DEPUTY First Minister Martin McGuinness is due to brief US officials today about the political impasse at Stormont.
The assembly remains at risk of suspension following disputes about welfare reform.
Mr McGuinness said he hopes his meeting with the Friends of Ireland group on Capitol Hill and State Department officials will move the US administration to "help convince the British government of the gravity of the current situation".
"It is my hope that the US administration - which has been a key ally since the inception of the peace process - can help convince the British government of the gravity of the current situation and to end their current approach which threatens to undermine the incredible progress we have made," he said.
The institutions must be "able to meet the needs of a society emerging from a long and bitter conflict," he added.
The deputy first minister continued: "The institutions of the Good Friday Agreement, which have underpinned the Irish peace process for almost two decades, are facing crisis."
"I would urge all those with a stake in this process to make every effort to find a resolution which secures the power-sharing administration."
He added: "To date, that has not been forthcoming from the British government and they need to be persuaded that a new approach is required."
Last week a Sinn Féin delegation comprising of Mr McGuinness, Gerry Adams, Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle Gildernew met British Prime Minister David Cameron in London for talks.
There was no breakthrough, but Mr McGuinness described the meeting as “useful”.
The opposition of Sinn Féin and the SDLP to the imposition of the welfare reform bill has led to DUP Finance Minister Arlene Foster warning of an unsustainable £600 million deficit in Stormont’s budget by September.
