United States Naturalization Records: Difference between revisions

An individual may have completed naturalization proceedings through any of 5,000 federal, state, or local courts that had the authority to grant citizenship. Naturalization proceedings were most often completed in county, superior or common pleas courts, or in state and U.S. circuit and district courts. Because some municipal, police, criminal, probate, and other courts also provided this service, you may need to search the records of all local courts. Since 1929 most (but not all) naturalizations have been handled by federal circuit or district courts. <br>  

You may need to search the records of each place where your immigrant ancestor lived. He may have filed an application in one county or state and completed the requirements several years later in another county or state. <br>

Begin by looking for naturalization records in the courts of the county or city where the immigrant lived. Look first for the petition (second papers) because they are usually easier to find in courts near where an immigrant settled. The petition usually tells where the declaration (first papers) was filed, which could have been almost anywhere in the United States. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of many of these records. If the library does not have copies, contact the county clerk to determine which courts handled naturalizations and where the records are presently located. The records of the federal courts may still be in the custody of the court, at branches of the National Archives, or at the National Archives. <br>  

In 1929 the INS changed the forms and required photographs of the applicants. Because the new forms were not distributed immediately, many state courts ceased naturalizing. Since 1929, most new citizens have naturalized at federal courts. <br>