Government Promises Fast Response Time for Citizens
Posted Aug 08, 2003

The General Services Administration (GSA) issued a press release on July 30, 2003 stating that, as a part of President Bush's eGovernment initiative, all eMails, web inquiries, and telephone inquiries made by U.S. citizens will be answered by the government in no more than two days. Those citizens who need information from the government may call 1.800.FED.INFO or use the form on the FirstGov WebSite. There is an "Immigration and Naturalization" option in the drop-down menu, for any citizen inquiring on behalf of, or sponsoring, a non-citizen.

Caution to Non-Citizens

If effective, this could be good news to U.S. citizen petitioners with inquiries regarding problems with cases filed on behalf of foreign nationals, presumably in the family- or employment-based categories. For example, a U.S. citizen spouse would be able to use this service if there is a problem with his/her I-130 petition for his/her foreign national spouse. In addition, a U.S. company, a U.S. entity for legal purposes, working through its U.S. citizen representatives, should be able to use this service if there is a problem with an H1B petition filed on behalf of a foreign national beneficiary.

Since the government has specifically identified this service as one for U.S. citizens, we do not recommend that foreign nationals, including permanent residents (or "green card holders"), use this service. A non-citizen who holds himself or herself out to be a U.S. citizen for a benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), federal law, or state law is "inadmissible" and "removable."

Conclusion

At this time, it is unclear how effective this service will be. If the responses / answers only provide general information, similar to that made available through the National Customer Support Center (NCSC), the fact that a person obtains a speedy response is not particularly helpful. We trust that, since the President has recognized the value of prompt and effective communication with the government, he will implement policies that promote the dissemination of accurate, detailed, and useful information to those using such services, as well.