Records provided by the USCIS citizenship and immigration (USCIS) services are listed below:
Yes. Assuming you lack the proper file number, you’ll need index searches to get the correct one. The following link should give you more info on file numbers.
The USCIS typically responds to requests in a 90 day timeframe. With that, some delays may occur, increasing processing times.
The USCIS does provide features for better tracking. You can check the USCIS request status link, which lets you either send an inquiry or track your request’s progress.
Unfortunately not. The program only provides photocopies of naturalization documents.
Applicants can submit a Genealogy Records Request (USCIS Form G-1041A), assuming they only require copies of their naturalization certificate (that’s not already certified), and to fulfill dual citizenship foreign application requirements.
This can prevent delays during processing, which occur when additional info is required on an immigrant’s children (for review, and via the Privacy Act). Applicants can exclusively request certificates through their USCIS Form G0141A by writing “Dual Citz-Natz Certificate Only,” or by typing that statement in their online request (under “Optional Information Section”).
You can do so by visiting the following link.
The following information on the immigrant is required:
Applicants should also submit info on where that immigrant resided in the United States (if found). For example, the search may state (lived in CT through the 1920s, moved to NY in 1931, until death).
Other info can help the search, including family member names (especially children and spouses), dates of marriage, and dates of military service.
A report will be sent to applicants with search results found on each Index Search Request. Results may vary, with normal index search responses providing file numbers, file series information, and extra information (listed below).
(Alien Registration Forms AR-2) A-Number
Information on the process of submitting genealogy record requests.
(A-Files under 8 million) A-Number
Information on the process of submitting genealogy record requests (or Privacy Act/Freedom of Information requests, if needed).
(Citizenship/Naturalization Certificate Files) C-Number
Naturalization date and ruling court, petition number if available; information on submitting genealogy record requests.
(Visa Files, 1924 to 1944) Visa Number
Immigrant name when entering the US; ship, date, and port of arrival; information on submitting genealogy record requests.
(Registry Files, 1929 to 1944)
R-Number
Information on submitting genealogy record requests.
(Chinese Exclusion Field Files, 1882 to 1944)
[File Number]
Information on requesting files from the Records Administration or National Archives.
(Subject Correspondence Files, 1893 to 1957)
[File Number]
Information on requesting files from the Records Administration or National Archives.
“No Record”
“No record” indicates that the search couldn’t find a match in the index based on the provided info when the request was submitted.
"No record" responses may differ, with some occurring from a problem in identifying a specific immigrant through millions of entries. This will occur when:
To request records, you need to identify files according to their:
In exchange, the USCIS will send applicants the best copy possible of the desired record. To find your file number, you can visit the Index Search Request’s page, though in certain situations, you can find the numbers from your own research.
For file numbers, four series exist. They correspond to the 5-series files found in records requests, which include:
If you doubt that the file number you have is correct, you can submit a search request. But, note that no refunds are offered if the provided immigrant name doesn’t match the one in a file matching the provided file number.
You should:
Yes. Applicants must supply documented evidence of death, if the request’s subject birth date was 100 years earlier than the request date.
Accepted documentation includes the following:
You’re required to attach copies of the prior records with the request. Make sure you do not hand in original documents, since those will not be returned to you.
This has to do with the records you’re retrieving.
You can submit genealogy requests if the records you request belong to someone who:
If you’re looking for naturalization records created after 1st April 1956, or after the immigrant’s arrival (after 1st May 1951), then you should make an FOIA request.
If you’re requesting a record whose timespan is between 1944 and 1956, you’ll need to fill the Genealogy Index Request (Form G-1041). From there, the USCIS will find the correct records while providing you the instructions needed to issue a request via the FOIA. Also, if an FOIA request finds records that fall under the USCIS’s Genealogy Program then the FOIA will supply instructions on getting those records through Forms G-1041A.
If an FOIA request has an obvious genealogical nature (for example, requests for immigrants born 100+ years prior to the request date, and naturalized before 1956), then the request will return to the requesting end, who will be given instructions on remaking the request via the USCIS’s Genealogy Program.
Corrections and updates should be sent to the USCIS Updates and Correct Mailbox. The requester should enter their Case ID numbers into subject lines, plus any extra info in the email’s body text.
You can pay the genealogy request fees online, via credit card. They can also be paid by mail via a cashier's check or money order.
For online requests, you can pay your fees online using a credit card or through the pay.gov services offered by the Department of the Treasury. Fees can be sent via mail too, though the request isn’t processed until all fees are paid.
For mailed requests, fees can be paid for both online and mail requests (via mail) using a cashier’s check or money order only (personal checks aren’t accepted). You can send fees with your Form G-1041A and Form G-1041. If the request is mailed without fees, then the request will be held, and you will be contacted to pay. If the USCIS doesn’t receive the payment within thirty days from the request’s submission date, the request will be canceled.
It does. Fee refunds are received when:
If it’s determined that a refund should be issued, the Department of the Treasury will send applicants a check via US postal mail. The check should be delivered within thirty days.
Naturalization records dating back that far are found in municipal/local, state, and federal court records.
During that time, naturalization records were kept only by naturalization courts. Naturalization procedures and practices vary heavily throughout time and by location. Thus, local sources are the best places to get information on the whereabouts of naturalization records pre-1906.
For more info on local and state courts, you can contact the county or state genealogical or historical societies in the places where you think immigrants naturalized. For a federal court record, you can get in touch with the National Archives and Records Administration.
To find more info on arrival dates and nationality documents before September 27, 1906, you can visit the USCIS website Research Guidance link.
For USCIS records that aren’t included in the program’s scope (and that aren’t covered by specific request forms or rules), you can file a Privacy Act or Freedom of Information Act Request.
Air, sea, and land manifests (prior to December 1982) are currently maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration.
A multitude of historical manifests also exist online via services (including ellisland.org and ancestry.com). With that, researchers are charged a fee for access to those websites.
To claim one for a certain record, you’ll need to send the request to the address mentioned below. The service is free, and no fees or money are accepted.
The address is as follows:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
ttn: IMLS/Certification of Non-Existence/RM 5224
150 Space Center Loop
Lee’s Summit, MO 64064
If an immigrant was born under 100 years before the date of request, you’re also required to attach copies of their death and birth certificates.
The service doesn’t handle original requests made via email. Also, the service only mails certificates of non-existence to American addresses.
To get copies of personal records and/or those belonging to living and consenting relatives, you’ll need to file a Privacy Act or Freedom of Information Act.
You can visit USCIS’s FOIA request sheet to submit your request.
Many who entered the US from 1942 to 1951 did so as “Braceros”— who were contracted agricultural workers. From 1951 to 1965, Braceros were given temporary nonimmigrant status after entry, and thus, the USCIS maintained no records of their admissions.
Thus, lawfully residing Braceros who returned to Mexico after completing their contracts may not be shown in USCIS records.
However, some Braceros did immigrate later (or chose to adjust later on) to a different legal status in US society. As a result, they may have USCIS files, though that file isn’t guaranteed to document that immigrant’s former Bracero status.
If a bracero is still alive, you can submit the request via:
If a bracero has passed away, you can submit the request via:
Evidence of death is needed if a bracero’s birth date was less than one-hundred years prior to the request date. To do so, type “Bracero” in the request’s comments section. The USCIS will go through its indices to see if a matching record exists: