Q. Can I use FOIA to obtain Foreign Service Institute School of Professional and Area Studies curriculum and syllabi? I do not think this information is classified, but rather “For Official Use Only.”

A. The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is a component of the Department of State. Thus, FSI records are subject to FOIA requests. Whether the content of those records can be released in full or in part, however, is not something that I can accurately predict. I have not found a federal court opinion in which access to FSI course material was disputed. Note that you would not be the first person to make such a request. Here is a request that was filed about three weeks ago:

Q. As this is my first FOIA request, what is a typical window for expecting a response? Further, will I receive a response from the State Department no matter what, even if it’s to say my request cannot be filled?

A. The State Department is notoriously slow in responding to FOIA requests. In fiscal year 2019, the Department took an average of 119 days to complete "simple" requests and an average of 307 days to complete "complex" requests. And the pandemic has worsened the Department's response times. The Department should first send you an "acknowledgment" letter and assign a reference number to your request. That is supposed to occur within 10 business days, but in my experience it's likely to take one month or more. Even if all of the records you requested are exempt, the Department will (eventually) issue a substantive response identifying the FOIA exemptions and notifying you of your appeal rights.