[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 2]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR1101.7]

[Page 352-354]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                      MEXICO, UNITED STATES SECTION
 
PART 1101_PRIVACY ACT OF 1974--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1101.7  Disclosure of records to individuals who are subjects of 
those records.

    (a) Each request received shall be acted upon promptly by the PA 
Officer. Every effort will be made to respond within ten (10) days 
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) of the date of receipt. If 
a response cannot be made within ten (10) days due to unusual 
circumstances, the PA Officer shall send an acknowledgment during that 
period providing information on the status of the request and asking for 
such further information as may be necessary to process the request. 
Every effort will be made to provide the requested records within thirty 
(30) days. ``Unusual circumstances'' shall include circumstances where a 
search for and collection of requested records from inactive storage, 
field facilities or other establishments are required, cases where a 
voluminous amount of data is involved, instances where information on 
other individuals must be separated or expunged from the particular 
record, and cases where consultations with other agencies having a 
substantial interest in the determination of the request are necessary.
    (b) Grant of access:
    (1) Notification.
    (i) An individual shall be granted access to a record pertaining to 
him or her except where the record is subject to an exemption under the 
Act and these rules.
    (ii) The PA Officer shall notify the individual of such 
determination and provide the following information:
    (A) The methods of access, as set forth in paragraph (b)(2) of this 
section;
    (B) The place at which the records may be inspected;
    (C) The earliest date on which the record may be inspected and the 
period of time that the records will remain available for inspection. In 
no event shall the earliest date be later than thirty (30) days from the 
date of notification;
    (D) The estimated date by which a copy of the record could be mailed 
and the estimate of fees pursuant to Sec. 1101.11. In no event shall be 
estimated date be later than thirty (30) days from the date of 
notification;
    (E) The fact that the individual, if he or she wishes, may be 
accompanied by another individual during the personal access, subject to 
the procedures set forth in paragraph (f) of this section; and
    (F) Any additional requirements needed to grant access to a specific 
record.

[[Page 353]]

    (2) Method of access: The following methods of access to records by 
an individual may be available depending on the circumstances of a given 
situation:
    (i) Inspection in person may be made in the office specified by the 
PA Officer, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday (excluding holidays);
    (ii) Transfer of records to a Federal facility more convenient to 
the individual may be arranged, but only if the PA Officer determines 
that a suitable facility is available, that the individual's access can 
be properly supervised at that facility, and that transmittal of the 
records to that facility will not unduly interfere with operations of 
the section or involve unreasonable costs, in terms of both money and 
manpower; and
    (iii) Copies may be mailed at the request of the individual, subject 
to payment of the fees prescribed in Sec. 1101.11. The Section, at its 
own initiative, may elect to provide a copy by mail, in which case no 
fee will be charged to the individual.
    (c) Access to medical records: Upon advice by a physician that 
release of medical information directly to the requester could have an 
adverse effect on the requester, the Section may attempt to arrange an 
acceptable alternative. This will normally involve release of such 
information to a physician named by the requester, with the requester's 
written consent. (Note that release to any third party, including a 
physician or family member, must comply with the provisions of Sec. 
1101.8 of this part.)
    (d) The Section shall supply such other information and assistance 
at the time of access to make the record intelligible to the individual.
    (e) The Section reserves the right to limit access to copies and 
abstracts of original records, rather than the original records. This 
election would be appropriate, for example, when the record is in an 
automated data media such as tape of disc, when the record contains 
information on other individuals, and when deletion of information is 
permissible under exemptions (for example 5, U.S.C. 552(k)(1)). In no 
event shall original records of the Section be made available to the 
individual except under the immediate supervision of the PA Officer or 
his designee. Title 18 U.S.C. 2701(a) makes it a crime to conceal, 
mutilate, obliterate, or destroy a record filed in a public office, or 
to attempt to do any of the foregoing.
    (f) Any individual who requests access to a record pertaining to 
that individual may be accompanied by another individual of his or her 
choice. ``Accompanied'' includes discussion of the record in the 
presence of the other individual. The individual to whom the record 
pertains shall authorize the presence of the other individual in writing 
and shall include the name of the other individual, a specific 
description of the record to which access is sought, and the date and 
the signature of the individual to whom the record pertains. The other 
individual shall sign the authorization in the presence of the PA 
Officer or his designee. An individual shall not be required to state a 
reason or otherwise justify his or her decision to be accompanied by 
another individual during the personal access to a record.
    (g) Initial denial of access:
    (1) Grounds. Access by an individual to a record which pertains to 
that individual will be denied only upon a determination by the PA 
Officer that:
    (i) The record is subject to an exemption under the Act and these 
rules;
    (ii) The record is information compiled in reasonable anticipation 
of a civil action or proceeding;
    (iii) The provisions of Sec. 1101.7(c) pertaining to medical 
records have been temporarily invoked; or
    (iv) The individual unreasonably has failed to comply with the 
procedural requirements of these rules.
    (2) Notification. The PA Officer shall give notice of denial of 
access of records to the individual in writing and shall include the 
following information:
    (i) The PA Officer's name and title or position;
    (ii) The date of denial;
    (iii) The reasons for the denial, including citation to the 
appropriate section of the Act and these rules;
    (iv) The individual's opportunities for further administrative 
consideration, including the identity and address of the responsible 
official;

[[Page 354]]

    (v) If stated to be administratively final within the Section, the 
individual's right to judicial review under 5 U.S.C. 552a(g) (1) and 
(5).
    (3) Administrative review: When an initial denial of a request is 
issued by the PA Officer, the individual's opportunities for further 
consideration shall be as follows:
    (i) As to denial under paragraph (g)(1)(i) of this section, the sole 
procedure is a petition for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(e). Such petition shall be filed with the 
Commissioner, United States Section, International Boundary and Water 
Commission, 4171 North Mesa, Suite C-310, El Paso, TX 79902-1422. If the 
exception was determined by another agency, the PA Officer will provide 
the individual with the name and address of the other agency and any 
relief sought by the individual shall be that provided by the 
regulations of the other agency. Within the Section, no such denial is 
administratively final until such a petition has been filed by the 
individual and disposed of on the merits by the Commissioner.
    (ii) As to denial under paragraphs (g)(1), (ii), (iii) or (iv) of 
this section, the individual may file for review with the Commissioner, 
as indicated in the PA Officer's initital denial notification.
    (h) If a request is partially granted and partially denied, the PA 
Officer shall follow the appropriate procedures of this section as to 
the records within the grant and the records within the denial.