Q&A: dates of entry into the United States

Q.  How do I obtain dates of entry into the United States?

A.  Information regarding entry into the United States in or after 1982 is available from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).  You may access the CPB's Freedom of Information Act web site here.  Please note, however, that CPB is likely to deny any FOIA request concerning a third party without that person's written consent. 

If you are a nonimmigrant alien and interested in obtaining evidence of your entry into the United States (I-94 Form), you may do so online here.   

The National Archives and Records Administration maintains immigration records, more popularly known as "ship passenger arrival records," for various ports for the years 1800-1959.  Click here for additional details.    

I hope this information is helpful.

Q&A: How to figure out who owns a cemetery near the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant?

Q.  My grandparents sold their property to the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant in the early 1940's. Midewin Prairie has since taken over some of the land that people sold for the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant. They say they don't own the cemetery where my grandparents and other family members are buried, and I am trying to locate the present owner. Who do I contact to get this information?  I have been to the Will County Recorders Office, and they say they don't have any information on the land transfer to the Government in the early 1940's. The name of the cemetery is the Chicago Road Cemetery or sometimes called the German Evangelical Cemetery in Florence Township. I suspect it is still owned by the U.S. Government, but Midewin says they don't know.

A.   According to a report written by the Department of the Interior in the mid-1980s, the property purchased for the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant included six cemeteries.  See report here (reference 3).  Although the report identifies only one of the cemeteries by name (Reed Cemetery), your suspicion that the Chicago Road Cemetery might be owned by the federal government is certainly plausible.  I am skeptical, however, that submitting formal requests for records dating back to the 1940s will be the most efficient way for you to learn who owns the cemetery.  As an initial matter, if you have not done so already, I would suggest contacting the congressperson who represents the district in which the cemetery is located, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, as well as your elected state, county, or village/town officials (listed here).  Additionally, you may wish to contact the Joliet Arsenal Development Authority, whose mission is to adapt and transform the land formerly used by the U.S. Army. 

If you wish to request records from the U.S. Department of the Army, you may send your request by regular mail to Alecia Bowling, FOIA Contact, Freedom of Information Act Office, Suite 144, 7701 Telegraph Road, Room 150, Alexandria, VA 22315-3905, or via email at usarmy.belvoir.hqda-oaa-aha.mbx.rmda-foia@mail.mil, or via the following online form.  If you wish to make a FOIA request to the USDA's Forest Service, which operates the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, please follow the instructions set forth here.  Tips about making Freedom of Information Act requests can be located here. 

You may also be interested in the following guidance concerning abandoned cemeteries from the State of Illinois Comptroller. 

I hope this information is useful.   

Q&A: How to appeal a denial by the California DMV?

According to the First Amendment Coalition, which answered a similar question in 2012:  

Unlike the federal Freedom of Information Act, and other state public records laws, the California Public Records Act does not establish any system of administrative appeal, neither within the agency itself nor with any other body of the state government.  Rather, the only way formally to challenge a determination that a record is exempt from the Public Records Act is to file a lawsuit.  Cal. Govt. Code sections 6258, 6259.

Read more here.  Procedures adopted by the California's DMV do not address appeals of agency responses to information requests.  See DMV manual here.  The First Amendment Project Society of Professional Journalists (Nor. Cal.) nonetheless suggests appealing if your request is denied.  See pocket guide here.

Q&A: FOIA Advisor's organization

Q.  Is FOIA Advisor a business?

A.   No.  We do not solicit or represent clients, nor are we funded by any organization.  This is an independent, educational endeavor.

Q&A: fees for news media

Q.  Is a member of the news media required to pay FOIA fees?

A.  A requester who qualifies under FOIA as "representative of the news media" is responsible for paying duplication costs beyond the first 100 pages, which are free of charge.  The requester, however, may ask the agency to reduce or waive any duplication costs.  

For further information about fee categories and fee waivers, you may wish to read  this guidance from the Office of Government Information Services.