I’m hoping someone can provide me with some feedback on dealing with US CIS (formerly INS). I requested a certified copy of my grandfather’s naturalization certificate from their FOIA office (located on the 2nd floor); only to be told by them that I needed to resubmit my request to the Record Services Branch (located on the 4th floor of the same building. One would think…or hope that they could forward the request up two floors, but…no luck on that happening.) It has now been several months since I re-sent my request, and I have not received any correspondence from the office acknowledging that my request is being processed, or that it was even received. For the past week I have made several attempts to contact the office, all to no avail. Today I was able to speak with the lady who is in charge of the FOIA office, and she admitted that her office has received numerous complaints about the Record Services Branch not acknowledging requests. But she also added that if I supplied the office with adequate details, such as name, date of birth, naturalization certificate number, etc… (Which I did), that the delay shouldn’t be too long. The Record Services Branch is the same office that issues the certificates of non existence. Can anyone who has dealt with this office give me an idea of how long it takes for them to process a request? Also, if anyone has a contact telephone number for them, I would be grateful if they could pass that along as well. Many thanks.
Giuseppe