HISTORICAL RECORDS SERIES THE USCIS GENEALOGY PROGRAM
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U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES
USING RESOURCES ON THE USCIS WEBSITE
HISTORICAL RECORDS SERIES
THE USCIS GENEALOGY PROGRAM
http://www.uscis.gov/genealogy
Kay Speaks
kspeaks@pacbell.net
Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society | California Genealogical Society & Library
Chinese American Family History Yahoo Group
Information included in this document from the USCIS website used by permission of Marian L. Smith, USCIS Historian.
Please check the USCIS website for more updated detailed information.
Compiled by Kay Speaks, all rights reserved, January 2015.
USCIS Genealogy Program is a fee-based service providing family historians and other researchers with timely and
accurate access to historical immigration and naturalization records.
Five record groups available from USCIS Genealogy Program:
1. Naturalization Files (C-files) from September 27, 1906 to April 1, 1956
2. Alien Registration forms from August 1, 1940 to March 31, 1944
3. Visa Files from July 1, 1924 to March 31, 1944
4. Registry Files from March 2, 1929 to March 31, 1944
5. Alien Files (A-files) numbered below 8 million (A8000000) and documents therein dated prior to May 1, 1951
More about the USCIS Genealogy Program records availability:
1. C-Files: Copies of records relating to naturalizations in Federal, State, county, or municipal courts, overseas
military naturalizations, replacement of old law naturalization certificates, and the issuance of Certificates of
Citizenship in derivative, repatriation, and resumption cases. Standard C-Files generally contain at least one
application form (Declaration of Intention and/or Petition for Naturalization, or other application) and a
duplicate certification of naturalization or certificate of citizenship. Many files contain additional documents,
including correspondence, affidavits, or other records. Only C-Files dating from 1929 onward include photos.
Record Format: The majority of C-Files exist only on microfilm.
2. Alien Registration Forms (Form AR-2) are copies of approximately 5.5 million Alien Registration Forms
completed by all aliens age 14 and older, residing in or entering the U.S. The two-page form called for: name;
name at arrival; other names used; street address; post-office address; date of birth; place of birth;
citizenship; sex; marital status; race; height; weight; hair and eye color; date, place, vessel, and class of
admission of last arrival in U.S.; date of first arrival in U.S.; number of years in U.S.; usual occupation; present
occupation; name, address, and business of present employer; membership in clubs, organization, or
societies; dates and nature of military or naval service; whether citizenship papers filed, and if so date, place,
and court for declaration or petition; number of relatives living in the U.S.; arrest record, including date, place,
and disposition of each arrested; whether or not affiliated with a foreign government, signature and
fingerprint. Important: Alien Registration Forms AR-2 are only available for A-numbers 1 million to 5 980 116,
A6 100 000 to 6 132 126, A7 000 000 to 7 043 999, and A7 500 000 to 7 759 142. Record Format: The AR-2
files exist only on microfilm.
3. Visa Files: Are original arrival records of immigrants admitted for permanent residence under provision of the
Immigration Act of 1924. Visa forms contain all information normally found on a ship passenger list of the
period, as well as the immigrant’s places of residence of for 5 years prior to emigration, names of both the
immigrant’s parents, and other data. Attached to the visa in most cases are birth records or affidavits. Also
there may be attached other records such as: marriage, military, or police records.
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4. Registry Files: Are records, which document the creation of immigrant arrival records for persons who entered
the U.S. prior to July 1, 1924, and for whom no arrival record could later be found. Most files also include
documents supporting the immigrant’s claims regarding arrival and residence (i.e., proofs of residence,
receipts, and employment records). Record Format: Registry Files exist only in hard copy (textual) format.
5. Registry Files: Are records, which document the creation of immigrant arrival records for persons who entered
the U.S. prior to July 1, 1924, and for whom no arrival record could later be found. Most files also include
documents supporting the immigrant’s claims regarding arrival and residence (i.e., proofs of residence,
receipts, and employment records). Record Format: Registry Files exist only in hard copy (textual) format.
6. A-Files: Immigrant Files are the individual alien case files, which became the official file for all immigration
records created or consolidated since April 1, 1944. A-numbers ranging up to approximate 6 million were
issued to aliens and immigrants within or entering the U.S. between 1940 and 1945. The 6 million and 7
million series of A-numbers were issued between circa 1944 and May 1, 1951. Only A-File documents dated to
May 1, 1951, are releasable under the Genealogy Program. Record Format: Immigration files exist only in
hard copy (textual) format.
Step 1: Index Search Request - Fee $20 (prepaid, no refund). Request for searches of USCIS indices reveal whether
any USCIS records exist for a specific individual. If records exist, USCIS researchers will capture the citation of each
record and provide this information to the researcher who will use the citation(s) to submit a Record Request. The
researcher provides which type of action they are requesting:
Make a genealogy request Request certification of non-existence (CNE)
Check the status of a genealogy request Use the Research Guide
Receive certified copies of USCIS records What’s new in GEN
Download a form
Step 2: Record Request with Request Case ID – Fee $20 or $35* (prepaid, no refund). Up to one year from date of
search request to submit related Record Request. USCIS researchers will retrieve records and files indicated and
send you copies by e-mail or regular mail (your choice).
These documents are from the USCIS record groups.
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USCIS Genealogy Program Website
Sixth Anniversary 2008-2014
www.uscis.gov/genealogy
The USCIS Genealogy Program is a fee-for-service program that provides researchers with timely access to
historical immigration and naturalization records of deceased immigrants. Use the link below to access the U.S.
Citizenship & Immigration Services official Family History Research website. Sub-index tabs: Researching the Index,
Requesting Records, Genealogy Notebook and Need Help websites.
www.uscis.gov/genealogy
THE RESEARCH PROCESS DEPENDS ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE A FILE NUMBER.
The USCIS Genealogy Program uses a partially automated and manual method to identify and locate old agency
files and records. The index search determines if any records exists for the immigrant identified and if the record
exists, how many, what kind(s), where they are located and how the researcher must request the records. An
index is required to determine if the USCIS has only one file for the immigrant and the accurate file number
identified. Since 1893, federal agencies created and maintained a variety of records for immigrants. Over time,
many files were converted from one kind of record to another. The index search verifies if there is more than one
file for your research person of focus.
Federal law require that USCIS restricts access to its records and indices for both law enforcement and privacy
purposes as the oldest indices include information dated as recently as 1975. Access would be a violation of the
Privacy Act.
Page 3 of 6WHOSE RECORDS AND FILES ARE INDEXED?
If a person is in the USCIS index this means the agency:
Created and maintained a record or file at Agency Headquarters in Washington, DC, between 1893
and 1975. This does not include ship passenger lists or border arrival manifests, all of which were
created and maintained in our field offices (ports of entry).
Maintained a file in any agency office between 1955 and 1975. This includes Chinese Exclusion Act case files
now at the National Archives.
Another way to describe the persons in the USCIS index is those who:
Had a Board of Special Inquiry decision appealed to Washington between 1893 and 1944 (not everyone held
for Special Inquiry);
Were the subject of a warrant for deportation between 1903 and 1950;
Were naturalized in any court (federal, state, territorial, or local) between September 27, 1906 and 1975;
Were admitted as an immigrant between July 1, 1924 and 1975;
Were granted Registry (later called Lawful Entry) between March 2, 1929 and 1975;
Were issued a Certificate of Derivative Citizenship or Repatriation between 1929 and 1975;
Registered as an alien between 1940 or between 1940 and 1975; or
Are unique individual cases.
- Derivative Citizenship: Conveyed to children through the naturalization of parents or, under certain circumstances, to foreign-born children
adopted by U.S. citizen parents, provided certain conditions be met.
- Repatriation: Is the process of returning a person back to one’s place of origin or citizenship.
HOW DOES THE USCIS SEARCH?
The USCIS Genealogy's goal is to find any and all information helpful to genealogical researchers. Even in cases
where no match is found, they try to explain why there is no record or try to find a record for another family
member named in the request.
USCIS Index Searchers always begin by reviewing each request. They do this to ensure completeness and to
identify clues to possible records. The Index Searchers then search the automated index by name and narrow
search results by date of birth, place of residence, country of birth, or other biographical information. Index
Searchers modify their search several times to identify all possible records because index entries for different
file types contain different data fields.
Once one or more files are identified, searchers then work to determine if the file still exists and where it
exists. For example, some C-Files are split between a portion on microfilm and another portion in paper form.
The USCIS Genealogy Team searches cards representing paper C-files to identify all C-File parts. Other file
numbers may be searched again in a separate database or in hard copy volumes to determine the file’s
current location.
The USCIS Genealogy Program expends great effort to ensure existing files can be found. However, if the Index
Searcher identifies a file available from the Genealogy Program in our search results, but later cannot find the
file, a refund of the Records Request fee will be provided.
What Should I Expect?
If you submit an Index Search Request, the USCIS Genealogy Program researchers will send you a letter reporting
the search results. The letter will identify all file references found in the index and provide instructions and
Page 4 of 6additional information necessary to request the file(s) from the USCIS Genealogy Program, the Freedom of
Information Program, the National Archives, or a state or local courthouse.
To obtain record copies from USCIS make a Record Request
The indices contain many references to files that no longer exist. When a file no longer exists, the Index Search
Request response letter will provide all information available from the index record and explain that the file is no
longer available.
How does the Genealogy Request System work?
When you are ready to place your Order Online, you will enter your request information in a series of screen
"forms" to upload your data into our Genealogy Online Request System. Once you have completed all the screens
and verified the information is correct, you will choose the method of payment.
If paying online with a credit card, you will be redirected to the Pay.Gov website to enter your credit card
payment information. Once the transaction is complete, you will then receive return to a printable receipt on
the Genealogy System showing your new USCIS Genealogy Case number.
If paying by mail (money order or cashier's check), a printable receipt showing your new USCIS Genealogy
Case number will be displayed.
When submitting an Index Search Request:
1. DO NOT close your internet browser after receiving your case number.
2. Instead, select the "Next" button at the bottom of the page to submit your order. The request is not
submitted until the "Next" button (Outlined in Red in the picture below) at the bottom of the form is
selected.
3. If you do not submit the security question information, you will not be able to use your Case ID to make a
Records Request.
Quick Tips
If you know about the immigrant, but do not know the immigrant's file number(s), choose to make an
Index Search Request. You may also want to consider a preliminary Index Search since one person may have
multiple records and/or file numbers.
Be sure to include all possible names. If you have more than one name or name spelling for the
immigrant, first enter the name you think is correct when filling out the Index Search Request. Later
add alternate spellings in the "Optional Information" section.
If you have only an approximate birthdate (or multiple birthdates) for the immigrant, provide an
estimated date of birth. The online form asks for an exact date of birth and then asks you if the date
given is an estimate. If you can only provide an approximate year, enter January 1 as the birthdate
Page 5 of 6(e.g., 01/01/XXXX) and check the "estimated" box. Later, in the "Other Biographical Information"
section, you can provide alternate birth dates.
If you enter an estimated date of birth, the system will alert you that proof of the immigrant's death
may be necessary. If you know the date of birth is more than 100 years ago (for example, an estimated
birth year of 1878), you will not have to provide any proof of death. If you estimate 1912, the system
may accept your request without proof. However, if we determine the immigrant was born less than
100 years ago, you will be contacted and asked for proof of death before records or information can be
released. For more information about acceptable proofs of death, see Genealogy FAQs.
A separate Index Search request is required for each individual immigrant. Requests for related
immigrants cannot be combined and you will only receive index search results for the subject of your
request.
If you know about the immigrant and have the correct file number(s), choose to make a Record Request. You
may have learned the file number from a previous Index Search Request, or from other research.
* If you have any doubt that the file number is correct, request an Index Search before submitting your Record
Request.
USCIS benefits from a legacy of more than 100 years of federal immigration and naturalization administration. This
section of the USCIS website provides basic historical information about USCIS, INS, and their predecessors.
Organizational Timeline:
1891 – Office of Superintendent of Immigration created and placed in the Treasury Department.
1894 – Office of Superintendent of Immigration upgraded to Bureau of Immigration.
1903 – Bureau of Immigration transferred to the newly created Department of Commerce & Labor.
1906 – Federal Naturalization Service created and the Bureau of Immigration became the Bureau of Immigration &
Naturalization.
1913 – Bureau of Immigration & Naturalization divided into separate Bureaus – the Bureau of Immigration and the
Bureau of Naturalization – and placed in the new Department of Labor.
1924 – U.S. Border Patrol created within the Bureau of Immigration.
1933 – Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization reunited into a single agency, the Immigration &
Naturalization Service (INS).
1940 – The Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) transferred from the Department of Labor to the
Department of Justice.
2003 – The INS was abolished and its functions placed under the three agencies – U.S. Citizenship & Immigration
Services (USCIS), Immigration of Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) – within the
newly created Department of Homeland Security.
Genealogy Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
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All information presented in this workshop is directly from the USCIS website. I wish to than Marian Smith, Chief,
Historical Research Branch, US Citizenship and Immigration Service, for her many years of providing support and
sharing knowledge with me, so that I might share it with others! –Kay Speaks, 21-Sep-2014
Information is public belongs to the public domain and part of the http://www.uscis.gov. Compiler Kay Speaks—for personal use only, January 2015.
The USCIS genealogy website is frequently updated and information provided in this document is subject to change.
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