This sponsored column is by James Montana, Esq. and Doran Shemin, Esq., practicing attorneys atSteelyard LLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Arlington, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice,contact Jamesfor an appointment.

The best things in life are free. The best things in law are expensive, with one exception: Freedom of Information Act requests, which are free, free, free.

The Freedom of Information Act is, as readers surely know, a useful tool for journalists and ordinary citizens to obtain information about what our government does. But it is extremely useful and vastly underused in the immigration context. Submitting FOIA requests for immigration records is a simple process that helps immigrants and practitioners alike by giving us a look at someones entire immigration history.

FOIA requests are filed with USCISs National Records Center online or by mail on a simple form called the G-639. The form can be used to request specific documents, such as an old application or certificate of naturalization, or an individuals entire immigration file. There is no charge unless the government sends a bill; in our experience, the government never, ever does.

The results of FOIA requests have given us some of our most exciting cases. Weve found:

Any time you have questions about what happened in an immigration case or if youve lost your documents, file an FOIA!

FOIAs are also helpful for American citizens researching family history. You can submit a G-639 seeking the records of a deceased family member using an obituary or death certificate. For example, Doran wanted to learn more about her grandmother Lillians immigration history and submitted an FOIA request to USCIS with a copy of her grandmothers obituary.

In the FOIA results, Doran received a copy of Lillians Argentine birth certificate, a copy of Lillians visa application and Lillians application for U.S. citizenship. Doran also learned that her grandmother did not legally change her name from Luisa to Lillian until Lillian became a U.S. citizen in 1956. All of this information was sitting in a government office waiting to be discovered and would have otherwise been unknown.

Analyzing FOIA results are some of our favorite things to do at our office. Were happy to help our clients request their file and make recommendations about how to move their cases forward. We do an FOIA request at no extra charge whenever we think it is necessary as part of a consultation information wants to be free, and we want to help you liberate it.

Weve participated in the immigration FOIA review process at an even nerdier level helping sue USCIS to try to compel the production of allegedly exempt material but thats a story for another day. For now, our message is: File an FOIA request! Youll learn a lot, and your future lawyer will be deeply grateful.

As always, we welcome any thoughts or comments and will do our best to respond.

Read this article:

Statutes of Liberty: Freedom of Information Act Requests are Free for Immigrants and U.S. Citizens - ARLnow