22 C.F.R. Subpart A—General Policy and Procedures
Title 22 - Foreign Relations
Records of the Department of State shall be made available to the public upon request made in compliance with the access procedures established in this part, except for any records exempt by law from disclosure. Any request for records must describe the information sought in such a way (see §171.5(c)) that an employee of the Department of State who is familiar with the subject area of the request can locate the records with a reasonable amount of effort. The sections that follow govern the response of the Department to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, Executive Order 12958, and the Ethics in Government Act. Regulations at 22 CFR 172.1–9 govern the response of the Department to subpoenas, court orders, and certain other requests for testimony of Department officials or disclosure of Department records in litigation to which the Department is not a party. Most of the records maintained by the Department pertain to the formulation and execution of U.S. foreign policy. Certain records that pertain to individuals are also maintained such as applications for U.S. passports, applications for visas to enter the U.S., records on consular assistance given abroad by U.S. Foreign Service posts to U.S citizens, and records on Department employees. Further information on the types of records maintained by the Department may be obtained by reviewing the records disposition schedules which are available through the Department's Web site: http://www.state.gov or directly at the FOIA home page: http://foia.state.gov. A reading room providing public access to certain Department of State material is located in the Department of State, SA–2, 515 22nd Street, NW., Washington, DC. The reading room contains material pertaining to access to information under the Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, E.O. 12958 and includes those statutes, regulations, guidelines, and other items required to be made available to the public under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2). Also available in the reading room are microfiches of records released by the Department pursuant to requests under the Freedom of Information Act and compilations of documents reviewed and released in certain special projects. The reading room is open during normal Department weekday working hours, 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are no fees for access by the public to this room or the material contained therein, but fees shall be assessed for the duplication of materials maintained in the reading room at the rate of 15 cents per page and $2.00 per microfiche card. Fees for copies made by other methods of reproduction or duplication, such as tapes, printouts, or CD-ROM, shall be the actual cost of producing the copies, including operator time. Persons wishing to use their own copying equipment must request approval in advance from the Department's Information and Privacy Coordinator, U.S. Department of State, SA–2, 515 22nd Street, NW., Washington, DC 20522–6001. The use of such equipment must be consistent with security regulations of the Department and is subject to the availability of personnel to monitor such copying. The Department has established a site on the Internet with most of the same records and reference materials that are available in the public reading room. This site also contains information on accessing records under the FOIA and the Privacy Act. The site is a valuable source that is easily accessed by the public by clicking on “FOIA” at the Department's Web site at http://www.state.gov or directly at the FOIA home page at http://foia.state.gov. Included on the FOIA home page are links to other sites where Department information may be available. The Department's Privacy Act systems of records and the various records disposition schedules may be found on the Department's FOIA home page under “Reference Materials.” (a) Requests for records in accordance with this chapter may be made by mail addressed to the Information and Privacy Coordinator, U.S. Department of State, SA–2, 515 22nd Street, NW., Washington, DC 20522–6001. Facsimile requests under the FOIA only may be sent to: (202) 261–8579. E-mail requests cannot be accepted at this time. Requesters are urged to indicate clearly on their requests the provision of law under which they are requesting information. This will facilitate the processing of the request by the Department. In any case, the Department will process the request under the provision of law that provides the greatest access to the requested records. (b) Requests may also be made by the public in person from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Department of State, SA–2, 515 22nd Street, NW., Washington, DC. (c) Although no particular request format is required, it is essential that a request reasonably describe the Department records that are sought. The burden of adequately identifying the record requested lies with the requester. Requests should be specific and include all pertinent details about the request. For FOIA requests, the request should include the subject, timeframe, any individuals involved, and reasons why the Department is believed to have records on the subject of the request. For Privacy Act requests, the request should state the type of records sought, the complete name and date and place of birth of the subject of the request, and the timeframe for the records. An original signature is required. See §171.12(b) for guidance regarding third party requests. Individuals may seek assistance regarding any aspect of their requests from the Chief, Requester Liaison Division, (202) 261–8484. (d) While every effort is made to guarantee the greatest possible access to all requesters regardless of the specific statute under which the information is requested, the following guidance is provided for individuals in requesting records: (1) Freedom of Information Act. Requests for documents concerning the general activities of government and of the Department of State in particular (see subpart B of this part). (2) E.O. 12958. Requests for mandatory review and declassification of specific Department records and requests for access to such records by historical researchers and certain former government officials (see subpart C of this part). (3) Privacy Act. Requests from U.S. citizens or legal permanent resident aliens for records that pertain to them and that are maintained by the Department under the individual's name or personal identifier (see subpart D of this part). (4) Ethics in Government Act. Requests for the financial Disclosure Statements of Department Employees covered by this Act (see subpart E of this part). (e) First-in/first-out processing. As a general matter, information access requests are processed in the order in which they are received. However, if the request is specific and the search can be narrowed, it may be processed more quickly. (f) Cut-off date. In determining which records are responsive to a request, the Department ordinarily will include only records in its possession as of the date the search for responsive documents is initiated, unless the requester has specified an earlier time frame. (g) Records previously withheld or in litigation. Requests shall not be processed for records that have been reviewed and withheld within the past two years or whose withholding is the subject of litigation. The Department ordinarily transfers records to the National Archives when they are 25 years old. Accordingly, requests for records 25 years old or older should be addressed to: Archives II, 8601 Adelphi Road, National Archives at College Park, MD 20470–6001.
Title 22: Foreign Relations
PART 171—AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS TO THE PUBLIC
Subpart A—General Policy and Procedures
§ 171.1 Availability of information.
§ 171.2 Types of records maintained.
§ 171.3 Public reading room.
§ 171.4 Electronic reading room.
§ 171.5 Requests for information—types and how made.
§ 171.6 Archival records.
