Lets start a email campaign

[isGCtheKey?]

Here's what i am proposing to write to the Ombudsman
Your inputs are appreciated

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Respected Sir,

I filed my 485 application in the 1st week of October 2002 and have completed my fingerprinting in the 2nd week of December of 2002. Also per the FBI office my name check was cleared on the 29th of December 2002.

Since them I have applied for 3 Employment authorization cards and Advance Parole documents in order to work legally in the US and maintain my status. My H1B visa has expired in July 2003. This is impacting me severely in my ability to make economic as well as social decisions for my family.

It is with great frustration I have to write this email to you about the processing of the cases. It is not being done in a fair manner. There are applications that have been filed in early 2003 to late May 2003 that are being processed and approved while immigrants like me and also immigrants who filed a year before me are still waiting for their cases to be touched. This is totally unfair.

I request you to look in this matter urgently.
Regards

[cinta]

This is really good. Send individual e-mails to his central office at CISO@DHS.gov

[isGCtheKey?]

This is really good. Send individual e-mails to his central office at CISO@DHS.gov

Also BCC to : Prakash.Khatri@dhs.gov

Guys lets show these guys the power of this board.

I urge all members of this board, registered or unregistered to send their individual case timeline to them and make them at least notice the impact of their decisions ! Who know's when sleeping at night they may consider our problems and have change of heart ! :> (just whishfull thinking but you never know)

[cinta]

ISGCTHEKEY,

Can you post this to all other forums? We can start the campaign from today for one or two weeks!


Ombudsman's Office Ready to Handle Complaints About Immigration Services

As part of the reorganization that created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the
USCIS, Congress also created the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman to assist
individuals and employers in resolving problems with the USCIS. To ensure the Ombudsman's
independence, Congress provided that the head of the office would report directly to the Deputy
Secretary for DHS, and not the Director of the USCIS. Mr. Prakash Khatri, an immigration lawyer
and naturalized citizen, assumed the position of Ombudsman in July 2003.
The Ombudsman is responsible for identifying problems and proposing changes in administrative
practices relating to immigration services. Every June 30, the Ombudsman must also produce a
report to Congress that will provide analysis, statistical information, a detailing of pervasive prob-lems,
recommendations for improving services, and actions taken to correct problems. Addition-ally,
the Ombudsman is to develop guidance for all officers and employees of USCIS that outlines
the criteria for referrals to the Ombudsman, including telephone numbers that the office must pub-lish
and make available to individuals and employers.
During the first few months after his office opened, the Ombudsman visited several USCIS districts
to evaluate processes and operations. He also met with members of Congress, USCIS employees,
representatives of CBOs, other non-profit organizations, and the American Immigration Lawyers
Association. Additionally, the Office has received comments by e-mail and letters. In the coming
months, the Ombudsman plans to continue to meet with individuals and employers who are having
problems with USCIS by participating in meetings and organizing "Town Halls" across the country.
Based on these meetings, the Ombudsman has documented and analyzed problems that individuals
and employers are having in dealing with the USCIS, and is recommending major changes to a
number of key programs that affect large numbers of applicants. The Ombudsman expects that the
proposed changes will dramatically reduce the current processing time for adjustment of status and
the renewal and replacement of permanent resident cards. USCIS is currently developing pilot
programs based on the recommendations.
The Ombudsman's Office does not currently have sufficient funding to establish local offices or
fully staff a national phone number. As it stands, you may forward concerns to the central
Ombudsman's Office at CISO@DHS.gov or Department of Homeland Security, Office of the CIS
Ombudsman, Washington, DC 20528. The NALEO Educational Fund will continue to advocate
for additional resources to assist the Office in operationg effectively.
iiiiiii

[dsatish]

It's a good idea. We definitely need to work hard on this campaign. We can start it during this long week-end (starting from now). When ever people are free, they should send an email to CISO@DHS.gov with a cc to Prakash.Khatri@dhs.gov . People can slightly modify the version prepared by GctheKey and send the Email. Let's do it during this week-end.

[isGCtheKey?]

How many of you sent an email to the OMBUDSMAN/KHATRI ?
Any responsed ? I did not even get an ack of my email.

[tyzh]

In general I would against such waste of resources on all sides. If you have to do it, for whatever reason, I suggest you hire lawyer or at least have a native speaker check spelling, grammer and writing style in general.

[Edison]

The title looks like just a proposal to start a campaign, it doesn't look like campaign. Please start a separate thread for campaign with appropriate title, start and end date of campaign also include all the required info and sample letter on the first message. It is also better to request confimation of participation by members.

Thanks.

[cinta]

All,

There are no official rules for this game as this is individual e-mails to Mr Khatri. People have the right to complain to him as well as otherts in any way possible. If any organisation (including ImmigrationPortal.org) want to complain also that is even better. In fact, the source of his central e-mail is from such an organisation, posted in DHS / Issues and others that have addressed similar issues before. The lack of an answer is irrelevant. The whole issue is to complain to somebody that can and may play a role, and is also accountable to the Congress (June 30 report). The timing is relevant to the promised Backlog Reduction Plan , coming up in June, but already obvious through the memos and the concurrent adjudication...

SAMPLE: (courtesy of "www.ilw.com", Paparelli letter posted before.
The following article is a modified version of an open letter written to Mr. Prakash Khatri, Ombudsman, USCIS.

I am writing to you as USCIS Ombudsman to begin the first of a number of open letters on how the administration of our immigration laws can be improved. As the nation's first USCIS Ombudsman, you have the legal authority and the "in-the-trenches" prior expertise to transform the government's delivery of immigration services to the public. It presents a truly unparalleled opportunity for positive change.

To begin this dialogue with you, I am offering a bit of immigration institutional history. Attached is a copy of an April 21, 1980 memorandum issued by then Southern Regional Commissioner, Durward E. Powell, Jr., and it is included in the hope that it may serve as an antidote to the current "culture of no" that prevails within much of DHS's immigration bureaus, and to counteract the lingering effects of the former Commissioner Ziglar's now-revoked "zero tolerance policy". (By the way, I note my indebtedness to my colleagues in AILA's Texas Chapter, and particularly to Eugene Flynn, for having brought this memorandum to recent public attention.)

The Legacy INS memo, addressed to district directors and officers in charge of the Southern Region on dispensing of information and adjudications decision making, urged INS employees to approach clients in a friendly, professional manner with the attitude of looking to approve petitions. The memorandum makes certain points that today seem forgotten or never fully learned by many among the current cadre of both veteran and newly-minted adjudicators:

Most petitioners, applicants and beneficiaries who seek legal benefits under the immigration laws are "honest, hard-working people, not interested in fraud or obtaining any benefit for which they cannot qualify";

"[O]bjectivity and professionalism on the job" are essential requirements for immigration adjudicators;

"The [government] decision maker in adjudicating applications and petitions should not attitudinally approach the process, either consciously or unconsciously, in an adversary process or looking for a reason to deny"; and

"[Adjudicators] with [their] broad knowledge of law and policy, [should all] approach [applications and petitions] attitudinally, in a friendly professional manner, looking for a way to approve them."
Sadly, these four precepts are only occasionally observed in the USCIS of today. Instead, practitioners hear reports that USCIS is taking steps to develop and implement its own fraud-investigation capabilities, notwithstanding that Congress, in enacting the Homeland Security Act, put investigative and enforcement powers in other units within DHS. In my view, a focus on the ferreting out of suspected fraud will only distract from the USCIS's overriding mission, the provision of immigration benefits, and add to the growing backlogs of undecided cases.

This is not to suggest, however, that fraud should go unpunished. Rather, I believe that petitions and applications should be promptly decided on the basis of the evidence in the record, and that suspected fraud should be promptly reported to immigration enforcement agencies for investigation, trial on the merits, and punishment in deserving cases.

USCIS adjudicators should therefore focus on embodying the four precepts of former Regional Commissioner Powell as the best means of tackling the enormous backlogs in petitions and applications. They should not unilaterally anoint themselves as immigration G-men and G-women and thereby defy the Congressional will.

I write to ask that you confer with appropriate national officers within USCIS so that USCIS and your office may formally reaffirm, in a new jointly-issued national policy memorandum, the principles espoused by Regional Commissioner Powell.

[GC092002]

It has an attached letter in format of word document file.
the letter says
--------------------------------------------------
Thank you for you for contacting our office on June 1, 2004. In order to assist you, we will need additional information about your case. Please provide us with as much of the following information as possible:

Your full name.
Your date and country of birth.
Your alien registration number (“A Number”).
The exact filing date of your I-485 application.
The receipt number for your I-485 application.

As soon as we receive your response, we will evaluate your situation and if appropriate, forward your inquiry to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for further action.

Please send your response to our office by mail at the above address or by electronic mail to: cisombudsman@dhs.gov.

Thank you for your inquiry. We look forward to assisting you after we receive the details on your case.
---------------------------------------
The letter has signature of Prakash Khatri.

Should I send the details?
Has anyone got the response and sent back such details.
I sent the letter almost same as per given format on this forum.
Pl. update.

How many of you sent an email to the OMBUDSMAN/KHATRI ?
Any responsed ? I did not even get an ack of my email.

[suryapet.org]

I also got the same reply!!! so need to decide whether to send him details or not?????

It has an attached letter in format of word document file.
the letter says
--------------------------------------------------
Thank you for you for contacting our office on June 1, 2004. In order to assist you, we will need additional information about your case. Please provide us with as much of the following information as possible:

Your full name.
Your date and country of birth.
Your alien registration number (“A Number”).
The exact filing date of your I-485 application.
The receipt number for your I-485 application.

As soon as we receive your response, we will evaluate your situation and if appropriate, forward your inquiry to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for further action.

Please send your response to our office by mail at the above address or by electronic mail to: cisombudsman@dhs.gov.

Thank you for your inquiry. We look forward to assisting you after we receive the details on your case.
---------------------------------------
The letter has signature of Prakash Khatri.

Should I send the details?
Has anyone got the response and sent back such details.
I sent the letter almost same as per given format on this forum.
Pl. update.

[isGCtheKey?]

I got it too !!!

Now question is whether we send the details. I would say yes. Also i am going to include somewhere in my reply that i have applied 3rd EAD ( this may or may not make an impact)

This is exactly what we want. I would say that at least we will have an official channel open and someone looking at our cases rather than just having to look at the same @#@#$@# message over and over again.


In fact i just sent back reply with my details.

[dsatish]

I got it too !!!

Now question is whether we send the details. I would say yes. Also i am going to include somewhere in my reply that i have applied 3rd EAD ( this may or may not make an impact)

This is exactly what we want. I would say that at least we will have an official channel open and someone looking at our cases rather than just having to look at the same @#@#$@# message over and over again.


In fact i just sent back reply with my details.

Right decision. Fortune favors the brave. I guess that your file will be looked into and you will get FP2. I don't want to fall behind. I am gonna do it too.

[karns]

It has an attached letter in format of word document file.
the letter says
--------------------------------------------------
Thank you for you for contacting our office on June 1, 2004. In order to assist you, we will need additional information about your case. Please provide us with as much of the following information as possible:

Your full name.
Your date and country of birth.
Your alien registration number (“A Number”).
The exact filing date of your I-485 application.
The receipt number for your I-485 application.

As soon as we receive your response, we will evaluate your situation and if appropriate, forward your inquiry to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for further action.

Please send your response to our office by mail at the above address or by electronic mail to: cisombudsman@dhs.gov.

Thank you for your inquiry. We look forward to assisting you after we receive the details on your case.
---------------------------------------
The letter has signature of Prakash Khatri.

Should I send the details?
Has anyone got the response and sent back such details.
I sent the letter almost same as per given format on this forum.
Pl. update.

Can you guys please tell for the sake of everyone who did u send an email to before getting a reply from them?

[isGCtheKey?]

Please read the 1st post in this thread

http://boards.immigrationportal.com/...31&postcount=1

[cinta]

All,

I am glad some got replies back; so the provision of this e-mail worked to some extent. I would like to remind you why I provided it in the first place. To make your concerns heard, both on a general basis, i.e. backlogs / campaign and inability of US CIS to effectively deal with them and if appropriate on a personal basis. Complain about the unfairness and give your personal statistics also! Above all, be professional (follow samples) as there is always a danger of loosing this contact also if not.

[GC022002]

Is the email camplaign still on?
I think ThakurSahab has asked a good question, and it should be put into the email campaign..


http://boards.immigrationportal.com/...d.php?t=129673

[isGCtheKey?]

Is the email camplaign still on?
I think ThakurSahab has asked a good question, and it should be put into the email campaign..


http://boards.immigrationportal.com/...d.php?t=129673

I think so. When you send the email be sure to include all your info. (look below for details asked by the ombudsman's office. You could also include a consolidated issues list and send it. Maybe one of the senior member's can create a single consolidated list which could be used as a reference when sending emails to representatives.

on anorther note, has anyone got back a reply after answering the second email that asked for all the info ?

[GC092002]

i provided all asked personal info in that email. Now let's see if I get reply from them and what kind of reply. I insisted on getting answer, reason and result of unfair processing in my email.

Has anyone received reply after providing personal info?

[GC092002]

I got it on Sunday. Message says ...


Thank you for your inquiry.



Based upon the information you provided, a formal inquiry has been initiated with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS should simultaneously issue a response to you and this office within forty five (45) days. If a response is not received within the given timeframe, this office will follow-up with USCIS to determine the reason for delay.



Please be advised that the U.S Postal Service (USPS) does not forward USCIS mail, even if you have provided USPS notification of your address change. Therefore, in order to receive any related correspondence, it is critical that you provide USCIS your current mailing address. You can verify and/or update your mailing address by calling the USCIS National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.



I recognize the frustration you and others experience with existing immigration processes. Under the Homeland Security Act, the Office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) was instituted specifically to assist USCIS customers in resolving issues, to identify problem areas in the immigration process, and to propose changes to USCIS administrative practices. Within the past months, the CIS Ombudsman has made substantial strides to that end, and most recently was sufficiently staffed to respond to public inquiries, such as yours.



In an effort to prevent continual recurrence of your reported issue in the immigration process, please be assured that your concerns have been noted and will be incorporated as appropriate into recommendations aimed at enhancing USCIS administrative practices.



Again, thank you for the opportunity to be of assistance.



Sincerely,



Prakash Khatri,

Ombudsman

[isGCtheKey?]

Thats great !

But i would expect the "standard" reply, but this is USCIS... you never know... good luck !

[cinta]

http://www.ilw.com/lawyers/articles/...-paparelli.pdf

[cinta]

The answer is typical. Nevertheless an edited version is posted.

June 13, 2004

xxxxxxx

RE: xxxxxxx

Thank you for your inquiry.

Based upon the information you provided, a formal inquiry has been
initiated with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS
should simultaneously issue a response to you and this office within
forty five (45) days. If a response is not received within the given
timeframe, this office will follow-up with USCIS to determine the reason
for delay.

Please be advised that the U.S Postal Service (USPS) does not forward
USCIS mail, even if you have provided USPS notification of your address
change. Therefore, in order to receive any related correspondence, it
is critical that you provide USCIS your current mailing address. You
can verify and/or update your mailing address by calling the USCIS
National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.

I recognize the frustration you and others experience with existing
immigration processes. Under the Homeland Security Act, the Office of
the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman)
was instituted specifically to assist USCIS customers in resolving
issues, to identify problem areas in the immigration process, and to
propose changes to USCIS administrative practices. Within the past
months, the CIS Ombudsman has made substantial strides to that end, and
most recently was sufficiently staffed to respond to public inquiries,
such as yours.

In an effort to prevent continual recurrence of your reported issue in
the immigration process, please be assured that your concerns have been
noted and will be incorporated as appropriate into recommendations aimed
at enhancing USCIS administrative practices.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to be of assistance.

Sincerely,

Prakash Khatri,
Ombudsman

PIK/jrm


Office of the Citizenship and
Immigration Services Ombudsman
Department of Homeland Security
cisombudsman@dhs.gov
-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 12:03 PM
To: ciso
Cc: xxxxxxx, Khatri, Prakash
Subject: xxxx

Dear Prakash Khatri,

I am writing to you as USCIS Ombudsman to begin a dialogue with you and
express my opinion towards the backlog of immigration benefits and the
current state of affairs. Your honorable office was created by the
Department of Homeland Security Act and a year later, despite the
availability of funds the immigration services and backlogs got indeed
worse since then. The Century Foundation, the AILA, distinguished
immigration lawyers, independent think tanks, immigration advocacy
groups, business groups and the GAO, have documented all these in
several reports. It is also questionable whether the recent fee increase
will really substantially help alleviate the situation. Recent policy
memos only add to the confusion, already present in the adjudication
process. Shortage of personnel, lack of a coherent policy and the
security checks point to one thing: There is no light at the end of the
tunnel. Predictions for the future, whether it is 2006 or some years
later provide no current relief for a lot of aspiring immigrants,
including myself, who played by the rules and have been waiting for
their cases to be adjudicated.

Furthermore, the adjudication process does not seem to be fair as seen
from the current processing times. The dates that the USCIS posts for
the I-485 application have an eighteen-month span and this is just an
example. These dates are only useful and reliable to USCIS, in the sense
that they preclude any inquiries from people who have been living in the
dark for years. Congressional help often proves to be useless also,
suggesting that they are unable or not willing for any real bi-partisan
immigration reform and realistic plans for any backlog reduction. My
personal situation will exemplify some of these problems.

I filed my I-485 application along with my wife's in the second week of
August 2002. I completed my fingerprints in the last week of October
2002. Since then I have applied for three Employment Authorization and
Advanced Parole documents. The last ones are still pending. From October
2002, I have heard nothing about my "green-card" application. It has
been a rocky road in both my personal and professional lives. I worked
on an H1-B visa for seven years (AC-21 seven year extension) and have
been working on yearly EAD since then. I am a US educated person with
undergraduate and graduate degrees from xxxxxx University, where I also
taught classes as a teaching assistant and did research as a research
assistant.

Personal description……………………………………….edited.

[cinta]

Any updates from the Ombudsman?

[cinta]

Did anybody receive a second update from the Ombudsman's office within the mentioned 30-45 days?

[isGCtheKey?]

I had not even received the 30-45 day one, but on the other hand i did get an approval. Don't know whether this had any role.

[GC092002]

I haven't got second reply but got 2nd Fingerprint notice - not sure if that is because of their efforts.

[cinta]

Anybody received a second reply from the Ombudsman's office within the 45 days?

It looks like USCIS ignores US and the Ombudsman. Mine was dated June 13 and thre was no reply yet!

[jun02vdd]

I sent email 4 days back..No reply yet.

rcpt DT : 05/31/02
Nt dt : 06/04/02
fp1 : 08/09/02
fp2 : 06/01/02

[sgi]

nah....no response. My 45 days will finish next week (Aug 2nd). Will write back to them again on the 46th day.

Received FP2 notice, but not sure if it was due to my email. Threads in this forum indicated that many from Philly ASC with my RD (July2002) received FP2 notices around the same time.