Help with a Federal Agency

As a Member of Congress my staff and I may assist you and make inquiries on your behalf as to the status of your case with a federal agency or department. While I can assist you in bringing your case to the attention of the proper officials and guide you through the process, I cannot direct an agency to decide a matter in your favor. The agency must make its decision within the framework of the law and existing rules and regulations.

All state and local issues must be addressed to the appropriate state and local official. If you are unsure of your state and local Representatives my staff will assist you in obtaining this information.

Please know that my office will do all it can to assist you in all areas possible. However, I cannot intervene with an ongoing criminal investigation or any issue within the Judicial Branch of government.

REQUESTING INQUIRIES

In order for an inquiry to be made on your behalf you must fill out privacy release form. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a) requires that Members of Congress or their staff have written authorization before they can obtain information about an individual's case. We must have your signature to proceed with this type of request. You will be able to sign this form electronically.

Please include your address, home phone number and daytime phone number if different from your home. Also please make sure to include a letter describing your difficulties and the outcome you wish as a result of the congressional inquiry.

Online Privacy Release Form

If you are unable to access to the link above, you can download the Privacy Act Release Form.

For all immigration cases, please complete this form as well.

Since federal agency inquiries are initiated from my District Office, please email, fax, or mail your documentation to:

Congressman Adam Smith
6811 S. 204th Street
Suite 360
Kent, Washington 98032
United States
Phone: (425) 793-5180
Fax: (425) 793-5181
Email: CaseworkWA09@mail.house.gov

We recommend you email or fax the privacy release forms with wet signatures. If you are planning to mail your forms, it is preferred to not use signature required service since we are not always physically available to receive your mail in-person.

For additional information, you may be able to find the answer to your questions at the appropriate agency website. Below is a list of many federal agencies. If you are trying to contact a federal agency and the website is not listed below, contact my office and my staff will be happy to assist you.

FEDERAL AGENCIES

Casework Process

My job in Congress is to help my constituents. Every day, my office receives calls from constituents who run into problems with the federal government. From stalled IRS refunds to delayed USCIS visa processing, my office is equipped to help constituents untangle their problems with the federal government.

If you ever need assistance, you can always reach out to our office and we can do our best to assist you.

Learn more about the casework process

Step 1: Contacting Our Office

If you have an issue with a federal agency, I invite you to contact my office. There are a few ways to do this. You may walk into my Kent office, found at 6811 S. 204th Street, any time between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. You may also email, call our office at 425-793-5180, fax, or physically send mail to our office.

When you contact us, it's important to share your name, address, contact information, nature of your problem, and necessary documentation.

Step 2: Privacy Release Form

After contacting our office, one of our caseworkers will send you a privacy release form. This ensures that we have authorization before accessing helpful information about your case.

Step 3: Inquiry to Agency

Once the privacy release form is received, the caseworker will send the inquiry to the appropriate agency. You will receive confirmation from our caseworker once this inquiry has been initiated.

Step 4: Response from Agency

We allow the agency up to 30 days to provide a response. If a response has not been received, we will follow up with the agency. Once a response is received from the agency, we will contact you directly.

Have any more questions about the process? Check out our new Casework Process video.

We do our best to assist you in bringing your case to the attention of the agency, but we cannot direct the agency to decide the matter in your favor. The agency must make its decision within the framework of the law and existing rules and regulations.

Sometimes issues may be outside of our power to resolve. If your issue falls outside of federal jurisdiction, we will try our best to point you in the right direction for state and local issues.

We also cannot intervene with criminal investigations or matters within the judicial branch.