Dear Friend,

Despite the historic challenges we faced, I am proud to have continued delivering for CA’s 27th Congressional District last year. Here’s a quick look at some of what we got done for the San Gabriel Valley in 2021. And there’s much more to come!

My local district offices have also been very successful this past year in helping residents of the district with federal matters, including access to over $100k in benefits. Here are some stories I am proud to share with you about how our office has helped some of our constituents, and how I can also help you.

$150,000 in Veteran Backpay

An 80-year-old military veteran from the city of Rosemead who was honorably discharged needed to prove his US citizenship to obtain retroactive and current Social Security (SS) benefits because he was born in Canada to an American mother. He first applied for his SS benefits in 2007, but was denied in 2008 because he was told he did not have sufficient proof of citizenship. Over the course of three years, my office worked with the constituent to reach out to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Social Security Administration (SSA), and even Passport Services to ensure he had proper documentation and could receive the benefits he was entitled to. Eventually, we referred the constituent to legal services, where an attorney was able to prove that USCIS was in violation of their own regulations, and that the resident was in fact eligible to receive a Certificate of Citizenship. USCIS finally approved his certificate, and since then my office has been working with SSA to release his retroactive benefits from 2007. After some processing, $100,000 in backpay was just released to him, and he is expecting another $50,000 in the coming months in benefits he is rightly owed.

Green Card Approval

Another constituent who lives in Arcadia submitted all the documents that USCIS requested per a Request for Evidence (RFE) notice on his green card case. However, three months later, his application hadn’t been updated to reflect the submitted documents. He was worried that it had been lost and that he would need to spend another $900 to get the documentation again. He requested assistance from my office to check on the status of his paperwork so he could travel to see his elderly parents in India. We followed up with USCIS, and after some double-checking on the part of USCIS, the agency contacted the constituent directly and admitted that they only had the paperwork for two of the 4 family members in the application. The other two family members’ medical documents were somehow missing. The constituent was asked to resubmit the original documents for the other two family members. The constituent resubmitted the original documents in person, and his green card was approved that day.

In this new year, it is my hope to continue serving the 27th district by representing the interests of my constituents in Congress, and providing support for residents locally. Please feel free to call my office in Pasadena with any questions at (626) 304-0110, or reach out to my office in DC at (202) 225-5464.

Sincerely,

Judy Chu, PhD
Member of Congress

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