Q&A: where to find grandfather's immigration records

Q.  To which agency should I submit a FOIA request to get my grandfather's immigration information?

A. If your grandfather arrived in the United States before 1983, you might wish to contact the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which maintains records of ship arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1820 and 1982.  If you are interested in Alien Files ("A-Files"), which were first created in the early 1940s, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) transfers those files to NARA 100 years after the immigrant's date of birth. 

Q&A: closed bankruptcy case

Q. Can FOIA be used to get a document or documents from a closed bankruptcy case?

A. The federal Freedom of Information Act does not apply to records maintained by federal courts, including bankruptcy cases.  If the bankruptcy records you seek are more than 15 years old, you may request them through the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).  See http://www.archives.gov/research/court-records/form-90.pdf. Federal court records that are less than 15 years are not maintained by NARA, but are still in the possession of individual federal courts.  You can locate a federal court case by using the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) or by visiting the Clerk’s Office of the courthouse where the case was filed.  See http://www.uscourts.gov/courtrecords/find-case-pacer.

Q&A: identity of FOIA requester

Q.  Is the name of the requestor available to the notifying party?

A.  The identity of a FOIA requester (as opposed to a Privacy Act requester) should be freely available to the public, as well as a copy of his or her FOIA request.  Certain personal information might be protected, however, such as a home address, telephone number, etc.  When a FOIA request seeks business or financial records (which sounds like your situation), the affected business or individual should be able to obtain both the identity of the requester and a copy of the FOIA request.  In fact, federal agencies have been encouraged to affirmatively provide such information to the affected business/company as part of its "submitter notice" procedures.  See, e.g., Office of Government Information Services, Throwback Thursday: Thinking about Exemption 4 (Aug 1. 2013) (" DOJ advises not making the submitter file a FOIA request for the name of the requester."), http://foia.blogs.archives.gov/2013/08/01/throwback-thursday-thinking-about-exemption-4/.

Q&A: first-party request to U.S. Attorney General

Q.  I am a criminal trial lawyer seeking information [from U.S. Attorney General] about my client at my client's request How do I go about this and what is the appropriate form to use?

A.  Here is a form you can use to request files about your client from the U.S. Attorney General:  http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/oip/legacy/2014/07/23/cert_ind.pdf.  Send your request to Laurie Day, Chief, Initial Request Staff, Suite 11050, 1425 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20530-0001.

Q&A: may a FOIA appeals officer file a declaration in ensuing litigation?

Q.  Is it generally accepted in FOIA law for a FOIA Appeals Officer, after deciding a claimant's appeal of a FOIA production, to sign a declaration in support of the government's Motion for Summary Judgment?

A.   Rule 56(c)(4) of the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure provides that an "affidavit or declaration used to support or oppose a motion must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show that the affiant or declarant is competent to testify on the matters stated."   The agency employee who has adjudicated a FOIA appeal -- or the initial request -- is not legally precluded from executing an affidavit in subsequent litigation involving the same matter.  Indeed, given his or her personal knowledge of the case, the adjudicating officer and the agency declarant in litigation are frequently one and the same.    

Q&A: breast cancer from nuclear bomb testing?

Q.  How can I get my deceased mother's hospital records or Medicare insurance records from 1968 to 1972?  I need to submit evidence that she had breast cancer to the National Cancer Benefits Center.  I have her birth and death certificates.

A.  It appears as if you wish to apply for federal benefits under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA)program established by the U.S. Department of Justice.  Five categories of claimants are eligible.  If your mother contracted breast cancer after living near certain nuclear test sites prior to 1963, for example, you might be eligible for a $50,000 payment under the "Downwinders" program.   You would need to submit, among others things, one of following records to prove your mother's illness:  (i) Pathology report of tissue biopsy or surgical resection; (ii) Autopsy report; (iii) One of the following summary medical reports: (A) Physician summary report; (B) Hospital discharge summary; (C) Operative report; (D) Medical oncology summary or consultation report; (E) Radiotherapy summary or consultation report; (iv) Report of mammogram; (v) Report of bone scan; (vi) Death certificate, provided that it is signed by a physician at the time of death.  See RECA Downwinder application here.  

It is highly unlikely that any hospital or physician still maintains your mother's medical records.  Even today, such records generally are not required to be maintained for more than seven years from a patient's last treatment date or three years beyond death.  Nor do I believe that the federal government is likely to possess the records you seek.  If your mother's death certificate does not list breast cancer as the cause of death, you might wish to contact a State cancer registry where your mother lived or authorize the Department of Justice to contact it on your behalf.

Q&A: non-profit organizations

Q.   Are community non-profit organizations subject to Freedom of Information requests?

A.   Unlikely.  The federal FOIA and State open records laws typically apply to government agencies, not private sector entities (including non-profit organizations).

Q&A: Norton Air Force base

Q.  I need to know where to send a FOIA request for the old Norton Air Force Base that was located in San Bernardino, California.  I'm looking for the base sign-in sheet to prove that I was there during the months of April and May of 1986.  

A.  I am skeptical that the sign-in sheet you seek has been preserved for nearly 30 years -- for the White House maybe, but not an Air Force base.  Having said that, here are a few possibilities:  (1) the Air Force Historical Research Agency; (2) the National Museum of the US Air Force; and (3) the National Archives and Records Administration.  

Q&A: immigrant from Algeria in 1955

Q.  I am trying to help a homeless man and need to find immigration records to prove his identity so he can apply for benefits.  He came from Algeria in 1955. 

A.  The records you seek may be available at the National Archives and Records Administration, which maintains immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1820 and 1982.  Additional information is available here.

Q&A: members-only sorority retreat

Q.  I belong to a sorority and we are having a members only retreat.  Do we need to be concerned with the FOIA?

A:  Unfortunately, your anonymous question did not identify the state in which your university is located or indicate whether your school is public or private.  Therefore, I cannot answer your question as fully as possible.  But you might take comfort in knowing that the federal Freedom of Information Act does not apply to the records of state, local, or private entities.  Further, unless your sorority or event is funded by a public university, state freedom of information laws should not provide public access to information about your sorority's retreat.  Nor do state freedom of information laws generally apply to the records of private entities.  I would note, however, that the Ohio Supreme Court recently decided that a private university's police records are subject to disclosure, a decision which the Student Press Law Center reported as follows: 

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in favor of a former student journalist Thursday, determining that police departments at private universities are public entities and must release records under the state’s open records law.

In a 4-3 decision, the Court ruled the Otterbein University Police Department can be compelled to produce public records because it employs sworn, state-certified police officers, who have the same arresting authority as municipal police or a county sheriff.

Read more here.