How to send FOIA - "Freedom of Information" for case pending

[Guido51 9]

hi everyone, has anyone here used FOIA (https://www.uscis.gov/records/request-records-through-the-freedom-of-information-act-or-privacy-act)

while their case is pending? can you please share how you did this? did it hurt or help you?

thanks

[Rocio0010 5,579]

Can you please complete your timeline? It will help others help you.

How long have you been waiting?

What's the basis for your green card?

Any overstays?

Any red flags?

Again, complete your timeline in your profile.

[mindthegap 2,590]

Yes.

Simple process and took a couple of months for the response/ results to arrive.
Very very heavily redacted (I think I put how many redacted pages in my signature below…can’t see it as I’m posting on mobile) to the extent that any photos of spouse, or personal information of spouse was redacted, and even stuff like boarding passes with spouses name on were redacted….
Meaning of course the damn thing I wanted to see, was fully redacted. 
 
If you have a good look at everything you get to see some of USCIS workings, notes and processes which is interesting. You can also see where they have massively screwed up and tried to cover their backside by lying about it.

Edited March 9, 2022 by mindthegap

[Guido51 9]

47 minutes ago, mindthegap said:

Yes.

Simple process and took a couple of months for the response/ results to arrive.
Very very heavily redacted (I think I put how many redacted pages in my signature below…can’t see it as I’m posting on mobile) to the extent that any photos of spouse, or personal information of spouse was redacted, and even stuff like boarding passes with spouses name on were redacted….
Meaning of course the damn thing I wanted to see, was fully redacted. 
 
If you have a good look at everything you get to see some of USCIS workings, notes and processes which is interesting. You can also see where they have massively screwed up and tried to cover their backside by lying about it.

hi mindthegap, sorry but i'm confused by what you say. i thought that we are submitting FOIA online to ask about status or our case. I did it for my pending i751 and n400. but not sure what you mean by censored documents etc? is uscis publishing our paperwork with censor? 

9 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

Can you please complete your timeline? It will help others help you.

How long have you been waiting?

What's the basis for your green card?

Any overstays?

Any red flags?

Again, complete your timeline in your profile.

i will fill if i can find out how in my profile.

i751 is pending for 21months. 

divorce waiver, no red flags or overstays.

thanks if this is helpful

[Guido51 9]

@mindthegap just read your signature i think what you mean is you can literally request the entire file for anybody and uscis will send you the file with removing sensitive info? thats insane but i'm surprised.

 

is this true? i filed FOIA for my pending applications to ask about pending applications. was this is a mistake? 

 

also i'm curious how your ex messed up your case.. how did you discover it if you don't mind sharing it may be helpful. i thought divorce waivers have nothing to do with ex husbands. i even think it should be illegal to request things like this

[Guido51 9]

On 3/8/2022 at 7:17 PM, mindthegap said:

Yes.

Simple process and took a couple of months for the response/ results to arrive.
Very very heavily redacted (I think I put how many redacted pages in my signature below…can’t see it as I’m posting on mobile) to the extent that any photos of spouse, or personal information of spouse was redacted, and even stuff like boarding passes with spouses name on were redacted….
Meaning of course the damn thing I wanted to see, was fully redacted. 
 
If you have a good look at everything you get to see some of USCIS workings, notes and processes which is interesting. You can also see where they have massively screwed up and tried to cover their backside by lying about it.

hi @mindthegap, i just read your signature again and i have similar journey.

i'm curious how you found out about your ex's false allegations? i'm suspicious of my ex husband but not sure if that is why my case is taking long time. i heard uscis would ignore this type of stuff.

also did you file FOIA for n400, or i751 or A-FILE? 

[mindthegap 2,590]

6 hours ago, Guido51 said:

hi @mindthegap, i just read your signature again and i have similar journey.

i'm curious how you found out about your ex's false allegations? i'm suspicious of my ex husband but not sure if that is why my case is taking long time. i heard uscis would ignore this type of stuff.

also did you file FOIA for n400, or i751 or A-FILE? 

It was the reason given for denial. 
I wasn’t told the entire allegation, or even show what was written, or given an opportunity to rebut (as I should have been, according to procedure).

When I got back my FOIA response for my entire A# file the allegations had been completely redacted as there was no trace of them visible in the A# file. 

[Gomast 65]

@mindthegapfrom your FOIA request, did you get some idea of the allegations of your ex?

[mindthegap 2,590]

9 hours ago, Gomast said:

@mindthegapfrom your FOIA request, did you get some idea of the allegations of your ex?

No. Completely redacted and no trace of it in the A# file whatsoever.