U.S. Freedom of Information Act Requests
If you are having problems crossing the border into the United States you may want to request a copy of your records from an agency such as the U.S Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Agency, or the Department of Homeland Security.
The table below lists the agencies that are most involved with crossing the U.S. border. To get your personal information from one of these agencies you will need to submit a “Freedom of Information Act” (FOIA) request. Anybody, including Canadian citizens, can file to obtain their own records. Charges for this service vary for different types of information. The links in the table below will take you to the website for each agency and provide a detailed description of what you must do.
The trick is that you must be very detailed in your description of the information you are seeking. You can request “all available records” but we have seen recommendations that you should then follow that up with a list of the specific items you are looking for. We have heard stories about how difficult it was to get the desired information and that repeated submittals were required. If this process is too complicated (or too frustrating) for you there are attorneys that specialize in immigration law that can file FOIA requests on your behalf.
In theory, the agencies are required to reply within 20 business days but we have seen stories of it taking up to a year to get a full response.
Below is the CBP description of how to approach a request to that department.
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Filing a FOIA with CBP The most expeditious way to submit a FOIA request to CBP is electronically, via FOIAonline – CBP’s official system for tracking all FOIA requests. To submit a FOIA electronically, click on the following link https://foiaonline.regulations.gov/foia/action/public/request/publicPreCreate then click on “Create an Account”. After you create a FOIAonline account you can submit a FOIA request directly to CBP. When submitting a FOIA request on records that pertain to you, please provide your full name, address, and date of birth. If you are requesting records on behalf of someone else, you need a signed G-28 form (Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative), or some other form of signed consent that will allow CBP to release the records to a 3rd party. Once your request is submitted you will receive an acknowledgment and a FOIA tracking number. After your FOIA request is acknowledged you can track the status of your request at any time. Please note that the FOIA process is not intended to be a mechanism for asking questions of CBP. FOIA requests are intended to provide access to CBP records. Common FOIA Requests Some records may not be available through the CBP FOIA Office. The table below lists common FOIA requests and the agency/program office that can respond to these requests.
Last published:
June 20, 2017 |