Maybe next time I will try the East Coast dealerships.
I'm already too far into the process. I've done the US Safety Check and paid the BMW Recall letter fee. It's just a matter of playing the waiting game for that letter now.
When I called the dealerships in the US, each and every one of them would say "Sorry, we can't do this for legal and confidentiality purposes but I did look up the VIN. The car has no recalls." I also tried the CarFax method - no go. BMW and RIV really nailed me to the wall for this. I had exhausted all my options but never did I think of calling and East Coast dealership. Even when the owner of the vehicle went to the dealership in person, they wouldn't release the documents to him and told him the same exact thing.