Possible Expedited FOIA Responses
Posted Apr 18, 2008
©MurthyDotCom
A recent lawsuit filed in a California federal court has challenged the USCIS's policy on responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. In Hajro v. USCIS, the plaintiff claims that the USCIS's current policy does not permit the expedited processing of all appropriate requests. If this case is successful for the plaintiff, then the USCIS will be required by law to comply with providing documents within 20 days for all FOIA requests, and to provide expedited processing in many other cases. At issue is whether the USCIS has the ability to comply with the law, given the resources (of finances and time) it currently has, should a legal decision in this case mandate its compliance within a shorter timeframe.
©MurthyDotCom
Multi-Track System for FOIA Processing
©MurthyDotCom
The USCIS began offering a three-track system (PDF 41.3KB) on March 30, 2007 for FOIA requests. The stated purpose of this new system was to enhance processing times and to eliminate FOIA backlogs. As regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers may recall from our March 30, 2007 article, Faster FOIA Response Available for Limited Class, current USCIS procedure under the third track allows for expedited processing only when a foreign national has a scheduled hearing before an immigration judge.
©MurthyDotCom
Claim for Additional Expedited Requests
©MurthyDotCom
The Hajro lawsuit claims that the USCIS is improperly denying expedited processing that was previously ordered under a 1991 U.S. District Court decision. In addition, the lawsuit correctly notes that, under the law, the USCIS must respond to FOIA requests within 20 days. Anyone who has ever made a FOIA request knows that it takes far longer than the 20 days required by law for the government to respond with the issuance of documents under a FOIA filing. The actual response times vary depending upon the track, but processing times generally are many months and sometimes up to a year or even longer.
©MurthyDotCom
Conclusion
©MurthyDotCom
There is no final decision in this case at the time of this writing. If the ruling is in favor of the plaintiff, then the broader application of expedited FOIA requests would benefit foreign nationals in a variety of cases in which time is of the essence and there are not complete records. It would help attorneys determine what options may be available to client and which are closed. The developments in this and other, related cases have the potential for affecting many in the immigrant community. We will continue to keep MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers advised on these matters.