Get Familiar with USCIS: home of US Naturalization Records after 1906

Usually when I want to request a naturalization record, I think of the
 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or the state court if that is where the naturalization occurred. But as I mentioned in my last post, (July 23, 2012) since 1906 the federal government has had jurisdiction over naturalization. Even with this move to centralize the process under the federal umbrella, state and US courts

were both able to process naturalizations. Familysearch.org has a very informative wiki on this subject.

I had located my maternal grandfather’s Declaration of Intention on the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court NaturalizationDeclaration of Intention database:

Before I knew about Homeland Security’s naturalization files, I contacted the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) atNortheastern University in Chicago to request a copy of Frank’s naturalization card. I talked about IRAD in my post of July 4, 2012. You can call or write to make your request. Be sure to include any pertinent information that you already have about the target person, including birth date. In just a few days, I received Frank Holub’s naturalization certificate issued by the US District Court in Chicago in 1935:

But I wondered if a file existed for Frank Holub that might have more information than just the certificate. Could there be first papers (Declaration of Intention) or final papers? This event occurred after 1906, so I knew that the Homeland Security naturalization branch, the UnitedStates Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), might have Frank’s naturalization file.


But I needed to have a C-number to request the file, as I had learned from the USCIS Historical Reference Library, when I had made a previous request (see my post of July 23,2012.) I saw the H-410 number stamped on the upper left corner of the card. But where was the C-xxx? I decided to send another e-mail message to the USCIS Historical Reference Library, asking for help once more. And as you will see in the response below, the library came through again.

Before the written message, the library attached Frank Holub’s naturalization certificate with the three numbers circled and color-coded:

“The C-number for this file is “C-3903371.”  This is the number to submit to the USCIS Genealogy Program in your “Record Copy Request” when requesting Frank Holub’s Certificate File (“C-File”).

Naturalization records have a variety of associated numbers and one must be careful to use the correct number in a given context:

1.       The Certificate number (circled in red and identified as “cn” or certificate of naturalization) is the USCIS Certificate File (C-File) number used to request the file from the USCIS Genealogy Program.  (Put a “C-“ in front of the number on the card  C-3903371).

2.       The Petition number (circled in blue) is the Petition for Naturalization number and refers to the COURT document (state, local, or federal court).

3.       The “H-410” number (circled in green below) is the Soundex code for the last name and so is associated with the index itself, not any of the records.”

After I read the message, the numbering system on the naturalization looked easy. But before the library’s explanation, it had not been simple to decipher.

To recap, check your naturalization documents. If you have ancestors who were naturalized after 1906, you may wish to request copies of their files from USCIS, no matter if they were naturalized in state or federal courts. Also, a very helpful part of USCIS is the Historical Reference Library.


Categories: US citizenship, US Agencies

Preparing for a Research Trip to Chicago Part II: Using Social Media

People prepare for a trip in many ways. They read guidebooks, visit websites and ask friends who’ve visited their destination for tips. More and more tech savvy people are turning to social media as part of their trip preparation. Most of us are very familiar with Facebook and Linked-in as examples of social media. But blogs are also social media.

A recent NY Times story by Henry Alford told of how he used local city blogs in Sweden to prepare for a trip. There is a genealogy twist to this technique. Genealogists can adapt this technique to help them prepare for a research trip to a new city. And I am sure that some of you out there have already done so. We would love to hear from you. Unlike Mr. Alford, I stumbled upon this technique through the back door – that is other people reached out to me.

In the last week, I have received valuable assistance from both my blog and Facebook in planning my trip to Chicago. How did this happen? The first assistance came via this genealogy blog. In response to my blog post on preparing for my research trip to Chicago Part I, Jacqi Stevens, author of the blog “A Family Tapestry”, steered me to the Chicago Genealogy group on Facebook (to access this group or any Facebook group, you need to join Facebook.) 

I went to the Facebook page for Chicago Genealogy and requested admission to the group. After receiving a welcome message, I posted my first message:

“Thank you for welcoming me to the group. I'm planning a trip to Chicago for 5 days in Sept. My focus is my Carney/Kearney line from the 1870s-1880s. I will visit the Newberry Library and walk Calvary Cemetery. I'm also going to CPL (Chicago Public Library) to check out Chicago history (one of my Kreis ancestors was a teamster in early 1900s). I am also thinking of visiting the Circuit Court to look at some Dec (Declaration) of Intention for Holub & Flesouras. Any other suggestions would be most appreciated.”

(In a later paragraph I will explain about Declarations of Intention in the process of applying for US naturalization.)

Within a day, I had eight comments from the Chicago Facebook Group. I received an excellent suggestion in reaction to my plan to visit the Circuit Court of Cook County Archives to search for naturalization papers (see above.) Jennifer Holik wrote:

 “Have you checked the IRAD (Illinois Regional Archives Depository System)  holdings to see if they have the records you want? You can write them and they'll search and send. Might save you a stop at the Circuit Court Archives.”
And no, I had not thought of IRAD. Thank you, Jennifer.

After looking at the IRAD homepage, I called their regional depository at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago  and yes, they will look up records for you – there is a limit of two name searches per call. I was told that after the search is completed, the archive staff would send me a letter with the results.

To educate yourself on the process of filing papers for US naturalization in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, I suggest Joe Beine’s  website, “Types of US Naturalization Records.” A Declaration of Intention (also called "First Papers") as Mr. Beine wrote, is “The record by which an applicant for US citizenship declared their intent to become a citizen and renounced their allegiance to a foreign government.”

The Circuit Court of Cook County provides a very helpful on-line database where you can search their holdings of Declarations of Intention from 1871 - 1929. I used this tool to find the Declarations of Intention for two of my Flesouras ancestors and two of my Holub forebears. Here is the Individual Declaration Index Report for my grandfather, Frank Holub:

My next step was to go to the Circuit Court of Cook County in person in September to see if there was any additional information for any of these people, such as naturalization petitions or certificates of arrival.  But Jennifer Holik’s suggestion on the Chicago Facebook Group site saved me from this extra trip.

So far we have seen how using social media in the form of blogs and Facebook groups can lead to valuable resources for planning a genealogy trip. If you have had success following this route, please share this with me and the followers of this blog by leaving a comment in the box below. Maybe you found a Facebook group or started your own group. Or you might have googled a city blog for your trip destination. Or you found a brand new way to use social media to further your research. Let us know.

Categories: US citizenship, genealogy tools