Good or bad to ask Congressman?

[wolffjw]

I was just wondering if anyone might have any true insight if it is good or bad to ask your congressman and/or senator to inquire on our behalf?

 

I have already asked my congressman and senator to inquire on my behalf in the past (about mid-July), but now we have been waiting for our P4 ever since returning our P3 on July 23rd.

 

I would certainly not want to irritate anyone at the DoS or GZ consulate. When I called the DoS the other day to inquire about our status, she noted that their database shows the previous inquiries by my congressman and senator.

 

Does anyone know if this really works to our benefit or not?

 

-jim and ning

[Alex]

I appealed to my congressman on my attorneys advice. The liason in his office is able to do things "diplomatically" and "officially".

 

GZ gets far more irritated when individuals clutter their servers with weekly e-mails.

 

I have heard a weekly call to D.O.S. is okay....just be nice and polite about it.

[wolffjw]

Thanks Alex. Sounds good to me.

[turtle]

If you returned the p3 at the end of July, I don't see any reason to be making inquiries beyond the DOS phone line. The last batch of p4's to be sent out was for people sending back p3s at the end of April / beginning of May. At the current pace, I wouldn't get worried until November...

 

As a side-note, I called DOS every Monday morning at 8:30 sharp to inquire about my case from June onward. I have heard they keep track of how many calls you make, and this can help when you get to the interview.

[frank1538]

Writing your congress person is good for one and only one reason: it gives you an opportunity to bitch at someone while you wait and wait and wait.

 

If things are progressing "normally" and by that I mean consistent with the sloooooooooow timelines experienced by others, there is little that a congress person can do. But, if something really out of the ordinary happens, a congressional inquiry might be helpful.

[keelec]

I have heard that excessive writing to your congressman can cause GZ to become irritated and cause excessive delays.

 

I have never figured out what happened to cause an extreme delay with my case in Moscow.

 

Before joining CFL, I had been under the false impression that getting an online note from BCIS-Nebraska saying that cases like mine would be processed in ”70 to 90 days”… then 6 months later getting another note that said , "YOUR CASE HAS BEEN APPROVED" actually meant something.

 

So, I scheduled a trip to Russia after my case was approved at BCIS.

 

Then a couple of weeks later when I got the paper confirmation stating that there would be another 2-4 weeks at NVC, I started realizing my error.

 

A month and a half later as I was heading to Russia, there was no progress on my case at NVC so I contacted my congressman for the first time. And, when I got to Moscow, I also contacted the Embassy. Within a week after contacting my congressman, the application was sent on the slow boat to Moscow, and later I discovered that it had arrived in Moscow the day before I returned to the USA.

 

Well, my case got stuck in Moscow for an additional 8 months before the P3/P4 (10 months for the interview). (Moscow uses a single combined P3/P4)

 

Did I piss someone off?????... I don't know, I always try to be polite to EVERYONE.

 

Before I finished, I contacted 2 representatives and 2 senators, a Visa Liaison at DOS, and eventually sent a Fax to the FBI. Only after stewing for 8 months, the P3/P4 was sent and the interview was scheduled.

 

----------------------------------------

 

Ok…. So the advise is.

Try to find out the “norm” for processing times.

Only contact your congressman OR SENATOR when your case significantly deviates from the “norm”.

 

Probably everyone should contact their congressman at least once to convey to them your pleasure about having a whole year of your life wasted by US Government red tape….. And how much you are looking to the next 5 years of red tape after the K1/K3 visa is granted.

[Alex]

Turtle--did I understand you correctly? Does D.O.S. really keep track of calls?

 

Does a weekly inquiry with D.O.S. count in our favor?

 

How do they keep track of ALL calls?? ..there are times they won't request my case number...all they'll ask is when P3 was returned..then give me a projection.

 

 

I am guessing they couldn't track me by caller I.D., since all my calls go through BigZoo's 888 exchange number first.

 

Here's a sure thing...my lawyer said frequent e-mail to GZ "pisses them off"....vengeful bunch they are!

[turtle]

I think so... At least, that's what I've heard. I believe they have the calls and the emails listed as "actions" in your file. As long as we stay within the boundaries they create (DOS phone, GZ email), they should be fine, and may even help our cases. It's once we overstep those "bounds"-- trying to call GZ, contacting congressmen, etc-- that they get mad. At least, that's my impression of it.

 

I know I've heard several people say that, at the interview, the vo had a record of all their emails in front of them. And it helped to show you had made frequent contact through the acceptable lines of communication.

[cosmiclobster]

I called my congresswoman after my P2 had taken 4 months. She was very nice. She faxed me a paper that I signed and faxed back to her giving her permission to inquire about my case. I got the P2 a few days later. I called to thank her and she said she would keep track of my case, and if I didn't get the P3 in 4 weeks, please call her back and she would inquire again. I did get the P3 within 4 weeks, so I didn't call her. After 5 weeks, she called me to ask if I got the P3. I told her we got it and returned it to GZ already. She was happy for me and she told me she would send an e-mail to GZ in my behalf.

I believe a congressperson has the power to have some influence. When I filed the P1, I didn't know that one of the main responsibilities of a congressperson is to assist their constituents deal with government agencies. Had I known, I would of contacted her after the P1!

Her secretary was so happy for me. he asked me to bring Amy in to see her when she got here! I told her I definately would.

 

Can't hurt!

[jkobman]

I am not sure if contacting your US Rep. or your US Sen. makes any real difference, but the contact sheet and/or letterhead goes into your folder which GZ has/gets. So, your interest is kept track of............

 

does it make any difference? Maybe yes, maybe no.

[ndjarrett]

If you are stuck in the 2nd name check for a while...my experience is that it CAN help. But as far as what GZ does...no help there. Dunno if it will make any difference to the V.O., but it can't hurt.

[tonado]

I think writing and faxing to DOS is a better way than writing to congressman.

[cosmiclobster]

I think writing and faxing to DOS is a better way than writing to congressman.

Ultimately, it depends on your congressperson. When I started this process, I lived in Thousand Oaks and contacted my congressman. He said wait until your case is overdue and then he would get involved. Never heard from him again. I moved to Ventura and my current congresswoman has sent me copies of all of the correspondence she received and has called me when I forgot about her. Remember, her MAIN job is to help people in their district deal with government agencies.

 

When I get to the Thursday 4PM Q and A in GZ, I will ask them then. Until then, who really knows????

[bobmal99]

By US law every US Consulate and Embassy in the world has to respond to a Congressional Inquiry within 48 hours. All Embassies and Consulates keep excellent records of inquiries and the results.

 

Congressman/woman get more results then any Senator. On 6/27/02, I received an e-mail from GZ stating thay had not even received my file/paperwork and did not know when we would get our P-3.

 

On 7/1/02, GZ received a Congressional Inquiry on my behalf. On 7/5/02, I received a letter saying my file had been received, processed, and our P-3 was sent out on 6/28/02.

 

You do the math on 6/27/02, they e-mailed me and said they did not even have my file. On 7/1/02, they got the CI. So then from not even having my file they got it, processed it, and sent it out in one day, I think not. Lord only knows where my file was sitting, nor how long it may have sat there with out the CI - I requested.

 

So CI can indeed be very helpful, just pick the right time to do it so it will be most effective... Good luck everyone!!

[wolffjw]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their replies and inputs to my question.

 

I think my question has been answered. From what I gather, it seems that asking the congressman/senator to inquire on our behalf should be reserved for when something is taking excessively long or some other problem has risen. That sounds like a reasonable position.

 

For now I will just call the DoS every couple weeks to (politely) check on the status. They seem to be very nice and understanding.

 

Thanks again for everyone's inputs.

 

-jim and ning