The American Immigration Council (AIC) says the current Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) system, which is often unable to meet record requests in the required 20 to 30 days, “isn’t functional.” This not only hurts individuals seeking personal records but journalists, researchers, and advocates who try to understand immigration policies and trends. A study of 70 agencies shows USCIS receives the highest number of FOIA requests. Requests for individual files comprise 99% of USCIS requests. AIC advises that immigration agencies should create a system for individual access to records, thus significantly reducing the FOIA backlog.
See the AIC article
