[Momof2boysinOH]

Hi All,

I hope you don't mind yet another I-171H question. Another China family I just met locally recommended that I contact our congressman to ask for help speeding up the immigration process. Do you think this would help or hinder the process? I don't want to ruffle any feathers, but I also don't want to wait eons for the I-171H. Any advice?

[bluedaisy]

I've heard of this too! I'm adopting from Ethiopia and we don't have our referral yet, but if I have a referral and not our I171H, I would be on the phone right away to our congressperson or senator! This is part of their constituents' services and it certainly should not ruffle any feathers or hurt in any way.

If you don't have a referral, though, then I might not bother.

[sak9645]

Please, please do NOT call your Senator or Representative unless there is a real problem.

As an example, if ALL I-600A applications take 90 days to process at your USCIS office, don't call because you want yours in 45 days or less. That's simply not fair. It's fair to write to your Congressman at some point, commenting on how current USCIS procedures keep children waiting longer for parents. But it's not fair to other parents to demand extra quick service, when it may mean that your USCIS office has to stop working on cases ahead of yours to comply with the Congressman's request.

It is reasonable to call if there is an emergency -- for example, if you are seeking to adopt a Waiting Child who needs open heart surgery right away, or she may die, and the USCIS is refusing to expedite processing of your paperwork. Members of Congress will be glad to do favors for people in those circumstances. They know that they will be both doing a good deed and generating some great publicity.

It is also reasonable to call if everyone else you know who has used your USCIS office has gotten a 171-H/797-C in one month, and you are still waiting after two months, with no feedback as to why there is a delay. However, you should always try other means of getting information on your case first, before you do so.

As an example, your agency can usually get through to a USCIS office, and speak to a "live" person, even if you can't. So if you can't find anyone at USCIS who will track down your case and find out why it's taking so long, have your agency try, before calling your member of Congress.

And many agencies that don't have great contacts at the USCIS, themselves, are members of the Joint Council on International Children's Services, an adoption advocacy organization that will help member agencies "troubleshoot" problems for their clients. JCICS will usually have a phone number or email address that your agency can use to get information. (Just remember that JCICS does not have the staffing to handle direct inquiries from families; you do have to work through your member agency.)

Senators and Representatives DO have a commitment to help their constituents. And many of them have a serious interest in adoption, as you can tell by looking at the membership of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, which is bicameral and bipartisan.

But they also have a great many responsibilities, and so do members of their staff who wind up being delegated to research constituent concerns. They may be on several committees that address burning issues -- such as terrorism -- that have nothing to do with adoption, and may have constituents who have problems with everything from hurricane damage to discrimination against the disabled to Social Security benefits. They also want to treat their constituents equitably.

In addition, their job is not to tell other federal agencies how to do their work. While they will grill a prospective USCIS director about how he proposes to speed up adoptions, they will not badger a specific USCIS office to put extra people on I-600A cases. It would be exceeding their mandate to do so.

So use calls to Senators and Representatives judiciously. Remember that you want them to think of adoptive families in a positive way, and to push for legislation that benefits children in need of families, their birthparents, and the families who adopt them.

Sharon

[mlb75]

I do agree with what you say to a point. There are certain offices (such as Memphis) who take longer then the average typically to get the 171's out. There paperwork says average 45 days but it typically takes them longer then that.
If they are not keeping to the time frame (and this is fairly consistant with Memphis, not just an occasional spike) is it not also our responsibility to let our congressmen/women know about the issue in hopes that one day it will be corrected? I agree that we shouldn't demand that they drop what they are doing to get our paperwork through, but I do think we should let them know when it takes longer then it should (should being the stated time for the USCIS you are involved with).
They work for us, and most of us will never have another need to bother them for their help. I personally think that they are a tool we should use, albeit after trying to communicate directly (or indirectly through your agency) with the USCIS.
Just my thoughts.
Michael

[MissyAmomChina]

Hi Mary,

I'd wait to find out what the standard timeline is in the Columbus office esp. since it's so new. The Cincinnati office which we had to use is very tempermental. We didn't know this-but we called frequently and ticked off a specific person who had power and she puposely delayed our 171-h (she did this to a lot of other people). So, I'd be very carefull about this.

Take care,
Melissa

[Momof2boysinOH]

Thanks, Everyone.


My husband made an Infopass appointment on December 1st (on an unrelated matter with USCIS) and while he was there he asked about our case. They told him we'd have I-171H in 30 days or less. So it's been 29 days since then. I guess I'll see what happens in January. Since the Columbus office is new processing apps, I haven't found anyone who's BTDT and can tell me the average wait time.

[MatthewS]

I don't know whether this is helpful, but many years ago when I was moving from a student visa to a greencard and my visa was about to expire--would have been bad, I was married to an American--I called my local congress person's office. They asked that I write a letter with the details of my situation. My greencard request was expedited at that point and I went into interviews within 14 days. I do believe that members of congress can and will speed things up for you if needed.

Please note, at the time my situation was close to being dire. I agree with the posters above, unless it is an emergency, please don't ask your congress person for favours. But its good to note that when you need them, they will often pull through.

[bluedaisy]

If I already have a referral and am only waiting for the I171H to travel, I would certainly do this. I don't think it really slows things down for other people that much. For example, do you know that there's a special passport office just for folks who have called their congressperson? Several years, I planned an international trip on short notice and then found out my passport had just expired. I called our congressperson's office and they gave me a letter so I could go to the expedited office in Washington, DC rather than wait in the regular lines.

If you don't have a referral and are just antsy, though, I still don't think you should call. Then it's just a question of summoning up some patience.