News Update - October 25, 2008

By Alan Lee, Esq.

How to File a Freedom of Information Request with EOIR

To file a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) with the Executive Officer for Immigration Review (EOIR), your request:

• Must be in writing – handwritten or typed
• Must describe the records you seek
• Must include identifying information – full name of the alien whose records you are requesting, the date and court location of the proceedings, and the alien registration number (if known).

To request information about yourself, your must include either:
• Completed Form DOJ-361, or
• Notarized statement, or
• The following statement, written above your signature on the request: “I declare under penalty or perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on [date].”

To request information about another individual your request must include a notarized statement from that individual giving his consent to release the information to you.

To request information about a deceased individual, your request must include proof of the individual’s death – death certificate, newspaper obituary.

For more information:
http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/efoia/foiafact.htm
FOIA Service Center - (703) 605-1297

How to File a Freedom of Information Request with EOIR
Fact Sheet - http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=26919

 


The author is a 26+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.

This article © 2008 Alan Lee, Esq.

 

Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.