What the government has been asked about immigration records

The tracker below lists this site's own requests. Most go to USCIS, about why requests close, how appeals are decided, how the systems work, how the office is staffed and what USCIS tells oversight bodies. Others go to other federal offices and to state and local governments, about their part in immigration enforcement and records; filter by agency below. Records already released are under Documents. These are not agency-wide statistics; each page explains what the records could show.

Figures as of Oct 17, 2026. Check after Nov 16, 2026: if you are reading later than that, these figures may be out of date.

These figures are more than 30 days old. They may not reflect what has happened since Oct 17, 2026.

Jump to: Open requests by age · Request tracker · How timing is counted

By theme

Number of requests in each theme; the bar shows the longest open wait in that theme. Select a theme to filter the tracker.

Open requests by age, in business days

Business days since filing (weekends and federal holidays excluded). Shows the 97 open requests on the public tracker; closed requests are not included.

1. Records behind the identity-proof guidance60
2. List of FOIA program rules and guidance60
3. May 2025 email on closing "99% of cases"60
4. Director's "be on the lookout" messages60
5. Closure counts for immigration file requests, by reason27
6. Results of FOIA appeals27
7. Daily backlog reports for immigration file requests27
8. USCIS input to the annual Chief FOIA Officer Report27
9. Public instructions on proving identity, Sept. 2025 to May 202627
10. Records on creating the "Unable to Verify" closure code27
11. History of portal text on identity and address rules27
12. Fixes to portal text on identity and address rules27
13. Routing of requests between offices27
14. Quality review rates by type of closure27
15. Closures reviewed by a person versus automatic closures27
16. Approver and quality reports27
17. Whether lawyer and military addresses meet identity rules27
18. Review of FOIA policies adopted since September 202527
19. Requests from people facing deportation27
20. Unassigned appeals report, June 11, 202627
21. How appeals sent to one office are counted27
22. Meetings on how FOIA appeals are handled, October 2026 onward27
23. Cases moved out of a legal review queue, March 202627
24. The internal office for VIP cases27
25. Automated approval of case closures27
26. Manuals and release notes for the FIRST system27
27. List of FIRST office codes27
28. FOIA Officer's policy update emails27
29. Accuracy of AI tools used to redact records27
30. Staff hours worked at the National Records Center27
31. Staffing and budget records for FOIA work27
32. Daily open-case counts by office27
33. Move of about 26,000 cases between offices, July 202527
34. The push to clear the FOIA backlog before June 15, 202627
35. DHS and ICE staff helping with FOIA work, 202527
36. National Records Center staffing requests to IRIS leaders27
37. Exit survey for departing National Records Center staff27
38. Operations Support Branch leadership meeting, April 202627
39. Leadership forum call, March 3, 202627
40. Leadership "pulse check" meetings with supervisors, 202627
41. Leadership meeting notes, July 202627
42. National Records Center All-Hands meetings, 2025 to present27
43. Questions from Congress and USCIS's answers27
44. Press office records on the FOIA backlog and lawsuit27
45. Messages between USCIS and the federal auditor (GAO)27
46. FOIA Suggestion Box submissions27
47. Leadership emails on posting records to the reading room27
48. Significant incident reports and FY2026 strategic goals27
49. Handling of a draft guide for requesters27
50. Who received the quarterly Nightingale compliance reports27
51. Quarterly Nightingale compliance reports27
52. Compliance reports in Legal Aid Society v. USCIS27
53. Invitation for a February 2026 follow-up meeting on appeals23
54. Track placement counts for agency-record requests, FY202623
55. Rules on generative AI and exceptions for FOIA work23
56. The NRC Director's email on fiscal year 2025 ratings and awards23
57. Daily Consolidated Report for June 11, 202623
58. Open FOIA appeals grouped by age (refiled)22
59. FIRST system improvement and problem tickets (refiled)22
60. Computer code behind the Nightingale A-File report (refiled)22
61. Staffing and budget papers (narrower refile)22
62. IRIS scorecard and performance measures (refiled)22
63. Reopening requests closed under revised or rescinded guidance (refiled)22
64. Nightingale reports as sent to leadership (refiled)22
65. How figures in court declarations were prepared (refiled)22
66. Backlogged records requests moved between offices, September 13 to 17, 202620
67. Blank letter templates for identity requests and closures14
68. Search of the National Records Center Director's messages for certain words14
69. Search of the Deputy Director's messages for certain words14
70. SAVE guidance for election agencies on reading results14
71. Which USCIS forms collect social-media identifiers14
72. Who is USCIS's FOIA Public Liaison10
73. When identity proof is required and how to fix a problem10
74. Leave restrictions for FOIA and National Records Center staff, 202610
75. Changes to the FOIA Public Liaison's duties10
76. FOIA questions mailbox activity, April 2026 to present10
77. Fixing a wrong SAVE result sent to an election agency10
78. Notice wording for social-media information used against an applicant10
79. How USCIS fixes it when its system mixes up two people10
80. FOIA processor training and review of new processors6
81. Deputy Director's messages with the Florida Attorney General's office on certificates of non-existence4
82. Instructions on closing Records Indexing and genealogy searches as "no record"4
83. Wording of certificates of non-existence prepared for prosecutors4
84. An Associate Center Director's messages about the backlog4
85. Certificates of non-existence by requesting agency4
86. USCIS exchanges with state attorneys general about certificates of non-existence4
87. An Associate Center Director's messages on closing Records Indexing and genealogy searches4
88. Florida Attorney General's exchanges with USCIS on certificates of non-existence4
89. Jackson County Sheriff: ICE agreement, jail transfers and license-plate reader sharing4
90. Notes of the center's leadership forum3
91. Operations Support Branch biweekly reports to center leadership3
92. Records mentioning the Auto Redaction Tool3
93. Records mentioning large language models or Anthropic's Claude3
94. FOIA Branch biweekly reports to center leadership3
95. IIIB branch biweekly reports to center leadership3
96. DHS Privacy Office official's messages with USCIS on identity verification and closures3
97. DHS Privacy Office official's messages with USCIS that name the USCIS FOIA Officer3

The longest wait is 60 business days, shared by 4 requests. The other 93 open requests are 27 business days old or less.

Request tracker

Business days from filing to the snapshot date, excluding weekends and federal holidays (filing day is day 0); for closed requests, business days to closure. How timing works under FOIA →