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Fiscal Year 2009 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 Cadiente 

Administrative Counsel 

OPIC 

1100 New York Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20527 

Phone: (202) 408-6297 Email: Nichole.Cadiente@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 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, (2) faxing a request to (202) 408-0297, or (3) 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. Agency-specific acronyms: 

OPIC—the Overseas Private Investment Corporation 
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2. 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 “thirdparty” 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 
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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 multitrack 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 multitrack 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. 
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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). 

3. 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 
IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES

OPIC did not rely upon any Exemption 3 Statutes to withhold information in FY 2009. 

V. FOIA REQUESTS

A. Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Requests 

Number of Requests Pending as of Start of FY 2008 

Number of Requests Received in FY 2009 

Number of Requests Processed in FY 2009 

Number of RequFiscal Year 

0 38 37 

B. (1) Disposition of FOIA Requests—All Processed Requests 

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 

13 9 2 9 0 1 2 1 0 0 

B. (2) Disposition of FOIA Requests—“Other” Reasons for “Full Denials Based on Reasons O

Exemptions” from Section V, B(1) Chart

OPIC did not deny any requests based on reasons other than the ones listed above. 
B. (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests—Number of Times Exemptions Applied 

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) 

0 0 0 11 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 

VI. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATION OF FOIA REQUESTS

A. Received, Processed and Pending Administrative Appeals 

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 AppFiscal Year 

1 1 2 

 B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals—All Processed Appeals Number Affirmed on Appeal 

Number Partially Affirmed & Partially Reversed/Remanded on Appeal 

Number Completely Reversed/Remanded on Appeal 

Number of AOther Reason

2 0 0 
 C. (1) Reasons for Denial on Appeal—Number of Times Exemptions Applied 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) 

0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

 C. (2) Reasons for Denial on Appeal—Reasons Other than Exemptions No Records Records 

Referred at Initial Request Level 

Request Withdrawn 

Fee-Related Reason 

Records not Reasonably Described 

Improper Request for Other Reasons 

Not Agency Record 

Duplicate Request or Appeal 

Request in Litigation 

ABSDREP

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

C. (3) Reasons for Denial on Appeal—“Other” Reasons from Section VI, C(2) Chart 

OPIC did not deny any appeals based on reasons other than exemptions. C. (4) Response Time for Administrative Appeals 

Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Num

16.5 16.5 11 
 C. (5) Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals Date of Receipt of Oldest Appeal none Number of Days Pending VII. FOIA REQUESTS: RESPONSE TIME FOR PROCESSED AND PENDING REQUESTS

A. Processed Requests—Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests 

Regular Requests Expedited Requests 

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 Days 

10 12 <1 36 7.5 27.5 <1 

 B. Processed Requests—Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information Was 

Regular Requests Expedited Requests 

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 Days 

8 12 <1 33 13 13 13 
C. Processed Requests—Response Time in Day Increments 

Regular Requests Less than 1 Day 

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 

301400 Day

1 27 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Expedited Requests Less than 1 Day 

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 

301400 Day

1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

D. Pending Requests—All Pending Perfected Requests 

Regular Requests Expedited Requests 

Number Pending 

Median Number of Days 

Average Number of Days 

Number pending 

Median Number of Days 

Average Number of Days 

11 38 38 0 0 0 

1 Records requested held at National Personnel Records Center. OPIC is awaiting delivery of those records so that the req

The requester was aware of this and agreed to the extension of time necessary. 
E. Pending Requests—Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests 

10th Oldest 

Request and 

Number of 

Days Pending 

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 

 

VIII. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS FOR FEE WAIVER

 A. Requests for Expedited Processing 

Number Granted Number Denied Median Number of Days to 

Adjudicate 

Average Number of Days to Adjudicate 

Num10 C

4 0 1 4 

B. Requests for Fee Waiver 

Number Granted Number Denied Median Number of Days to 

Adjudicate 

Average Number of Days to Adjudicate 

Num10 C

0 1 1 1 
IX. FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS

PERSONNEL COSTS 

Number of “Full-Time FOIA Employees” 

Number of “Equivalent Full-Time FOIA Employees” 

Total Number of “FullTime Staff” (The sum of columns 1 & 2) 

Processing Costs (At initial request and appeal levels) 

Litigation-Related Costs 

0 1.2 1.2 $98,586 0 

X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS Total Amount of Fees Collected Percentage of Total Costs 

$505.08 0.512324% 

XI. FOIA REGULATIONSLink to OPIC’s FOIA Regulations 22 http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?sid=29480ce7afedfa310f161f256da26243&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title22/2
XII. BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS, AND COMPARISONS  A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals

Number of Backlogged Requests at End of Fiscal Year Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End 

13 0 

 B. Consultations on FOIA Requests—Received, Processed, and Pending Consultations Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that Were Pending at Your Agency as of Start of Fiscal Year 

Number of Consultations Received 

from Other Agencies During the Fiscal Year 

Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that Were Processed by Your Agency During the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of Cfrom Other Pending at Y

of the Fisca

0 3 3 

C. Consultations on FOIA Requests—Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agenci

 Your Agency 

Oldest Consultation and Number of Days Pending None 3 Same case as footnote 1. 
D. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Reports—Reque

 Processed, and Backlogged

NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCE

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 Profrom Curren

45 38 50 

Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year from Previous Annual Report 

Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the FiscAnnual Report 

0 1 

E. Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current Annual Re

 Received, Processed, and Backlogged

NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED NUMBER OF APPEALS PROCES

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 Profrom Curren

2 1 2 

Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of the Fiscal Year from Previous Annual Report 

Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of the FiscaAnnual Report 

1 0