USCIS Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act

Online Service:

You can submit a FOIA request online using our Freedom of Information Act Records SysTem (FIRST) to request:

Your own immigration record,
Another person’s immigration record, or;
Non-A-file information such as policies, data, or communications

Using FIRST eliminates the time and expense associated with mail-in requests.

Stay tuned for more online services coming soon!

After you create a USCIS online account and link it to your case, you will be able to log in to the digital delivery center to view and download the records you requested.

Already have a USCIS account? Simply login and link the case to your existing account. We will email you when we have processed your case and your records are ready to be accessed.

USCIS Mission Statement

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administers the nation's lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.

USCIS FOIA Office

The USCIS centralized FOIA office receives, tracks, and processes all USCIS FOIA requests to ensure transparency within our agency.

Types of Records

USCIS records take many forms. These include decision papers, memorandums, databases, audio and video recordings, publications, web pages, telephone logs, and e-mail messages.

Electronic Reading Room

We have created a new look for our Electronic Reading Room that provides a user-friendly environment with more topics to choose from. It also includes a search function that will look for keywords within the titles and teasers of the documents.

Visit the FOIA Office

The National Records Center is generally closed to the public, but outreach tours and briefings are offered throughout the year. If you would like to tour the FOIA office in Lee's Summit, Missouri, send us your contact information to FOIAPAQuestions@uscis.dhs.gov. We will contact you to schedule your visit.