12 March 2002
This responds to an FOIA request concerning denial of a visa to Richard Tomlinson:
http://cryptome.org/tomlinson-foia.htm
[Received 11 March 2002.]
United States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
MAR - 7 2002
Request Number: 200200634
John Young
Cryptome
251 West 89th Street
New York, NY 10024
Dear Mr. Young:
Thank you for your letter of February 24, 2002 in which you
requested Mr. Richard Tomlinson's visa application.
For your information, the following are conditions which
govern all Freedom of Information Act requests:
The cut-off date for retrieving documents is the date
of the requester's letter. Accordingly, no documents
which originated after the date of your letter will be
retrieved.
Only existing documents are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act. The Act does not provide for the
creation of documents, compilation of data, preparation
of lists, analyses of events, etc.
To process your request, we need the additional information
requested below. we will hold your request open for ninety
(90) days from the date of this letter pending receipt of the
requested information.
Provide the information described below regarding individuals
about whom you have requested information:
(x) date and place of birth (include city and state)
(x) complete spellings of the name, and any other names
or aliases by which the individual has been known
(x) citizenship status (U.S. citizen, permanent resident
alien of the U.S., or other)
(x) (for visa records) provide location of the U.S.
consulate where application was made; type
(immigrant or non-immigrant); whether granted or
denied; date of issuance or denial
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Third Party Requests:
The FOIA and Privacy Act restrict access to Federal records
concerning private individuals by unauthorized third parties.
In general, access to information about private individuals
cannot be given to unauthorized third parties under the
provisions of these laws absent the individuals written
consent. The Department requires that written consent be in
the form of a signed notarized statement from the individual,
authorizing the Department of State to release information to
the other party. The statement should bear the original
signature of the individual and original seal of the notary,
and be dated within six months of the date of the request.
In lieu of notarization, the individual may declare, certify,
verify or state under penalty of perjury, that the
authorization attested to is correct (if inside the U.S.);
declare, certify, verify or state under penalty of perjury
under the laws of the United States of America, that the
the foregoing is true and correct (if outside the U.S.).
For living individuals, provide written consent (see
paragraph above), or tell us that none will be forthcoming.
Requests can be processed without consent, but access may be
severely limited as a result.
The authorization, and your request for information from the
State Department, should not be submitted on a Department of
Justice form but rather on your letterhead or plain bond.
Fee Information:
The Freedom of Information Act permits agencies to collect
fees to recover the direct costs of processing requests,
unless a fee waiver has been granted or the charges fall
below a certain amount. These issues are addressed below.
Based upon the information that you have provided, this
request will be processed in accordance with the fee schedule
designated for the following category of requesters.
( ) commercial use requester
( ) educational institutions
( ) non-commercial scientific institutions
( ) representative of the news media
(x) all other requesters
The Department's search and review fees are:
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Administrative/Clerical $8.00/hour
Professional $17.00/hour
Executive $30.00/hour
Copy costs are assessed at the rate of $0.25 per page.
Initial inquiries indicate that the total costs for
processing this request will be below the minimum amount
charged in your requester category. Accordingly, your
request will be processed at no cost to you. Note that this
determination pertains only to this case.
Due to its central role in conducting U.S. foreign affairs
and the significant public interest in access to its records,
the Department receives requests of a number, range and
complexity perhaps unparalleled among government agencies.
Because of the large number of requests now pending with the
Department, we anticipate that our response will be delayed.
If you have any questions with respect to the processing of
this request, you may write to:
Office of IRM Programs and Services
A/RPS/IPS
U.S. Department of State, SA-2
Washington, D.C. 20522-6001
or telephone: (202) 261-8314 or fax: (202) 261-8579. Please
be sure to refer to your request number in all correspondence
about this case.
Sincerely,
[Signed]
Carrie B. Allen
Requester Communication Branch