President Obama has signed into law the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016.
The FOIA, Freedom of Information Act, is often a powerful tool used by immigration practitioners and applicant to actually get the ‘files’ or documents in custody of the government. FOIA requests which can be obtained by filing the form G-639 from the USCIS website is instrumental especially in cases which have been long pending with the government. By signing the FOIA Improvement Act 2016, President Obama makes it a little easier for applicants and immigrants to have access to their cases. We applaud this new rule of transparency.
June 30, 2016
Today, as we approach the 50th anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act, President Obama has signed into law the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016.
In our democracy, the FOIA serves as a vital tool to keep citizens informed about the operations of their government. Since its enactment in 1966, the FOIA has been amended on a number of occasions to adapt to the times and changing priorities. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 contains several substantive and procedural amendments to the FOIA, as well as new reporting requirements for agencies.
In order to assist agencies in understanding all of the new changes to the FOIA, OIP has added two new resources to its website today. First, agencies and the public can find a detailed summary of all of the changes to the law on the “FOIA Resources” pages of our site. Additionally, OIP is making available a redline version of the FOIA which outlines each of the changes within the law.
In the upcoming months, OIP will be issuing guidance to agencies on the implementation of the various new provisions of the law. Announcements will be made on FOIA Post as new guidance is released. Agencies are encouraged to contact OIP’s FOIA Counselor Service with any questions they may have on implementation of these new statutory provisions.
