Contacting your MP for help: How does it work?

[Ged]

Dear members,
I have seen many times in this forum that people appear to have benefited various ways from having contacted their MPs. I will apply for 10 years long stay ILR soon and very concerned about the long waiting times UKBA imposes on us these days. Does contacting with your MP really accelerate the process? I would appreciate if you could share your experience of when and how you have done this. What was the outcome? Have you ever been ignored or refused help by your MP?

[Lucapooka]

You may wish to contact your MP when you have a problem with an application that is suffering an unreasonably long delay. His or her intervention may or may not expedite the application, but, will, nevertheless, be met with a status response from the UKBA.

Generally, you don't contact you MP before you make an application or before an unreasonably long delay.

[Ged]

Thanks Lucapooka,

Everyone seem to suffer from unreasonably long delays as an inherent part of Border Agency's glittering service quality assurance policy. So waiting for a delay to occur and then trying to accelerate it by contacting your MP afterwords seems unnecessarily reactive, as the harm would have been done already and the harm is almost always irreversible.

So, although I would not want to waste my MP's time by ranting and complaining unnecessarily, I am inclined to get in touch with him in good time before things go unnecessarily late.

I would welcome any personal experiences of such benefits of any members or recommendations about when to get in touch considering the waiting times for 10 years long stay category appears to float between 18-22 months currently.

[Casa]

Your MP won't be able to do anything on your behalf until you've actually experienced a delay. Are you hoping they will ask for a speedy decision when you submit your application? If so, MP's won't get involved at the application stage.

[Ged]

When do you think it counts to be a late application? Waiting for 22 weeks and expecting a solution afterwards seems unreasonable. Is it unreasonable to start contacting MPs after say 12 weeks?

[Lucapooka]

I don't think your MP will lift a finger for anything less than six months, or perhaps longer;especially for settlement applications based on long residence which are notoriously protracted. The waiting times cited on the UKBA website are merely performance targets where they aim to process 95% of all applications within six months of their submission. They offer no guarantees to process an individual application in a fixed time period, and if you fall into the 5% that goes beyond this target, then that's tough luck (but perhaps not without some reason due to your individual circumstances that is not straightforward).

[Ged]

I personally take this MP issue seriously, without expecting to gain too much, it might indeed make a difference. All this slow processing times smell like a hidden immigration capping policy. If anyone can make a difference in the long run it is the House of Commons. Therefore I am inclined to approach my MP without expecting a favour, or a special treatment but just for raising awareness on their side of the table.