[poseidon]

Hi All,

Strange question possibly!!

It was difficult deciding which AMHD category niche to ask this question in.

I am a UK Citizen & live in the UK.

Even though I am not a US Citizen am I still entitled to apply for, and receive information & documents which have been released by the USA Government under their Freedom of Information Acts?

Any help & info will be greatly appreciated.

Poseidon

[smearcase]

I am not an expert on this subject but the first thing you should do is to research the rules each agency has for FOIA requests, many of which are 20(?) pages long, or much more.
They have an obligation to answer within a min. number of days--unless you fail to meet one of their requirements. The agencies have a legal staff available to ensure that your request meets their requirements (t's crossed etc). Most have 30 days to respond to you. If you fail to meet requirements, they get another 30 days for revised request etc. They can charge at a rate they consider reasonable for copies etc.
American newspapers test the FOIA compliance periodically. They send reporters (posing as ordinary citizens) to areas they don't usually cover (so they are not recognized as newspaper reporters) and they request documents from government agencies. In many cases, they encounter a brick wall as if the law didn't even exist. They are frequently asked why they want the documents but the law says they can't do that.
There was a story about a man who requested a certain police document. He was told it would be ready in 30 days. When he returned to get his document, they told him that the document had reached the date upon which it was to be destroyed (as a matter of routine procedure) before the 30 days was up, so it had been shredded! What a coincidence!
In my humble opinion, the U.S. FOIA is a total abomination and the intent of Congress has been defeated by bureaucrats interested only in self-preservation, and it is a serious threat to democracy.
In my experience with a state agency, the most frequent requests we received were from law firms who in most cases represented clients who were suing the state. The firm would request to review and request copies of documents. We had to do our own review of the requested files first because there were certain documents that could be withheld such as memos between officials trying to arrive at a decision-deliberative I think they were called. We had to hand over many documents that hurt our case. If we withheld a document, we had to describe it to the requesting attorneys who could contest it and demand that a judge review the document to verify that it was in category that could legally be withheld. None of ours were ever contested.
In many cases, these documents can be embarrassing to the agency, can cause loss of lawsuits and millions of dollars, can result in firing of employees, or even result in criminal charges against employees. And the affected employees are usually the ones determining what can be released. Until the element of employee/agency self-preservation is taken out of the equation, FOIA will never work as intended for citizens. But it does give news agencies a lot of ammo if they persevere.

[smearcase]

P.S. I re-read your question.
I don't know of any policy which provides for obtaining documents that have been released under the FOIA. I don't believe any agencies ever release info to public under FOIA (they may release it because they know it can be gotten under FOIA and feel that it is better to control the timing of the release) If they have been released for publication they should be available without use of the FOIA.
Under FOIA, you have to give a detailed description of the exact document you want (check their FOIA request requirements). Overly broad and burdensome requests are normally denied (in my experience). Such as asking NASA for all documents of any type from all years which discuss rocket propulsion or asking Sec. Transportation for all info relating to vehicle recalls.
I may just be uninformed or haven't followed closely enough but of the thousands of unauthorized releases of military documents over the recent past, I haven't learned anything of a very shocking nature--at least anything that justifies the hype that precedes the releases.
I think that all public agency documents should go on the agencies website, except those deemed sensitive by the agency. An impartial (I know) board with necessary security clearances should review all withheld documents (those not posted) on say a monthly basis, to determine if they were properly withheld. The board would also have the authority to initiate charges against those responsible for illegally withholding documents without just cause.
Example: A Transportation agency withholds an inspection report that indicates a bridge was about to collapse, said report being dated one year before it does collapse. The agency witholds the report because they don't want the public to panic and/or have doubts about the safety of bridges. The fact is--the public should have panicked and had doubts about the safety of bridges--the action of the agency put the citizens in more danger! Like a Dr. not telling you that you have cancer for your own good---for a little while!

[excon]

Hello again, p:

I thought you LIKED my answer the other day. It was TRUE, after all... The FOI law is about government disclosure. It's NOT about to whom disclosure is made...

I say again, I've made MANY FOI requests, and NEVER was my nationality questioned... Yours won't be either.

excon

[smearcase]

This may be helpful:
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Handbook