June 21, 2024
For many genealogists, locating an ancestor’s naturalization records is a major goal. Those documents mark the beginning of a new life for an immigrant ancestor and changed not only his life but that of his descendants.
Thanks to widespread digitization and indexing, naturalization records are easier to find now. Many of them can be obtained via a search on one of the large genealogical databases such as Ancestry or Family Search. Others may not be available online but are indexed at online sources such as state archives or other repositories. Records can usually be ordered from these repositories for a reasonable fee.
Unfortunately, finding naturalization records can still be problematic for some researchers. Many of us don’t search for them effectively. The problem may be that we don’t know the details of how naturalization occurs in the U.S.
The basics of becoming a U.S. citizen has not changed much since 1790. The United States has always required a two-step process for becoming an American. An immigrant must first submit a Declaration of Intent stating his intention to renounce his former citizenship and acquire American citizenship. The second step is to submit a Petition for Naturalization in which the immigrant verifies that he has met the requirements for citizenship and would like to be naturalized.
The logistics of filing these documents have varied over the years. Declarations of Intent have always been filed first. They are sometimes called First Papers for his reason. Declarations of Intent were often filed soon after an immigrant arrived in the U.S. However, this was not a requirement. Some immigrants filed Declarations of Intent after having lived in the U.S. for decades.
Petitions for Naturalization were filed after Declarations of Intention. Applicants could not file Petitions for Naturalization until they had met certain residence requirements. This period varied over the years, sometimes being as long as seven years.
Where a prospective citizen applied for citizenship also varied over the history of the U.S. Up until 1906, an immigrant could apply at any court. Federal, state, county and municipal courts could all naturalize someone.
An applicant did not necessarily have to live in the jurisdiction of a court to be naturalized there. Applicants often went to the nearest court even if it was in another town or county. To further complicate matters, Declarations of Intent and Petitions for Naturalization did not need to be filed in the same court.
Finding naturalization records filed since 1906 is usually simpler than finding earlier ones. Since 1906 only federal courts and some selected state courts have been able to naturalize people.
Because the process of filing for naturalization has varied so much, it’s important to know approximately when an ancestor may have filed. Knowing where an ancestor lived is also important. Many immigrants moved frequently during their early years in America.
Finding naturalization records can be difficult. Learning more about the process that led to naturalization can help make the search easier.
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society