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Get Help Dealing with a Federal AgencyConstituent Service is a major responsibility of my state office staff. Their mission is to help individuals, groups, companies, and institutions with problems or requests they may have with government agencies. Inquiries range from an individual seeking clarification of her/his IRS tax account to a town that needs to find funding for a sewer system. My goal is to assist constituents in resolving their complaints by contacting the federal agency involved and requesting a review of the matter. My staff also works to ensure timely responses and appropriate action from federal agencies on individual constituent requests.
Because of the Privacy Act of 1974, my office must have a written request for assistance from constituents. A federal agency cannot provide my office information about a case without this written authorization. See our Privacy Release Form. To discuss your case with someone on my staff, please contact the office nearest you: (Please do not send your request to my Washington, D.C. office as it will delay the response to your request)
.......................................................... Education: Re-Payment of Education Loans Q. I am continually being harassed by a collection agency concerning a student loan from years ago. I have very little income besides my SSI and cannot afford to repay this loan. Is there any way your office could help me? A. We would send you the necessary paperwork (disability form) for the Department of Education to review and forward the completed info to our liaison with the Department of Education. They would review the form and make a decision on forgiving the loan in a matter of days. Should the loan be forgiven the Department of Education will in some situations refund monies that were collected to the constituent. Q. I am being contacted by the Department of Education regarding a loan I never took out? A. We would contact the DOED regarding your situation and ask for a detailed explanation and history including a signed promissory note. Please note these requests could take over 3 months to process because of the research involved .......................................................... Q. Can you help me with a coverage problem I'm having with Medicare? A. Yes, we would contact our liaison through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to review your case. We would forward any information we receive directly to you. .......................................................... Q. How can a friend or relative find information to qualify for a visit or visa? A. Go to: http://travel.state.gov/visa;visitors.html Q. Where do I get information for immigrant visa petitions? A. Go to: http://travel.state.gov/visa;immigrants.html Q. How do I renew or replace my permanent resident card (green card)? A. Go to: http://www.ins.gov/graphics/1GreenCard.htm Q. How can I contact an INS office overseas? A. Go to: http://www.ins.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/overseasoffices/seaalpha.htm Q. My associate was denied a tourist visa at a Consulate abroad. How can I find information regarding their denial? A.
Send the full name, date of birth, the passport number of the individual
who was denied, and a description of the circumstance. We will then
make an inquiry to the Consulate where the denial took place. We will
forward the response from the Consulate the same day we receive it to
our constituent. For more information, you may preview the Immigration
and Naturalization Service's website on this topic at: Q. My family member was interviewed at a Consulate in the process of obtaining an immigrant visa. We have not heard anything regarding her visa. Can you provide some assistance? A. We would request the full name, date of birth, and INS case number of the individual who had an interview. Then, we would contact the Consulate where the individual had their interview. We forward the response from the Consulate the same day we receive it to our constituent. Q. I filed a petition to bring my family member to the United States and have not heard anything from the Immigration and Naturalization Service for a long time. What is going on? A. Send us, if possible, a copy of the receipt notice from the Nebraska Service Center of the INS, along with a brief note outlining your request. We will call the Service Center to be certain your petition is in the pipeline to be reviewed and approximately how long it will take to process. The Service Center adjudicates petitions by the priority date (when you submitted it) and is very strict about not putting one petition ahead of another. Q. I applied for citizenship and had my fingerprints taken, but I have not had an interview. A. Send us your letter authorizing us to obtain information, be certain to include your alien number.We will make an inquiry to the District Office or the Service Center where you applied. .......................................................... Military .......................................................... Q. I have to leave within a few days and my passport is out of date. A. Telephone for an appointment with the Seattle Passport Agency (206-808-5700). Bring the required documents with you (birth certificate or previous passport or naturalization certificate, identification, two passport photos and proof of departure). You will pay the regular passport fee of $60, plus $35 expedite fee. If you are not traveling within 14 days, you must apply at a local Passport Acceptance Facility (Post Office, Clerks of Court, or City Clerk Offices). .......................................................... Social Security A. To learn about the SSA appeal process go to: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10041.html Q. How can I contact SSA or find an office near my residence? A. Go to: http://s00dace.ssa.gov/pro/fol/fol-home.html Q. Where can I apply for Social Security Benefits online? A. Go to: https://s3abaca.ssa.gov/pro/isba3/irib.cgi?WFORM=A Q. How can I sign up for Direct Deposit through SSA? A. Go to: http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/direct-deposit-pr.htm Q. What is the status of my claim/appeal for Social Security benefits? I have been waiting for a long time without hearing anything from the SSA. Is there any way to know what's going on and how much longer it will be? A. The first thing we need is a letter or a privacy release from you describing your situation. Please include all pertinent information, such as: social security number, date of birth, when you filed the claim, phone number, and an address at which you can be reached. If possible, also include copies of letters from doctors and any other supporting documents. We will then contact SSA to find out exactly where your claim currently is (i.e. with the disability ratings board, with a hearings officer, etc.). We may then be able to find out if they are waiting for medical records or supporting documents from sponsors, either of which could cause a slowdown in processing your claim. Q. My claim/appeal is pending with Social Security, but money is extremely tight right now and I don't know if we can wait for the payments. Is there anything you can do to help? A. If your financial situation is very desperate, you can send copies of information to our office that would demonstrate you are in dire need. This can consist of proof of rent or mortgage payments, pay stubs, or receipts of weekly or monthly bills. We can then send this information to Social Security and if they determine that you qualify as a dire need situation, they may be able to expedite your claim or get critical payments for you while your claim is pending. Q. I know my claim/appeal is pending with Social Security, but how will I know when a decision has been made? A. The SSA will notify you by mail as soon as a decision is made on your claim. The decision letter will explain how and why they came to their decision and will outline your appeal rights should you disagree with their decision. If you haven't received a decision or a response from the SSA in the time frame they gave you, contact our office. We will then contact the SSA to see why you have not received a response. We would need a letter or a privacy release from you to do this. Q. My social security payments are different this month than last month. Social Security sent me a letter stating I had an overpayment and that my payments were going to be reduced until the overpayment was repaid. How/why did this happen? A. We need a letter or a privacy release from you describing your situation. Also send us letters received from Social Security if possible. Once we have received these letters, we can then contact Social Security and ask them for a specific accounting of exactly when and how much you were overpaid, when your payments will return to normal, and if the amount of your regular monthly payments will change after the overpayment is repaid. This can sometimes happen if Social Security discovers that you were receiving worker's compensation or veterans benefits or another form of compensation/income while you were receiving social security. .......................................................... Veterans A. Make your request to us in writing including your claim number and the specific problem you are having with your claim. An inquiry to the DVA will be made on your behalf to ensure that your claim is being processed in a timely manner according to DVA regulation. We do not represent you before the DVA or assist you in the development of your claim, that is the function of a veterans service organization. Q. What is the status of my VA claim/appeal? I have been waiting to be assigned to a primary care provider for a long time, and I haven't heard anything from the VA. What's taking so long? A. Send a letter or privacy release describing your situation to our office. Please include all pertinent information: social security number, date of birth, when you filed the claim, VA claim number, and a phone number and address where you can be reached. It is also helpful if you can include any doctor's letters or supporting documents that pertain to your claim. We can then contact the VA Regional Office that is processing your claim and find out exactly where your claim is in the process (i.e. with the disability ratings board or the appeals board). We can also find out if the VA is waiting on other information that may be holding up the processing of your claim (i.e. waiting for the results of your exam, waiting for your medical or service records or waiting for supporting documents of sponsors). Once they have all of the information they need to make an informed decision, we may be able to determine how long it will be before a decision is made on your claim. Q. I have been waiting to be assigned to a primary care provider for over a year now and the VA told me it could be another six months before I get assigned to a doctor. What could possibly be taking so long? A. Presently, the VA is very understaffed in relation to the number of veterans who need care. Unfortunately, the demand for care is much greater than the VA is able to accommodate and therefore veterans are having to wait for long periods of time to be assigned a primary care provider. If you would like a more detailed response from the VA, please send a letter or a privacy release to our office describing your situation/question. We can then contact the VA for a response to your specific situation. |
