USCIS Forms G-639
FOIA request for your immigration records
A Freedom of Information Act request asks USCIS for a copy of the records it holds about you: every form ever filed, every notice and decision, and the notes behind them. Form G-639 is the paper way to ask. Most requests now go through the USCIS online FOIA system. Here is what you get, who should ask, and how the process runs.
G-639, At a glance
Rev 2026- Who files
- Anyone, for their own records, or for someone else's with written consent
- Filing fee
- No filing fee, charges depend on size
- Typical timeline
- 1–3 months
- Filed with
- USCIS FOIA, online or by mail
USCIS updates fees and processing times without notice. Confirm the current figures on USCIS.gov before you file, or ask us and we'll check them with you.
Processing times vary by form, category and field office. Look up the current time for your own case with the USCIS processing times tool.
What a FOIA request gives you
The USCIS records about a person are kept together in an alien file, the A-file. A FOIA request returns a copy of it: petitions and applications filed for you or by you, receipt and decision notices, interview notes, requests for evidence and what was sent in reply, and records of prior entries and status. If you do not know what was filed on your behalf years ago, what a previous preparer wrote, or why something was denied, this is how you find out.
Who should request their file first
- 01Anyone about to file a new petition or application whose immigration history has gaps, old filings or a prior denial
- 02Anyone who has lost their documents, or never had copies of what a previous preparer or attorney filed
- 03Anyone who was ever in removal proceedings, or is not sure whether they were
- 04Anyone whose name, date of birth or A-number appears differently across old notices
- 05A family member preparing a petition who needs to confirm what USCIS already has on record about the beneficiary, with that person's written consent
What USCIS asks for
- 01Your full name and every other name you have used, date and place of birth, and your A-number or receipt numbers if you have them
- 02Proof of identity: a signed declaration under penalty of perjury, or a notarized signature, so USCIS releases the file only to the person it belongs to
- 03For someone else's records, that person's signed consent, or proof they have died
- 04A description of what you want: the whole file, or specific documents such as a particular decision or an I-94 record
- 05A mailing address or a USCIS online account where the records can be delivered
How the process runs
- 01
Prepare the request
We gather your identifiers, draft the identity declaration and the consent if one is needed, and describe the records precisely, because a vague request is the usual reason for a slow or partial one.
- 02
Submit online or by mail
Most requests go through the USCIS online FOIA system, which is faster and lets you track the request. Form G-639 is the paper alternative for anyone who cannot use an online account.
- 03
Acknowledgement and track
USCIS assigns a control number and a processing track: simple, complex, or expedited for people with a scheduled immigration court hearing. The track decides how long the wait is.
- 04
Records delivered
The file arrives digitally through the online account, or by mail for a paper request. We go through it with you, page by page, so the next filing is built on what USCIS actually has.
What a USCIS FOIA does not include
USCIS only holds USCIS records. Border entries and exits and most I-94 history are with Customs and Border Protection, immigration court records are with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and visa applications made abroad are with the Department of State. Each has its own request process, and a complete history often needs more than one. We tell you which ones your situation calls for.
What a FOIA request costs
A FOIA request has no filing fee. There is no amount to pay when you submit it, which is why the fee row above shows none. What you can be charged instead is the cost of producing the records, and that depends on how big your file is. Someone asking for their own immigration records gets 100 pages of copying and two hours of search time free. Beyond the free pages, DHS charges 10 cents a page. Beyond the free search time it charges by the quarter hour, at a rate set by the grade of the employee doing the searching. And if the total after the free allowances comes to $14 or less, you are charged nothing at all.
So will yours cost anything?
For most people asking for their own file, no. A straightforward A-file is often under the free page allowance, and where it goes over, the charge has to clear $14 before anything is billed at all. A long file is where cost appears: decades of filings, several prior applications, a case that went to immigration court. At 10 cents a page, a file running to a thousand pages is still tens of dollars rather than hundreds. What matters is that this is not a fixed price you can look up in advance, and nobody, including us, can tell you the number before USCIS sees how large your file is. You can also cap your exposure: a request can state the most you are willing to pay, and DHS will come back to you rather than run past it. We put that limit in for you.
Timing, and a change worth knowing about
Timing depends on the processing track USCIS assigns, and expedited handling is only available to someone with a scheduled immigration court hearing. On cost, one thing changed recently: DHS announced that from 1 September 2026 it would begin charging these fees on FOIA requests for USCIS administrative files, having in practice not charged for them before. The figures above are set by DHS regulation: 6 CFR 5.11, which covers every DHS agency rather than any one form, which is why they are not on the USCIS fee schedule. The allowances above are what protect most personal requests, but advice written before that date, including a good deal of what is still online, describes a system where an A-file request was simply free. If you have a filing deadline coming, request the file now and start preparing the filing in parallel.