Information about INA Section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(III) Terrorist Organiza

To Whom It May Concern:

It is believed that the Department of State has this information, because it is the responsibility of the adjudicating Consular officer or DOS member to decide whether an entity is a T3 Entity (as defined below) and whether that classification applies to or affects each individual immigration case that comes before DOS and U.S. Consulates.

Please provide responses to this request as they become available.

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

* List of all DOS manuals, forms, memos, standard operating procedures, and other documents that identify, provide statistics about, address, or otherwise contain information about INA 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(III) identified organizations, entities, individuals, and others.

* Copy of all DOS manuals, forms, memos, standard operating procedures, and other documents that identify, provide statistics about, address, or otherwise contain information about INA 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(III) identified organizations, entities, individuals, and others.

-- Each of the following requested items is in reference to organizations, entities, groups, individuals, or others classified under INA § 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(III) hereinafter collectively referred to as “T3 Entities”.

** Count of all present T3 Entities and a separate count of all entities that are no longer T3 Entities.

** List of all departments, divisions, subgroups, or others, including individual Consulates, of the Department of State (hereinafter collectively referred to as “DOS Division(s)”) that have designated, are involved with, handle requests regarding, or have any other interaction with any T3 Entities.

** Statistics on the number of T3 Entities designated by DOS. List of offices, departments, divisions, and supervisors responsible for having made those designations.

** Name of all entities classified as T3 Entities, along with information on what DOS division made that designation and the date of designation.

** Name of all entities classified as T3 Entities along with the first date that entity was so classified and the last date that entity's classification was used.

** Name of all known and suspected members of T3 Entities.

** Copy of any memos or other documents designating a T3 Entity including details on why that group was designated as a T3 Entity with specificity.

** Count of the number of persons that have been denied immigration benefits through a DOS Division due, at least in part, to that person’s involvement with a T3 Entity.

** Count of the number of persons denied immigration benefits through a DOS Division, due at least in part, to that person’s T3 Entity involvement listed along with the applicable statutes, the entity name, and the DOS Division that made that decision.

** Count of the number of persons whose case for immigration benefits have not been decided by a DOS Division due, at least in part, to their involvement with a T3 Entity.

** Count of the number of persons whose case for immigration benefits have not been decided by a DOS Division due at least in part, to their involvement with a T3 Entity along with the applicable statutes, the entity name, and the DOS Division that is responsible for deciding those cases.

** List of the DOS Divisions, Subdivisions, Consulates, etc along with a list of all statutes or laws used by that Division to deny or holds on a case due to involvement with a T3 Entity and a count of the number of denials and separately the number of case holds under that statute at that Division.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Jay Gairson

Records from May 11, 2005 (since enactment of the REAL ID "material support" clause) to Present (May 11, 2013). Please provide the records as they are available for publication to the public.

Thank you,

Jay Gairson

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

Thank you for the time estimate.

Could you please check this FOIA request against FOIA request F-2011-26406? These requests are substantially similar. Given that the processing time for this request is approximately two years, it is reasonable to assume that request F-2011-26406 would be nearing its completion. In which case, as I was the original requestor for F-2011-26406, I ask that you redirect the records received in that request to this request and release them based on their immediate availability (i.e., as they are received and reviewed) rather than waiting until all documents are processed and available. I do understand that new materials generated between 2011 and 2013 are not available as part of the F-2011-26406 request and, therefore, request that those new materials continued to be pursued in a timely manner.

Thank you,

Jay Gairson

My apologies for the confusion. I am inquiring about three cases that are all substantially similar.

I filed requests F-2013-08134, F-2011-26406, and F-2011-27091. These requests are substantially similar. The original case status request was in regards to F-2013-08134. While reviewing the Department of State FOIA Logs for 2011 last week, I noted that request F-2011-26406 had been received in my name on November 17, 2011. I never received a response to that request and re-filed it on December 14, 2011, which is registered as request reference number F-2011-27091 according to the FOIA logs. I never received a response to that request either - not even an acknowledgement - and a week after my new daughter was diagnosed with several major medical problems. As a result, I admit that forgot about those requests. Then on May 10, 2013, still needing the same information, I filed request F-2013-08134 which is substantially similar to my earlier requests.

Only after reviewing the DOS FOIA Logs for 2011 last week that are dated April 3, 2013, did I find out that my original requests had been received by DOS in 2011.

Today you presented me with the estimated completion date for F-2013-08134 as being April 2015. That will be 23 months (almost two years) after the original filing date of my request F-2013-08134 (May 10, 2013). I believe it is safe to assume that any request substantially similar to F-2013-08134 would take approximately 23 months to process. Therefore, my earlier requests F-2011-26406 (filed November 17, 2011) and F-2011-27091 (filed December 14, 2011) should have estimated completion dates of October 2013 and November 2013 respectively.

In order to avoid duplication of effort and to substantially reduce the time taken in responding to F-2013-08134, I believe it would be prudent to merge cases F-2011-26406 and F-2011-27091 with F-2013-08134. Therefore, I request that you provide a preliminary response to F-2013-08134 by the end of November 2013, using the materials that should have been obtained by then in response to requests F-2011-26406 and F-2011-27091.

Note, I acknowledge and understand that the earlier F-2011-26406 and F-2011-27091 requests will not produce materials made after the date they were submitted. Therefore, there are materials created between December 2011 and present that will only be available to F-2013-08134. Nonetheless, by merging F-2011-26406 and F-2011-27091 with F-2013-08134 substantial amounts of materials requested should be imminently available and a preliminary response with those materials would be appreciated, with the understanding that materials created after December 2011 will become available at a later date.

I apologize for the duplicative requests. I do not know why I never received receipt notices on F-2011-26406 and F-2011-27091, but assure you I would have pursued those requests rather than filing a new request had I realized that they had been received by DOS and were still open.

Sincerely,

Jay Gairson

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

Katrina:

It is April 24, 2015. Since October 2013 it has been indicated that the completion date for this case is April 2015. I am writing now, in the hopes that you will be issuing the requested documents within the next 7 days. Please provide me with an update as to the status of this FOIA request.

The freedom of information request was originally submitted on May 10, 2013. It was assigned reference number #F-2013-08134.

Please let me know the status of this case.

Sincerely,

Jay Gairson

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

Chairman, Appeals Review Panel
c/o Information and Privacy Coordinator/Appeals Officer
U.S. Department of State, A/GIS/IPS/PP, SA-2
Washington, DC 20522-8100

Dear Appeals Review Panel Chairman:

I am appealing FOIA Case Control Number F-2013-08134 due to the constructive denial of this request due to the failure of the Department of State to respond. The requested documents were substantially related to DOS information on INA 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(III) organizations.

The following facts pertain to this appeal:

* May 10, 2013, I filed a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request with the Department of State (DOS) for information and records concerning "T3 Entities".
* May 14, 2013, DOS responded acknowledging the request.
* October 8, 2013, DOS stated that due to the volume of the request the records would be available and the request completed April 2015. This timeline was reiterated 4 more times.
* October 29, 2015, DOS updated the completion date to March 31, 2016. This was reiterated 2 more times.
* February 5, 2016, DOS stated the search process was completed and the updated completion date was February 29, 2016.
* March 8, 2016, DOS sought to re-update the estimated completion date.
* April 7, 2016, DOS issued an updated estimated completion date of January 2017.

Numerous attempts to follow-up with the Department of State have been made since the filing of this request on May 10, 2013, to no avail. Nearly 3 years have passed since this request was initially filed. The Department of State has failed to produce any documents during this time and it has not identified any basis for withholding any of the requested documents.

The Department of State's failure to respond to the request within the time period required by FOIA constitutes a constructive denial of the request. The FOIA requires an agency to respond to a request for records within 20 days. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i). Therefore, DOS's response to the Request was due on or about May 30, 2013. Even where DOS's statements that it was consulting with its bureaus and analysts intended to invoke the FOIA's 10-day extension of time to respond, where there is a need to consult "two or more components of [an] agency having substantial subject-matter interest" in a request, DOS was nevertheless required to respond to the Request by June 10, 2013. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B)(iii)(III). DOS's failure to respond to the request within the time period required by the FOIA therefore serves as a constructive denial of the request and I am deemed to have exhausted all of my administrative remedies. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(C)(i).

DOS has asserted "extraordinary circumstances" exist to justify its refusal to respond to the Request within the time period required by the FOIA. However, it has not stated, for example, that it is "deluged with a volume of requests for information vastly in excess of that anticipated by Congress." Gov't Accountability Project v. U.S. Dep't of HHS, 568 F. Supp. 2d 55, 58 (D.D.C. 2008) (citing Open Am. v. Watergate Special Prosecution Force, 547 F.2d 605, 616 (D.C. Cir. 1976)). Instead, it cited a generic list of "the number and location of Department components involved in responding to your request, the volume of requested records, etc." as possible reasons for "unusual circumstances". The "unusual" is not the "extraordinary" and a generic list lacks the specificity necessary to justify such circumstances. In light of these factors, I am left with no other impression than that DOS is not exercise due diligence in respond to my request. See e.g., Bloomberg v. FDA, 500 F. Supp. 2d 371, 375-76 (S.D.N.Y. 2007) (finding "the FDA's refusal to provide Bloomberg with [] easily produced Supplemental FDA Inquiries that clearly constitute 'government activity' to [be] suggest[ive] . . . of either an uncooperative stance or a lack of due diligence in this case on the part of the agency).

May I remind the DOS of former Attorney General Eric Holder's admonition that "[o]pen government requires agencies to work proactively and respond to requests promptly . . . When information not previously disclosed is requested, agencies should make it a priority to respond in a timely manner. Timely disclosure of information is an essential component of transparency. Long delays should not be viewed as an inevitable and insurmountable consequence of high demand." United States Attorney General Eric Holder's "Memorandum for Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies", March 19, 2009, available at www.justice.gov/ag/foia-memo-march2009.pdf.

I request that DOS respond to this appeal appeal with the requested documents within 20 business days. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(ii). If you have any questions or require any additional information, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Jay Gairson

To Whom It May Concern:

I'm following up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 10, 2013. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Feb. 29, 2016. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #F-2013-08134.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

Director Newman:

I will send you a separate message off the record.

Sincerely,

Jay Gairson

Greetings:

On May 10, 2013, I submitted FOIA Request Case No. F-2013-08134. After more than ten years of waiting for a response, YES, I unequivocally want you to complete production of the requested records as soon as possible.

Please continue to process this request and produce the requested records. I further request that you provide a production of any already reviewed and available information as a sign that the Department of State is processing my request in good faith.

My contact information remains the same, unless noted otherwise.

Sincerely,

Jay Gairson