USCIS FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) Requests can be Important Tools for Skilled Immigrants
This post reminds foreign nationals that if their employer will not give them certain documents, they can request them directly from USCIS. But it is also a 'sneaky' way to get a duplicate approval.
Foreign nationals in the United States face a wide variety of obstacles in connection with U.S. immigration law and having a stable life. The system is extremely difficult to navigate.
One frustrating thing that sometimes occurs is when an employer does not provide full copies of immigration filings made on behalf of an employee. This includes PERM applications and PERM-based I-140s.
I have said this in other contexts but I am saying it for the first time (I think) in my newsletter: If you have been sponsored for a PERM application and you have a PERM-based I-140 approved and you do not have a copy of the PERM-based I-140 filing, you can contact USCIS directly and ask for a copy of the I-140 filing. This is a free service through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
To do a FOIA request, you don’t need an attorney. You can simply go online and get the I-140 filing. Details can be found here.
But here is a new twist on a FOIA request: In a recent case, where a PERM-based I-140 was approved but the attorney and employer did not receive a copy (presumably through officer incompetence) - rather than waste time trying to get a duplicate approval notice (which is often one of THE most frustrating things to do in immigration law), we just had the foreign national do a FOIA request and within a month she had a complete copy of the I-140 file and documentation that the I-140 was approved.