A key point in a recent article published on AILA, “FOIA Behind The Scenes: How USCIS and DOS Process Immigration-Related Requests,” is the role of niche knowledge. The article rightly emphasizes the unique skills, diversity, and talent within the FOIA teams at both the USCIS and DOS, which are needed to interpret the vast array of documents involved in the immigration process. Some of these professionals include historians, librarians, prior military personnel, and law enforcement officers, contributing various perspectives beneficial to the FOIA process, reflecting the complexity involved in managing and interpreting immigration data.
Further, the article highlights the critical role that technology plays in the FOIA process with USCIS and DOS. Effective use of technology is essential for managing such a high volume of data. In fact, USCIS alone receives over 200,000 requests annually. The USCIS uses the Freedom of Information Act Document Management System (FDMS) to efficiently organize and catalogue the massive number of requests in line with the provisions of the FOIA.
Quality Control (QC) checks are another crucial aspect of the FOIA process highlighted in the AILA article. Both the USCIS and DOS have rigorous QC checks to ensure there is no personally identifiable information released that could risk a privacy violation. These checks are performed on all released information, providing a safety net to ensure privacy rights are maintained.
Of particular interest is how USCIS creates “C” files. These are consolidated files that have all records pertaining to a singular immigration applicant. This system would help immigration attorneys in building cases, providing a comprehensive atlas of a given individual’s immigration records.
The article goes on to discuss how the USCIS and the DOS utilize litigation leads, who ensure that responses provided during litigation are consistent with the information previously given, maintaining consistency and accuracy. This too would be of great importance to immigration attorneys.
To conclude, the article provides an invaluable insight into the intricacies of the FOIA process. Acknowledging the system’s complexities, the diverse team involved, the role of technology, rigorous checks, and the systems in place for organizing data and maintaining consistency is beneficial for immigration attorneys and their clients.
This article is summarized from “FOIA Behind The Scenes: How USCIS and DOS Process Immigration-Related Requests,” published by AILA.
Reference: https://www.aila.org/blog/foia-behind-the-scenes-how-uscis-and-dos-process-immigration-related-requests.
