Case of D.C.

For D’s visa case, in which it was alleged that he had engaged in alien smuggling (Section 212(a)(6)(E)), it was critical to establish the dates of his and his family member’s entries to and exits from the United States more than 10 years prior. In response to Freedom of Information Act requests to the Customs and Border Protection, CBP issued “no records” responses, claiming that it did not have any documents or materials related to D and his family member. We knew that was not true. We immediately filed a complaint with the CBP FOIA Liaison. Within 48 hours, CBP released comprehensive responsive replies, containing more than 20 pages of information related to their trips to the United States.