Department of Homeland Security Plans to Create a New Genealogy Program

No, this isn't the kind of program you run in a Windows or Macintosh computer. Instead, the  Department of Homeland Security is planning to create a new methodology (they call it a "program") to simplify the the process for acquiring historical records of deceased individuals.

Currently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processes requests for genealogical information through its Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act (FOIA/PA) program. The present process is very slow and is also expensive for the government, requiring many manhours to identify and release even simple information. The new fee-for-service genealogy program within the USCIS) should  streamline  and improve the process.

NOTE: The phrase "fee-for-service" means exactly that: the government will charge a fee.

You can read the entire proposal for the "Establishment of a Genealogy Program" in the Federal Register web site at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-10651.htm.

Comments

[Oxa]

More old news. This was announced two and a half months ago, and made the rounds of mailing lists then.

[Linda]

This information wasn't on any of MY mailing lists. I appreciate Dick's efforts to keep us informed about what is happening in the genealogy community.

[Israel P]

The notion that information about individuals is the government's property and they can sell it back to the family is not one I am comfortable with.

[Gwen M.Mccullagh]

I had not heard this before. while I welcome any scheme to make such information more accessible, I have to wonder if this sort of project is really what we need a Dept.of Homeland security to direct their efforts to?

[BobH]

It's interesting, Isreal, that this is not information about individuals, but information about dead individuals, which IMO is a different matter, with different ownership and confidentiality issues.

[Dennis D]

Actually, this has gone well past the proposal stage. The document on the GPO web site establishes the program, to be effective August 13. It prescribes the forms, and sets a fee of $20 for and index search, and $20 or $35 for a copy of a file, depending on the form of the file.

[Gerald Eberwein]

This sounds like it was copied from the government's favored model - Europe.

It also indicates they don't want to do it. The thinking for that is, "If I charge a very high price then nobody will come. So, I can shut it down and never have to be bothered again,"

My big objection to any of the 'schemes' that require a fee to search is the thought of paying to find out something doessn't work. It's like having to pay to use the Card Catalog in a library only to find out they don't have anything of use to you.

I don't subscribe to the song and dance about the recovery of the costs to set up the program, server equipment, bandwidth etc. If that's the case then they should also pay for using it for their own purposes.

In most cases the only fees a government can charge is the ACTUAL costs to retrieve and copy the information requested. So, if these files were created for the gevernment's purposes, and they are opening them to the public, their only fee should be whatever their documentable costs are to provide the items to the requestor. This would be in the form of server time and bandwith use for the search and download. Not even near the $40-55 per search and form file combination they have set.

I, however, am fortunate in this light. I only have seven ancestors this applies to; everybody else came over before this country was established. But, I still object to scams - regardless of how small.

[Clay N]

In addition to the computer related costs, the fee would also include the personnel costs and postage. Given the (unreasonable) costs of government salaries and (especially) benefits, the $20 - $35 cost is actually within reason.

[Michael Hait]

From a genealogy standpoint, this may seem like a high price. However, if you have ever requested records from a government agency via the Freedom of Information Act (the way that these searches are currently handled), for other non-genealogical research, you will recognize that this is actually relatively inexpensive for search and reproduction.
Compare some other prices: $27 for SS application from SSA, $40 for Land Entry file from NARA, $75 for Civil War pension file from NARA. This new price fits right in the same range. It may be higher than some would like, but isn't everything?
Now the real question is - why is the maintenance of these older records under the jurisdiction of the Dept. of Homeland Security? I could understand them controlling access to immigration records of current aliens, but those from 70-80+ years ago? Seems beyond the scope of "threat".

[Michael Hait]

One last comment: to those who object to search fees in general -

The difference between paying a search fee for someone else to search the index and being asked to pay to search a card catalog yourself is exactly that. You are asking someone else to do it for you.

To use another analogy: You can mow your own lawn for nothing, but will have to pay someone else to do it for you. I am sure that you do not work for free, so why expect someone else to work for free?

[David O]

Does anyone know if requests are sent in before the start of the new fees if they will still be processed for free?

[Hattie]

None of us like fees or paying to have someone look something up. However if these fees cover the costs of creating, extracting data,searching and mail costs the rates are not beyond what most Public offial searches done by others cost. I think the question is would you rather have the information available or stuffed in a vault where you can reach it and search it your self if you can locate the document, after payment of travel, lodging and meal costs. Seems like a good deal to me.

[Alex Calzareth]

The Genealogy Program that the USCIS will begin offering in less than a month will be the only way to access the USCIS records for individuals naturalized before 1956. There will be no new information available, the program is just designed to speed up the response time. Over the last several years I have submitted over a hundred requests. At times it would take almost two years to get a response with copies of records. The only positive was that you didn't need to pay anything for the records. The USCIS records are valuable if your ancestors came to the US after July 1924 as they have the visa packet that immigrants arrived with. The application usually included a birth certificate and a photograph along with residence information and other documentation. The USCIS files may also have more information on your ancestor if they were deported or there was an attempt to deny your ancestor citizenship. They also have Alien Registration records, which every alien was required to fill out in 1940. These records asked for the alien's former names, date and place of birth, and date and place of arrival.

As far as I understand all FOIA requests received in Lee's Summit, MO before August 13th will still be processed under FOIA and without charge. I have written instructions on how to file a FOIA request with the USCIS and posted it to http://calzareth.com/misc/uscis.html

It is probably best to try to get your requests out within the next week so that they get entered into the FOIA system in time.

I think these files are not freely available at the National Archives as they contain information on living individuals. Many of the records were microfilmed, so that microfilm roll may have records of people born in 1920 and after, not just people born over 100 years ago.

[Margaret Harris]

Maybe I'm just weird, but this seems like just another justification for the formation of the Dept. Of Homeland Security.

[Gloria Ishida]

Aside from the issue of fees, which depends on how much one can afford to get information on hundreds, or even fewer, ancestors, anything under the Department of Homeland Security sends up red flags for me. Come to think of it, that may include the fees also.

[merry Miller]

I would like to pay reasonable fees, but I, too, wonder about Homeland Security handling these records. Dead men, do tell tales. A good many of our ancestors were immigrants to this country. Does this fit under the category of Homeland Security's format? Is this to give them more money, and in the sense, more power?

[Marion West]

This is an outrageous invasion of privacy! I don't mind having my records in the archives or in libraries, but having the government collect it for whatever purpose is gross violation of my rights.