A few months ago, I wrote about the Naturalization process for immigrants to the United States. In my post, I noted that records for naturalizations occurring after 1906 are held by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). The process for obtaining these records is as follows:
- Go to the USCIS genealogy request web page.
- Request an index search to obtain file numbers for the immigrant’s naturalization records. There may be multiple files for an immigrant, so this is an important step even if you already have a file number. The cost is $65 and the projected turnaround time for an index search is 30-60 days.
- Once the file numbers are obtained, submit a records request. This request will cost an additional $65 and should only take 30 days.
If requesting records for an individual who was born less than 100 years ago, documentary evidence showing that the person is deceased must be included with the request.
Required Information for a Search Request
I recently completed a client project in which the objective was to obtain the naturalization records for the client’s Italian immigrant ancestor. This ancestor immigrated to Washington, D.C. and lived there for most of his life.
In order to prepare for the index search request, some information was needed. I was able to document information provided by the client and obtain additional needed information by searching U.S. records created throughout the immigrant’s life. Here is what was needed and the documents used to obtain the information:
Immigrant Information
- Name – provided by the client
- Date of Birth (exact date preferred but an estimation is ok) – exact birth date discovered on the ancestor’s WWII draft registration card
- Country Of Birth – taken from census records, the draft registration card, and passenger lists
- Immigrant Places of Residence – the 1930 and 1940 U.S. census records included addresses for the immigrant. City directories were used to trace the immigrant’s residences between censuses.
- Immigrant Arrival Date – taken from a passenger list
Optional Immigrant Information
- Father’s Name – discovered on a passenger list
- Mother’s Name – discovered on a passenger list
- Spouse’s Name – discovered on census records, in city directories and in the immigrant’s obituary
- Childrens’ Names – discovered on census records and corroborated in wedding announcements in Washington D.C. newspapers and in the immigrant’s obituary.
Other Pertinent Information
I was able to include information about the immigrant’s first papers that was handwritten on a 1938 passenger list.
Request Naturalization Records to Gain Valuable Genealogical Information
If you have an immigrant ancestor, it will be worthwhile to request their naturalization records. Requesting the records for ancestors who became U.S. citizens after 1906 is a fairly simple process that will go smoothly if you take the time to document the immigrant’s life as much as possible with U.S. records prior to your request.
