FOIA has a statutory clock agencies routinely outlive. Knowing the real timelines — and the exact moment silence becomes actionable — is the difference between waiting and choosing to wait.
The law: a determination within 20 business days, one modest extension for unusual circumstances, tracks for simple versus complex requests. The street: simple requests can run on schedule; complex immigration-file requests queue for months, and some agencies' complex tracks run far longer, published backlog reports saying so in their own numbers.
It means the agency self-granted more time — the statute's clock still governs enforceability, and lapse still opens the courthouse.
Status calls document diligence and occasionally shake loose a misrouted file; they do not move queues. Save every response.
When what the records unlock — an appeal, a filing, a defense — is worth more than the filing fee, which for most live disputes is not a close question.