressional district in NC, "Yay! Gerrymandering"). Most likely only one location will house that staff person. So it may be a good idea to call the office and ask them about assistance regarding a pending application with USCIS. Then find out which office location handles interfaces with USCIS. If the same staff is rotating between offices, then find out the location and time when they are available.
Some congressman offices are advanced in the sense that you can do it online. You need to fill disclosure form along with ID details for them to verify your identity. Then you talk to them over phone. Mostly they will ask you to come to the office.
Once you go there, you wait for your turn and meet the staff person. It is the personal connection that is important. If they realize that you are going through a lot of pain to get a green card, then they are most likely to help you. Don't act too smart. Listen to them and express your grievances to them. The congressman has a dedicated support line with USCIS and gets much better and accurate responses. There was an online presentation from USCIS explaining how this thing works a few years back. Maybe you can Google it.
A big "No No" is asking for help from Congressman and Senator at the same time. They will eventually find out and figure out that you are wasting their time. Also don't incline to show your Political preference. They are doing a job that is paid by the taxpayers. Of course they will be happy to hear that you support the congressman. However, there should not be such pressure normally.
Once you get the positive outcome for your case, please call or email the staff and personally thank them. This is just basic courtesy.
As a byproduct of availing this help from congressman, you will be added to their mailing list. I think I got mails for three years and one day it all stopped. It is just a minor inconvenience.
Overview of Congressman / Senator Inquiry Process
USCIS has a separate department called Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) to support Congress / senate inquiry. Examples of inquiries include delays in processing, USCIS errors, failure to get any notification, etc.
- The staff at congressman or senator makes the inquiry about your case via Congressional Web Portal. They can also make inquiries via telephone, fax, email or in writing.
- Congressional inquiry should include the privacy form signed by you per Law. 6 CFR 5.21(d)(1) requires full name and DOB. So the congressman will require you to sign their version of the standard USCIS privacy form. You may also need to scan relevant receipt numbers and supporting documentation.
- If the staff submits inquiry via web portal, they will receive confirmation immediately. For other forms of Inquiry, it might take a few business days for USCIS to confirm. This is why some congressional staff reply immediately while others take more time to respond.
- Telephone - 1 business day
- Email - 5 business days
- Fax - 30 business days
- Written - 30 business days
- Prepare the congressional form with utmost care and documentation as I suspect that the congressional or senate staff will turn-around and submit your PDF to the Web Portal as it is. Just imagine that you are talking to a Tier 2 officer. Give a summary of the issue and include essential data for an effective inquiry. This includes Full name, A#, DOB, receipt numbers, date of receipt, type of petition and a copy of documents that illustrate the problem presented.
- The short summary of the case should clearly state the problem and the solution sought with USCIS. If there is an emergency, state the urgency and request to expedite. Provide the reason for expedite (e.g., loss of eligibility, medical crisis, pending loss of job etc.,) and supporting documentation.
- The advantage of congressional and senate inquiries to USCIS is that they are given a priority in reply, and USCIS has dedicated congressional staff who handle them. Their turnaround time is much faster and USCIS is more responsive.
- Usually things like struck in Background check or pre-adjudicated applications can be found from congressional and senate inquiries. Also it is an effective tool to force your immigration file to be assigned to an officer, if you are awaiting final adjudication.
Do I pick a congressman or senator?
- Even though a Senator is much higher in hierarchy than Congressman, it is the staff and their willingness to resolve your issue that matters. If your Senator happens to be the Chair or Ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, I would go with them. Otherwise, it does not matter. 99% or more, it depends on the congress / senate staff who is working on your case.
- Staffers in the offices range from novices to experts with decades of experience. If your legal problem is not clearly stated, the staff will request you to update it before submitting inquiry.
- Also if you are in a big population center, imagine that the staff is receiving tens or hundreds of such calls from constituents. So their response is dependent on the workload.
- In my case, our congressional staff (congressman) handling USCIS has changed at least two times.
