Over the past five years, DHS has sought to improve the customer experience when submitting a FOIA request to the Department.
In April 2012, the DHS Privacy Office redesigned its public-facing FOIA website, www.dhs.gov/FOIA, to improve usability. Updated features included a simplified menu and graphic links to rich content.
Today, the DHS Privacy Office deployed a consolidated web-based form allowing FOIA requesters to submit their FOIA requests to DHS and any of its components.
Detailed information explains how to submit a FOIA request and information on where to direct it, while a link off the index page enables requesters to check the status of submitted requests.
In addition, beginning this Fiscal Year, many of our components online check status now provides an estimated date of completion for all FOIA requests. For the average requester, this may reduce the time and energy spent navigating the process for submitting a FOIA request to DHS.