John recommended the following book on May 10th: The book "American Naturalization Records 1790-1990: What They Are and How to Use Them" by John J. Newman might be useful. ISBN:1-877677-91-4. LOC 98-71939. Copyright 1985, 1998, second edition by Heritage Quest. It is a paperback, 127 pages with lots of illustrations of forms, end notes, bibliographical info, etc that is useful to the researcher. There is an appendix that lists categories of records with time periods for changes in requirements. If your library doesn't have it, maybe they can get it via ILL. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Based on further reading the book recommended by John appears to be the best source of comprehensive information available. The bottom line is that one needs to go to the jurisdiction that had control of the records at the time your ancestor lived there. According to NARA, most jurisdictions today do not have anyone qualified on their staff to answer your questions. It is recommended that one keep asking until they locate someone who has specific knowledge where someone who lived in that jurisdiction would have registered as a resident alien. Until one gets a definitive answer, the record will never be located. Below are excerpts from the listed citations: Ordering information for immigration records (ship passenger lists and border crossings) (NATF 81) http://www.archives.gov/global_pages/inquire_form.html To order Naturalization Records (Form G-639): http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/g-639.htm -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------From NARA page ?Naturalization Records? http://www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/research_topics/naturalization_records.html The Courts From the first naturalization law passed by Congress in 1790 through much of the 20th century, an alien could become naturalized in any court of record. Thus, most people went to the court most convenient to them, usually a county court. The names and types of courts vary from State to State. The names and types of courts have also varied during different periods of history--but may include the county supreme, circuit, district, equity, chancery, probate, or common pleas court. Most researchers will find that their ancestors became naturalized in one of these courts. A few State supreme courts also naturalized aliens, such as the supreme courts of Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, New Jersey, and South Dakota. Aliens who lived in large cities sometimes became naturalized in a Federal court, such as a U.S. district court or U.S. circuit court. General Rule: The Two-Step Process Congress passed the first law regulating naturalization in 1790. As a general rule, naturalization was a two-step process that took a minimum of 5 years. After residing in the United States for 2 years, an alien could file a "declaration of intent" (so-called "first papers") to become a citizen. After 3 additional years, the alien could "petition for naturalization." After the petition was granted, a certificate of citizenship was issued to the alien. These two steps did not have to take place in the same court. As a general rule, the "declaration of intent" generally contains more genealogically useful information than the "petition." The "declaration" may include the alien's month and year (or possibly the exact date) of immigration into the United States. The Records It is impossible to provide hard-and-fast rules about the content or even the existence of naturalization records. The 1905 Report to the President of the Commission on Naturalization remarked: The methods of making and keeping the naturalization records in both the Federal and State courts are as various as the procedure in such cases. Thus the declaration of intention in some courts consists merely of the bare statement of the intention and the name and allegiance of the alien, while in other courts it also includes a history of the alien.... In a majority of courts alien applicants are not required to make the declaration of intention required by law ... and in other courts he is. Previous to 1903 a majority of courts did not require petitions or affidavits; other courts did. Some courts keep a naturalization record separate from the other records; other courts include the naturalization record in the regular minutes of the court. Some records contain full histories of the aliens, but a majority of the records show only the name, nationality, oath of allegiance, and date of admission. In 1903 a Justice Department investigator made even more condemnatory comments: I find the naturalization records in many cases in a chaotic condition, many lost and destroyed, and some sold for old paper. Most the records consist of merely the name and nativity of the alien with no means of identifying aliens of the same name....In numerous cases I find aliens naturalized under initials instead of Christian names, surnames misspelled or changed entirely, and names of witnesses inserted in place of the alien naturalized....The examination of the records discloses the remarkable fact that never, since the first enactment of the naturalization laws, has any record been made in any court of the names of minor children who, under the operation of the statutes, were made citizens by the naturalization of their parents. The Location of these Records County Court Records Naturalization records from county courts may still be at the county court, in a county or State archives, or at a regional archives serving several counties within a State. Some of these records or indexes have been published, such as the Index of Naturalizations, Ashtabula County, Ohio, 1875-1906, published by the Ashtabula County Genealogical Society. Do not be surprised if county court employees tell you that their naturalization records are at "the National Archives" or that their court never conducted naturalizations. Most current court employees are probably not genealogists and may not be familiar with the court's older records. It is up to the researcher to determine the location of older court records. County Court Records in the National Archives As a general rule, the National Archives does not have naturalization records created in State or local courts. However, some county court naturalization records have been donated to the National Archives and are available as National Archives microfilm publications. (See List this Source) Federal Court Records If the naturalization took place in a Federal court, naturalization indexes, declarations of intent, and petitions will usually be in the NARA regional facility serving the State in which the Federal court is located. Some of these indexes and records have been microfilmed. End of Source ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From ?Naturalization Records? by William Dollarhide http://www.genealogybulletin.com/archives/HTML/current21.html The first naturalization act, passed in 1790, provided that an alien who desired to become a citizen of the United States should apply to ?any common law court of record, in any one of the states wherein he shall have resided for the period of one year at least.? Under this and later laws, aliens were naturalized in federal, state, county, or municipal courts. Records of aliens naturalized by way of local or state courts may still be located at the courthouse of that jurisdiction, or may have been removed for safe keeping to a state archives. Records of those aliens naturalized by way of the District Courts of the United States are located today in the District Court covering all or part of a particular state, or the National Archives branch facility covering that state?s federal court records. The process of naturalization involved several steps, for which multiple documents with genealogical information may exist along the way: Declarations of Intention are documents by which applicants for U.S. citizenship renounced allegiance to foreign sovereignties and declared their intention to become a U.S. citizen. As the first step in the naturalization process, they were often called ?First Papers.? Early declarations of intention usually show for each applicant, a full name, country of birth or allegiance, date of the application, and a signature. Some will show a date and port of arrival in the United States. After 1906, a longer and more detailed form was used, including such information as the applicant?s name, age, occupation, and personal description; date and place of birth; citizenship; present address and last foreign address; vessel and port of embarkation for the United States; U.S. port and date of arrival in the United States; and date of application and signature. Naturalization Petitions are documents by which those who had declared their intention to become a U.S. citizen made formal application for citizenship, after meeting the residency requirements. Information on these documents includes a full name, residence, occupation, date and place of birth, citizenship, and personal description of applicant (many 20th century documents include a photograph); date of immigration; port of embarkation and arrival; marital status; names, dates, and places of birth for the applicant?s children; date at which U.S. residence commenced; time of residence in state; name changes; and a signature. Naturalization Depositions are formal statements in support of an applicant?s petition by witnesses designated by the applicant. The records indicate the period of the applicant?s residence in a certain locale and other information, including witnesses? appraisals of the applicant?s character. Certificates of Naturalization and Oaths of Allegiance document the granting of U.S. citizenship to petitioners. The early orders of admission to citizenship are often available only in the minute books of the court where the final naturalization certificate was issued. The minute books are organized in chronological order, but have an index to the names. In some case, all records for one person undergoing the naturalization process have been gathered together in a petition record folder, which usually includes the petition for naturalization, affidavits of the petitioner and witnesses, the oath of allegiance, and the order of the court admitting the petitioner to citizenship. The Certificate of Naturalization was given to the new citizen but no copy of the certificate was kept by the court that issued it. Only a minute book record or a copy of the court order, and possibly the Oath of Allegiance was recorded and kept at local courthouse. From 1906 forward, copies of all naturalization documents generated at the local courts were sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington, DC, where copies of all First Papers, Petitions, Depositions, Oaths of Allegiance, and Certificates of Naturalization can be found today. As an example of naturalization records initiated at the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (Mobile), the early records are now at the National Archives and Records Administration ? Southeast Region, located in East Point, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Records include petition and record documents, 1906-1929, and declarations of intention, 1855-1929. They are all indexed by the name of the petitioner. Naturalization Records Since 1906 The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has copies of all naturalization records (certificates, declarations of intentions, and petitions), since September 27, 1906. They are completely indexed. A request for information from a naturalization file must be done on Form G-639. A copy of that form can be downloaded from the INS web site at www.ins.usdoj.gov/exec/forms/formsbymail.asp Naturalization Information Found in Other Federal Records Other federal records that provide naturalization information are passport applications, among the General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59, and homestead applications , in the Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Record Group 49. If a naturalized citizen applied for a passport before 1906, records of his naturalization are usually in the passport application file. In some cases, a copy of a Certificate of Naturalization can be found in an applicant?s file. Foreign born homestead applicants had to present evidence of citizenship or that they had declared their intention to become a citizenship to qualify for homestead land. As a result, naturalization declarations or certificates are often found in the case files of homestead land entries. Naturalization Records Not in the National Archives To obtain information about naturalization records that are not in the custody of the National Archives, a genealogist should write to the appropriate court official, usually the clerk of the court that issued the certificate of naturalization. If the petitioner were naturalized after September 27, 1906, federal law required that copies of the naturalization documents from any court must be sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (formerly the Bureau of Immigration). Therefore, after 1906, there may be two sets of records, one set at the local courthouse, another at the INS. Further Reading: American Naturalization Records: 1790-1990 by archivist and genealogist, John J. Newman End of Source ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------