Fiscal Year 2018 Freedom of Information Act Annual Report 

Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) 

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT 

1. For information concerning this report, you may contact: 

Nichole Skoyles 

Administrative Counsel 

Overseas Private Investment Corporation 

1100 New York Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20527 

Phone: (202) 336-8400 Email: foia@opic.gov 

2. You may access this report on OPIC’s web site: www.opic.gov 

3. You may obtain a paper copy of this report by contacting the official named above. 

II. MAKING A FOIA REQUEST 

1. FOIA requests are received by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) at its office 

located at the address stated above. A request may be made by, (1) mailing a written request to 

the official at the address stated above or (2) sending an email to foia@opic.gov. 

2. OPIC makes every effort to respond to FOIA requests within the statutory 20-day timeframe. 

Many requests are answered within one or two days. However, responses to requests for 

project documents generally require more time. In addition, OPIC’s response may be delayed 

by a need to obtain clarification from a requester on the scope of the request. OPIC's records 

are made available to the public to the greatest extent possible, in keeping with the spirit of the 

FOIA. This includes providing reasonably segregable information from records that also contain 

information that may be withheld under the FOIA. However, the soundness and viability of 

many of OPIC’s programs depend in large measure upon the submission of full and reliable 

commercial, financial, technical and business information by applicants for OPIC assistance. 

Further, the willingness of those applicants to provide such information depends on OPIC's 

ability to hold it in confidence. Consequently, except as provided by law, information provided 

to OPIC in confidence will not be disclosed without the submitter's review. 

III. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS 

1. Definitions of terms used in this Report: 

a. Administrative Appeal—a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher 

administrative level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

level. 

b. Average Number—the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by 

the quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number 

is 8. 

c. Backlog—the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an 

agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for a 

response. 

d. Component—for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a 

“component” is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau, 

Center, or Directorate, within the agency that processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now 

requires that agencies include in their annual FOIA Report data for both the agency 

overall and for each principal component of the agency. 

e. Consultation—the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first 

forwards a record to another agency for its review because that other agency has an 

interest in the document. Once the agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its 

review of the record, it responds back to the agency that forwarded it. That agency, in 

turn, will then respond to the FOIA requester. 

f. Exemption 3 Statute—a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and 

which the agency relies on to withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA. 

g. FOIA Request—a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to 

records concerning another person (i.e., a “third-party” request), or concerning an 

organization, or a particular topic of interest. FOIA requests also include requests made 

by requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., “first-party” requests) when 

those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens. Moreover, 

because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access 

provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any 

first-party requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy 

Act “systems of records” or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency 

looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access. All requests which require the 

agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this Report. 

Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for processing and 

direct response to the requestor. It does not, however, include records for which the 

agency has received a consultation from another agency. (Consultations are reported 

separately in Section XII of this Report.) 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

h. Full Grant—an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA 

request. 

i. Full Denial—an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA request 

because the records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the FOIA 

exemptions, or because of a procedural reason, such as when no records could be 

located. 

j. Median Number—the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the 

median number is 7. 

k. Multi-Track Processing—a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal 

review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests 

are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests granted expedited processing are 

placed in yet another track. Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out 

basis. 

i. Expedited Processing—an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited 

basis when a requester satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as 

set forth in the statute and in agency regulations. 

ii. Simple Request—a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing 

places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the low volume and/or 

simplicity of the records requested. 

iii. Complex Request—a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing 

places in a slower track based on the high volume and/or complexity of the 

records requested. 

l. Partial Grant/Partial Denial—in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to 

disclose portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under 

the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural reason. 

m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal—a request or administrative 

appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all respects. 

n. Perfected Request—a request for records which reasonably describes such records and 

is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and 

procedures to be followed. 

o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal—a request or administrative 

appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all respects. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

p. Range in Number of Days—the lowest and highest number of days to process requests 

or administrative appeals. 

q. Time Limits—the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request 

(ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a perfected FOIA request). 

2. Descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions: 

a. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information 

b. Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices 

c. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law 

d. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information 

e. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal 

privileges 

f. Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy 

g. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the 

extent that the production of those records (A) could reasonably be expected to 

interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair 

trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an 

unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose 

the identity of a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for 

law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law 

enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be expected to 

endanger the life or physical safety of any individual 

h. Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial institutions 

i. Exemption 9: geological information on wells 
3. Agency Component Abbreviations 

Component Abbreviation Component Name 
 

 

IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES 

Statute Type of Information 

Withheld Case Citation Agency / Component 

Number of 

Times 

Relied upon 

by Agency / 

Component 

Total Number 

of 

Times Relied 

upon 

by Agency 

Overall 

41 U.S.C. § 253b(m)(1) 

(currently at 41 U.S.C. § 

4702) 

Contractor proposals that are 

in the possession or control of 

an executive agency and that 

have not been set forth or 

incorporated by reference into 

contracts 

Sinkfield v. HUD, No. 10-

885, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 

35233, at *13-15 (S.D. Ohio 

Mar. 15, 2012); Margolin v. 

NASA, No. 09-CV-00421, 

2011 WL 1303221, at *6 (D. 

Nev. Mar. 31, 2011); 

Hornbostel v. U.S. Dep't of 

the Interior, 305 F. Supp. 2d 

21, 30 (D.D.C. 2003), 

summary affirmance granted, 

No. 03-5257, 2004 WL 

1900562 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 25, 

2004) 

OPIC 1 

1 
 

V.A. FOIA REQUESTS -- RECEIVED, PROCESSED AND PENDING FOIA REQUESTS 

Agency / Component 

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

Start 

of Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Received 

in Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Processed 

in Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of End 

of Fiscal Year 

OPIC 6 59 53 12 

0 

AGENCY OVERALL 6 59 53 12 
V.B.(1). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS -- ALL PROCESSED REQUESTS 

Agency / 

Component 

Number 

of Full 

Grants 

Number 

of Partial 

Grants / 

Partial 

Denials 

Number of 

Full Denials 

Based on 

Exemptions 

Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions 

No 

Records 

All Records 

Referred to 

Another 

Component 

or Agency 

Request 

Withdrawn 

FeeRelated 

Reason 

Records 

not 

Reasonably 

Described 

Improper 

FOIA 

Request 

for Other 

Reason 

Not 

Agency 

Record 

Duplicate 

Request 

Other 

*Explain 

in Chart 

Below 

TOTAL 

OPIC 11 25 0 12 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 53 

0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 11 25 0 12 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 53 
 

V.B.(2). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS -- "OTHER" REASONS FOR "FULL DENIALS 

BASED ON REASONS OTHER THAN EXEMPTIONS" 

Agency / 

Component Description of "Other" Reasons for Denials from Chart B(1) 

Number of Times 

"Other" Reason 

Was Relied Upon 

TOTAL 

OPIC N/A 0 

0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 
 

V.B.(3). DISPOSITION OF FOIA REQUESTS -- NUMBER OF TIMES EXEMPTIONS APPLIED 

Agency / 

Component Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7(A) Ex. 7(B) Ex. 7(C) Ex. 7(D) Ex. 7(E) Ex. 7(F) Ex. 8 Ex. 9 

OPIC 0 0 1 16 13 21 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 0 1 16 13 21 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 
VI.A. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA REQUESTS --

RECEIVED, PROCESSED, AND PENDING ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS 

Agency / Component 

Number of Appeals 

Pending as of Start 

of Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals Received 

in Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals Processed 

in Fiscal Year 

Number of Appeals 

Pending as of End 

of Fiscal Year 

OPIC 0 0 0 0 

0 

AGENCY OVERALL 0 0 0 0 
VI.B. DISPOSITION OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS -- ALL PROCESSED APPEALS 

Agency / Component Number Affirmed on 

Appeal 

Number Partially 

Affirmed & Partially 

Reversed/Remanded on 

Appeal 

Number Completely 

Reversed/Remanded on 

Appeal 

Number of Appeals 

Closed for Other 

Reasons 

TOTAL 

OPIC 0 0 0 0 0 

0 

AGENCY OVERALL 0 0 0 0 0 
 

VI.C.(1). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL -- NUMBER OF TIMES EXEMPTIONS APPLIED 

Agency / 

Component Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7(A) Ex. 7(B) Ex. 7(C) Ex. 7(D) Ex. 7(E) Ex. 7(F) Ex. 8 Ex. 9 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
VI.C.(2). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL -- REASONS OTHER THAN EXEMPTIONS 

Agency / 

Component 

No 

Records 

Records 

Referred at 

Initial 

Request 

Level 

Request 

Withdrawn 

FeeRelated 

Reason 

Records 

not 

Reasonably 

Described 

Improper 

Request 

for Other 

Reasons 

Not 

Agency 

Record 

Duplicate 

Request or 

Appeal 

Request in 

Litigation 

Appeal 

Based 

Solely on 

Denial of 

Request 

for 

Expedited 

Processing 

Other 

*Explain in 

chart 

below 

OPIC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
 

VI.C.(3). REASONS FOR DENIAL ON APPEAL -- "OTHER" REASONS 

Agency / 

Component Description of "Other" Reasons for Denial on Appeal from Chart C(2) 

Number of Times 

"Other" Reason 

Was Relied Upon 

TOTAL 

OPIC N/A 0 

0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 
VI.C.(4). RESPONSE TIME FOR ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS 

Agency / Component Median Number of Days Average Number of 

Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days 

AGENCY OVERALL 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
 

VI.C.(5). TEN OLDEST PENDING ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS 

Agency / 

Component 

10th 

Oldest 

Appeal 

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest 

Appeal 

Date of Appeal 

Number of Days 

Pending 

AGENCY 

Date of Appeal N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

OVERALL Number of Days 

Pending 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
VII.A. FOIA REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME FOR ALL PROCESSED PERFECTED REQUESTS 

Agency / 

Component 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 9.5 21.75 <1 238 30.5 155.3 <1 768 12.5 13.5 5 24 
VII.B. PROCESSED REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME FOR PERFECTED REQUESTS IN WHICH INFORMATION WAS 

GRANTED 

Agency / 

Component 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

Median 

Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number 

of Days 

Lowest 

Number 

of Days 

Highest 

Number 

of Days 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 16 29 <1 238 44.5 231.5 2 768 18 16.33 7 24 
 

VII.C. PROCESSED SIMPLE REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS 

Agency / 

Component 

<1-20 

Days 

21-40 

Days 

41-60 

Days 

61-80 

Days 

81-100 

Days 

101-120 

Days 

121-140 

Days 

141-160 

Days 

161-180 

Days 

181-200 

Days 

201-300 

Days 

301-400 

Days 

401+ 

Days TOTAL 

OPIC 25 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 36 

0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 25 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 36 
 

VII.C. PROCESSED COMPLEX REQUESTS -- RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS 

Agency / 

Component 

<1-20 

Days 

21-40 

Days 

41-60 

Days 

61-80 

Days 

81-100 

Days 

101-120 

Days 

121-140 

Days 

141-160 

Days 

161-180 

Days 

181-200 

Days 

201-300 

Days 

301-400 

Days 

401+ 

Days TOTAL 

OPIC 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 12 

0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 12 
 

VII.C. PROCESSED REQUESTS GRANTED EXPEDITED PROCESSING -- RESPONSE TIME IN DAY INCREMENTS 

Agency / 

Component 

<1-20 

Days 

21-40 

Days 

41-60 

Days 

61-80 

Days 

81-100 

Days 

101-120 

Days 

121-140 

Days 

141-160 

Days 

161-180 

Days 

181-200 

Days 

201-300 

Days 

301-400 

Days 

401+ 

Days TOTAL 

OPIC 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 

0 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 
VII.D. PENDING REQUESTS -- ALL PENDING PERFECTED REQUESTS 

Agency / Component 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING 

Number 

Pending 

Median 

Number of 

Days 

Average 

Number of 

Days 

Number 

Pending 

Median 

Number of 

Days 

Average 

Number of 

Days 

Number 

Pending 

Median 

Number of 

Days 

Average 

Number of 

Days 

AGENCY OVERALL 6 24.5 22.8 6 55.5 55.3 0 N/A N/A 
 

VII.E. PENDING REQUESTS -- TEN OLDEST PENDING PERFECTED REQUESTS 

Agency / 

Component 

10th Oldest 

Request 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest Request 

Date of Receipt 

Number of Days 

Pending 

AGENCY 

Date of Receipt 2018-09-172018-08-062018-08-062018-08-062018-08-032018-07-192018-07-102018-07-062018-07-052018-03-16 

OVERALL Number of Days 

Pending 10 39 39 39 40 51 39 60 61 81 
VIII.A. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING 

Agency / 

Component Number Granted Number Denied 

Median Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate 

Average Number 

of Days to 

Adjudicate 

Number 

Adjudicated 

Within Ten 

Calendar Days 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 4 1 7 5.8 5 
VIII.B. REQUESTS FOR FEE WAIVER 

Agency / 

Component Number Granted Number Denied 

Median Number of 

Days to 

Adjudicate 

Average Number 

of Days to 

Adjudicate 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 0 N/A N/A 
IX. FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS 

Agency / 

Component 

PERSONNEL COSTS 

Number of "FullTime FOIA 

Employees" 

Number of 

"Equivalent FullTime FOIA 

Employees" 

Total Number of 

"Full-Time FOIA 

Staff" 

Processing Costs Litigation-Related 

Costs Total Costs 

OPIC 0 1.1 1.1 $127,781.31 $0.00 $127,781.31 

0 $0.00 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 0 1.1 1.1 $127,781.31 $0.00 $127,781.31 
X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS 

Agency / Component Total Amount of Fees 

Collected 

Percentage of Total 

Costs 

OPIC $565.62 0.44% 

AGENCY OVERALL $565.62 0.44% 
XI.A. NUMBER OF TIMES SUBSECTION (C) USED 

Agency / Component Number of Times Subsection Used 

OPIC 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 0 
XI.B. NUMBER OF SUBSECTION (A)(2) POSTINGS 

Agency / Component 

Number of Records 

Posted by the FOIA 

Office 

Number of Records 

Posted by Program 

Offices 

OPIC 0 1 

AGENCY OVERALL 0 1 
XII.A. BACKLOGS OF FOIA REQUESTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS 

Agency / Component 

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of 

Fiscal Year 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of 

Fiscal Year 

OPIC 9 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 9 0 
 

XII.B. CONSULTATIONS ON FOIA REQUESTS -- RECEIVED, PROCESSED, AND 

PENDING CONSULTATIONS 

Agency / Component 

Number of 

Consultations Received 

from Other Agencies 

that were Pending at the 

Agency as of Start 

of the Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations Received 

from Other Agencies 

During the Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations Received 

from Other Agencies 

that were Processed by 

the Agency During the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations Received 

from Other Agencies 

that were Pending at the 

Agency as of End 

of the Fiscal Year 

OPIC 0 2 2 0 

0 

AGENCY OVERALL 0 2 2 0 
 

 

XII.C. CONSULTATIONS ON FOIA REQUESTS -- TEN OLDEST CONSULTATIONS RECEIVED FROM OTHER AGENCIES 

AND PENDING AT THE AGENCY 

Agency / 

Component 

10th Oldest 

Consultation 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest Consultation 

Date 

Number of Days 

AGENCY 

OVERALL 

Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 

Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
 

XII.D.(1). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF REQUESTS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPORT --

REQUESTS RECEIVED AND PROCESSED 

Agency / Component 

NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCESSED 

Number Received 

During Fiscal Year from 

Last Year's Annual 

Report 

Number Received 

During Fiscal Year from 

Current Annual Report 

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year from 

Last Year's Annual 

Report 

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year from 

Current Annual Report 

OPIC 56 59 59 53 

AGENCY OVERALL 56 59 59 53 
XII.D.(2). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF REQUESTS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT 

ANNUAL REPORT -- BACKLOGGED REQUESTS 

Agency / Component 

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Previous 

Annual Report 

Number of Backlogged 

Requests as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Current 

Annual Report 

OPIC 4 9 

AGENCY OVERALL 4 9 
 

XII.E.(1). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS FROM PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL 

REPORT -- APPEALS RECEIVED AND PROCESSED 

Agency / Component 

NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED NUMBER OF APPEALS PROCESSED 

Number Received 

During Fiscal Year from 

Last Year's Annual 

Report 

Number Received 

During Fiscal Year from 

Current Annual Report 

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year from 

Last Year's Annual 

Report 

Number Processed 

During Fiscal Year from 

Current Annual Report 

OPIC 1 0 1 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 1 0 1 0 
XII.E.(2). COMPARISON OF NUMBERS OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS FROM 

PREVIOUS AND CURRENT ANNUAL REPORT -- BACKLOGGED APPEALS 

Agency / Component 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Previous 

Annual Report 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of the 

Fiscal Year from Current 

Annual Report 

OPIC 0 0 

AGENCY OVERALL 0 0