This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit prompted U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to rescind policies of unlawfully withholding interview notes, emails, and other records from refugees’ case files.
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) and other advocates represent refugees denied admission to the United States in administrative appeals. When USCIS denies admission to applicants for refugee status, it provides only boilerplate explanations for its denials. Advocates must file FOIA requests to obtain their refugee clients’ case files to learn the factual findings and legal reasoning needed to prepare a viable appeal.
USCIS guidance from 2022, though, misapplied FOIA exemptions protecting information from disclosure to withhold records containing these findings and reasoning. Such withholdings prevented advocates from obtaining these records within the appeal deadline.
In December 2023, IRAP sued USCIS to vacate these policies so it can get the records it needs to write timely, meaningful appeals for its current and future refugee clients. In February 2024, the Council joined the lawsuit as co-counsel. In October 2024, USCIS revised its guidance to no longer withhold interview notes and emails discussing refugee operations in full. So, in August 2025, IRAP and the Council settled and dismissed the litigation.
