People often refer to the U.S. Postal service with the quote, “Neither snow, nor rain, nor gloom of night, stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”  

But what happens when mail does not make it to mail satchels or delivery trucks for those appointed rounds? 

In the Midsouth, these mail disruptions often stem from the Memphis sorting facility. Delayed mail impacts people’s lives, and the best advice is to report the issues to your congressman.  

Sherrie Mitchell is senior casework manager at Rep. Rick Crawford’s (R-Ark.) office in Jonesboro, Ark. Mitchell handles federal complaints that include lost mail in Crawford’s district. 

She shared how to file these complaints, and offered a tip to help farmers avoid delays in H2A agricultural paperwork caused by lost mail. 

Reporting mail issues 

Mitchell said she receives multiple complaints each week due to inadequate mail delivery by the USPS. To file a complaint, a privacy release is required.  

You can access this form on your congressman’s website. For those in Crawford’s district, the web address is https://crawford.house.gov. 

From there, browse for the link titled, “Help with a Government Agency.” Select the option to complete the form. Enter your address and select the federal agency you are reporting. These steps will direct your complaint to the correct caseworker. 

Related:Farmers and businesses hit hard by USPS failures in Arkansas

For complaints about priority mail, Mitchell said to include the tracking number in the privacy release. 

“We submit the tracking numbers into a congressional portal, and we have liaisons that help us directly. I talk to them daily, and tracked mail is a tangible thing the liaisons can find. They can see where it was scanned last, and they have helped us locate a lot of packages,” Mitchell said. 

First-class mail, on the other hand, only has a stamp and is basically impossible to locate. Mitchell said more than half of complaints involve first-class mail that is weeks delayed and cannot be found. Still, these issues should be documented with your congressman.  

"We want you to complete a privacy release and provide us the details on your mail experience so the congessman can file a formal complaint on your behalf with the USPS. It is important we collect this data that demonstrates first-hand how the poor mail service affects the congressman’s constituency, and he can then use this information in his discussions with the USPS,” Mitchell said. 

Recommendations for H2A applicants 

For farmers requesting H2A agricultural workers, Mitchell said lost or late mail has caused delays for workers needing their work visas.  

The process starts when farmers file a petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). When the petition is approved, the farmer receives an approval email from the USCIS.  

Then a copy of the receipt, known as a Form I-797, is mailed to the farmer. That form is necessary to move forward in the process – especially for South African workers. 

Mitchell explained that most of the workers in Crawford’s district come from Mexico and South Africa. Each of those embassies set their rules for which documents they will accept. When farmers are approved for a worker from Mexico, Mitchell said they can move forward with the approval email from the USCIS – without a copy of their I-797 receipt. 

However, South Africa’s rules are stricter, and a digital copy of the I-797 receipt must be submitted. Due to lost mail through the USPS, Mitchell has received numerous complaints from farmers who never received the document and could not move forward in the process.  

To address the problem, Mitchell now encourages farmers in Crawford’s district to reach out to her when they receive the approval email from the USCIS. Then she steps in to assist. 

“I tell farmers to contact us immediately and file a privacy release after they receive the approval email. From there, I will get them a digital copy of the USCIS receipt, so they do not have to wait on the mail,” she said. 

For more information, you can email Mitchell at [email protected] or call the Jonesboro office at 870-203-0540.