§5.29. Fees. — Inbound Citations

(c) A requester must describe the records sought in sufficient detail to enable Department personnel to locate the system of records covering them with a reasonable amount of effort. Whenever possible, the request should describe the records sought, the time periods in which the requester believes they were compiled, the office or location in which the requester believes the records are kept, and the name or identifying number of each system of records in which the requester believes they are kept. The Department publishes notices in the Federal Register that describe its components' systems of records. These notices can be found on the Department's website here: https://www.dhs.gov/system-records-notices-sorns. If a request does not adequately describe the records sought, DHS may at its discretion either seek additional information from the requester or administratively close the request. Requests for clarification or more information must be made in writing via electronic mail. To be considered timely, responses to requests for additional information must be received by electronic mail within 30 working days of the electronic mail request for additional information. If the requester does not respond timely, the request may be administratively closed at DHS's discretion. This administrative closure does not prejudice the requester's ability to submit a new request for further consideration with additional information.

(b) Consistent with the procedures in subpart A of this part, a component will acknowledge the request and assign it an individualized tracking number if it will take longer than ten (10) working days to process. Components will include in the acknowledgement letter a brief description of the records sought to allow requesters to more easily keep track of their requests. Further, in the acknowledgment letter, the component will confirm the requester's agreement to pay fees under §§ 5.21(d) and 5.29.