United States Naturalization and Citizenship: Difference between revisions

| style="padding-right:0px; width:50%"| [[Image:Naturalization.jpg|thumb|left|200px|<center>New citizens being sworn in, 1910</center>]]

:#'''[https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/naturalization/history-dec-of-intent Declaration of Intention.]''' The immigrant filed a declaration of intention (also called first papers) to renounce allegiance to foreign governments and to later prove he or she had resided in the country long enough to apply for citizenship. However, generally speaking, an immigrant filed a declaration of intention up to two years after he immigrated to the United States. The immigrant could declare any time after he arrived after fulfilling the residency requirement. Some immigrants waited as late as 20 years after coming to the United States to begin the process to become a citizen. There are some [[United_States_Naturalization_and_Citizenship#Exceptions_to_the_Process|exceptions]] to the naturalization process where the immigrant was not required to file a declaration.  

:#'''Petition.''' The immigrant had to wait anywhere between two to three years after he filed his declaration to file his petition for citizenship (also called second or final papers). Most often the petition was filed in a court nearest to the town where the immigrant settled. An Oath of Allegiance was also signed to pledge the immigrants allegiance to the United States and sign a written oath.  

:#'''Certificate.''' After all requirements were completed, the immigrant was sworn in as a citizen and issued his or her certificate. The certificate is given from the same court the petition is filed in. It is called the Certificate of Citizenship or Certificate of Naturalization.

:An alien registration form contains the following information:

:*Name  

:*Name at time of entry to the US  

:*Other names used  

:*Address  

:*Date of Birth  

:*Citizenship/Nationality  

:*Gender  

:*Marital Status  

:*Race  

:*Height and Weight  

:*Hair and Eye Color  

:*Port, date, ship, and class of admission at last arrival in US  

:*Date of first arrival in US  

:*Years lived in US  

:*Intended stay in US  

:*Usual occupation  

:*Present occupation  

:*Present employer, including address  

:*Club, organization, or society memberships  

:*Military service (Country, branch, dates)  

:*Date and number of Declaration of Intention (if filed), and city and State where filed  

:*Date of Petition for Naturalization (if filed), and city and State where filed  

:*Arrest history  

:*Fingerprint  

:*Signature  

:*Date and place of registration<ref>United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, :Alien Registration Forms on Microfilm, 1940-1944</ref>

==== Locating the Correct District Court  ====

:1) Ancestry Database Card Catalog--type the word naturalization in the Database Title Box. This will give you a listing of naturalization records.

:2) Immigration &amp; Emigration--click on the Search tab at the top of the page, then scroll down to Immigration &amp; Emigration and click on that link. Search by first and last name. Note that the search results include naturalization and many other immigration records. <br>

::[STATE] - NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP <br>

::[STATE], [COUNTY] - NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP <br>

::[STATE], [COUNTY], [TOWN] - NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP <br>

:'''PA:''' The individual began the naturalized process and has submitted a declaration of intention.  

:'''NA:''' The individual has completed the naturalization process and is a US Citizen.  

:'''AL:''' The immigrant had not yet naturalized or even begun the process. Not every immigrant naturalized.  

:'''NR:''' The census taker did not report the citizenship information.