When OGIS Director Miriam Nisbet opened the office in September 2009, three requests for OGIS assistance awaited her attention, yet she had no process in place for dealing with cases or any staff members to work on them. Since its inception, one of the great challenges OGIS has faced is figuring out how to do … Continue reading Thinking about process
An OGIS-sponsored forum on immigration records on May 23 brought together FOIA professionals from five agencies which maintain immigration records with immigration attorneys and others interested in such records. The FOIA Ombudsman is spot-lighting each agency and the types of immigration records each holds. See previous posts on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS); Immigration … Continue reading More on Immigration Records
The administrative appeal process is an integral part of FOIA. Federal agencies received almost 10,000 FOIA appeals in the year ending September 30, 2010. FOIA sets forth two requirements pertaining to the appeal process: (1) agencies must notify requesters of the right to appeal any adverse determination; and (2) agencies must make a determination with … Continue reading Got Appeals?
Documents declassified by the government’s highest classification authority will soon be posted online in a new government declassification portal, a Federal declassification expert said at a July 25, 2012 FOIA Requester Roundtable. William C. Carpenter of the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) at the National Archives provided tips on a variety of declassification issues and … Continue reading More on Declassification
This is an excerpt from an actual FOIA appeal response letter: Dear [name redacted], Reference is made to your letter to the [agency]…regarding the above referenced file. Through your letter you appeal the determination made…that certain records responsive to your request (or portions thereof) are exempt from release under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). … Continue reading FOIA Letters and Plain Writing
FOIA and Mandatory Declassification Reviews (MDRs) have some things in common -- for instance, both provide access to information -- but in practical terms they are very different. If you would like to learn more about both, please join OGIS, the Information Security Oversight Office and the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy for the next FOIA … Continue reading Upcoming Requester Roundtable Discussion: FOIA and Mandatory Declassification Reviews (MDRs)
An OGIS-sponsored forum on immigration records on May 23 brought FOIA professionals from agencies which maintain immigration records together with immigration attorneys and others interested in such records. The FOIA Ombudsman is spot-lighting each agency and the types of immigration records each holds. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) … Continue reading Immigration Records, Part 4: Customs & Border Protection Records
FOIA has the most patriotic of birthdays -- July 4, 1966. Last year we commemorated FOIA’s birthday by looking back at the unusual circumstances of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing of the law and noted that despite a shaky start, FOIA has become part of the foundation of our democracy. We toast FOIA’s 46th birthday … Continue reading Strike up the Band – It’s FOIA’s Birthday!
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, establishes how an agency must administer its FOIA program. While the law contains a lot of useful information—from time limits to fee categories to redactions and more—it doesn’t provide the whole picture. If a FOIA requester needs practical, detailed information about how an agency’s … Continue reading FOIA Regulations: A Valuable Tool for Requesters
An OGIS-sponsored forum on immigration records on May 23 brought FOIA professionals from agencies which maintain immigration records together with immigration attorneys and others interested in such records. The FOIA Ombudsman is spot-lighting each agency and the types of immigration records each holds. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) … Continue reading ICE: A Source for Investigative Immigration Records
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