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FARA.us now features an updated Index of all 199 FARA Advisory Opinions that have been released publicly by the Department of Justice.  Here is a listing of the Index’s new features:

• New Column for Related Advisory Opinions. For nearly every Advisory Opinion, at least one other “related” Advisory Opinions is now listed to facilitate cross-referencing by Index users.  This particular information column will continue to evolve and expand over time.
• New Information. For each Advisory Opinion, the updated Index now lists the Department’s analysis of each “agent” element: whether conduct was “within the United States,” which indicators of an agent-principal relationship were mentioned (e.g. payment, contract), and which categories of registrable conduct were found (e.g. “information-service employee,” “political activities”).
• New Capabilities. Index users can now filter and sort each column category to more easily aggregate and understand particular groupings of Advisory Opinions. 
• Standardized Statutory Terminology. The Index now uses terms for exemptions, requestors, and foreign principals that more closely match the statute.  For example, the colloquial “commercial exemption” is now listed in the Index as the “Trade or Commerce Exemption” to match the statutory language at Section 613(d)(1), and the Section 613(d)(2) exemption is now referred to as the “Other Activities Exemption.”  Requestors and foreign principals are also now listed in main categories—Individual, Government, Organization, Political Party—that match the statutory structure at Section 611(b)-(c), with subcategories (e.g. for-profit, nonprofit, sovereign wealth fund, law firm) that allow Index users to compare Advisory Opinions more easily.

Hopefully FARA.us users find the updated Index to be helpful in conducting baseline research about the law.

The updated Index allows for additional insights into the Advisory Opinion process and related outcomes.  For instance, here is a chart that shows the number of Advisory Opinions issued each calendar year:

Overall, 75 of the 199 Advisory Opinions (37.6%) concluded in the Department instructing a requestor to register.  The volume of Advisory Opinions issued surged in 2018 after the Department indicated that it would publish redacted versions, with 2024 standing out as an aberration both because it is the year with the highest number of Opinions issued (26) and because it is the only year on record when requestors were more likely than not to be told that they needed to register under FARA. 

Many Advisory Opinions (81 of the 199) do not reference a registration exemption at all, but those that do tend to focus on the Trade or Commerce Exemption, the Other Activities Exemption, the LDA Exemption, and the Legal Representation Exemption.  The table below indicates how many Advisory Opinions reference each registration exemption.

Interestingly, requests focused on the Legal Representation Exemption and the LDA Exemption reached a “no registration” outcome about two-thirds of the time, but 10 out of 13 requests centered on the Religious, Scholastic, Academic, Scientific, or Fine Arts Exemption resulted in registration. 

Finally, although the Department is required by regulation to respond within 30 days of a request, its response time has lagged beyond that deadline such that Advisory Opinions are typically issued more than 60 days after an initial request.  The chart below lists the average and median response times for each calendar year.

Although there does not seem to be a relationship between the Department’s response time and the length of advisory opinions, it is worth noting that the page length of advisory opinions has increased markedly as the Department has sought to memorialize its thinking more comprehensively in response to public feedback.

FARA.us will continue to update FARA-related materials on the site in a manner that will facilitate study and analysis by the regulated community, journalists, and others.

For more information regarding FARA, please contact us using our online form.