United States Naturalization and Citizenship: Difference between revisions

[[Image:{{Naturalization Photo}}]]  

== Most Popular Websites for Naturalization Records  ==

<br>

:*Port of arrival  

:*Country of origin or allegiance

:*Birth date &amp; place of immigrant  

:*Marital status<br>

:'''Denization'''--A type of naturalization used to obtain land.&nbsp; You could buy and sell land, but could not hold public office. There were no political privileges associated with denization.

:*Occupation

When the INS was created in 1906, other naturalization records were created in the processing of naturalizations and for keeping track of immigrants in the United States.&nbsp; Copies of these documents are only in the possession of the former INS, now [http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)].&nbsp; A summary of some of these documents are listed below:  

== Naturalization Records by State  ==

Naturalization records before 1790 differ vastly from later naturalization records.&nbsp; Colonial naturalization consist mostly of lists of those that took the oath of allegience. The colony where the immigrant was living gave naturalizations.  

''Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s- 1900s ''is available in book form, CD-ROM, and Ancestry.com.&nbsp;&nbsp;There are several sets and supplements that have been added to the original publication. The most current supplement, 2009 is in book form and not&nbsp;included in&nbsp;the CD-ROM or Ancestry.com database.  

You may need to search the records of each place where your immigrant ancestor lived to locate both naturalization records. He may have filed the declartion of intention in one court in one state and filed the petition several years later in another court and state. Begin first by looking for naturalization records in the courts of the county or city where the immigrant settled.&nbsp; Most likely the petition (second papers) was filed in that county or city.  

The Declaration of Intent (Form 2202) was completed in triplicate. The court kept the original and gave copies to the applicant and the Bureau. The applicant was to use the declaration to apply for the petition.&nbsp; If the declaration is still in possession of the family, most likely the immigrant did not complete the process and was not a citizen.&nbsp; The Petition for Naturalization (Form 2204) was kept by the court and a duplicate was sent to the INS. The Certificate of Naturalization (Form 2207) was given to the new citizen. A duplicate was sent to the INS and the court kept the stub.  

If you immigrant lived until after 1900, you should locate them on as many censuses as you can:  

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

:'''NR:''' this abbreviation means the census taker did not report the citizenship information.

The 1920 Census also asks the year the individual naturalized.  

<u>'''Town of Origin'''</u>  

<u>'''Court Records'''</u>  

There are exceptions to naturalization records that one should keep in mind while searching these records.&nbsp;  

Beginning in 1824 until 1906, immigrants under the age of 21 (whose parents did not naturalize) could be naturalized without filing a declaration of intent after they reached the age of 21 and had met the residency requirements. The declaration was often submitted with the petition.<ref name="Newman">Newman, John J. ''American Naturalization Records 1790-1990.'' (Bountiful, UT: Heritage Quest, 1998).</ref>&nbsp;  

In 1855, derivative citizenship (obtaining one's citizenship from another person)&nbsp;was also available for immigrant women marrying US citizens or if their husbands obtained their citizenship during their marriage.&nbsp; The wife's proof that she was a US citizen was her husband's certificate of citizenship (or certificate of naturalization) and her marriage certificate.&nbsp;  

In 1922, citizenship was no longer available to women through marriage.&nbsp; However, between 1907 to 1922, a woman could lose her US citizenship if she married an alien - even if she was born in the United States.&nbsp; For more information, read Marion L. Smith's article, [http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1998/summer/women-and-naturalization-1.html Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802-1940.]  

==== Collective Naturalization <ref name="Schaefer" /><ref name="Greenwood">Greenwood, Val D. ''The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy'', 3rd ed. (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2000)</ref>  ====

In 1868, African-Americans made citizens by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Unites States Constitution.&nbsp; In 1924, Native Americans made finally made citizens - although some chiefs of tribes became citizens before this date.&nbsp; The Native Americans were not included in the Fouteeneth Amendment because they were considered a seperate nation.  

=== Variant spellings  ===

== Other Naturalization Topics  ==

=== Naturalization Laws  ===

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has a full discussion of all [http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=dc60e1df53b2f010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=dc60e1df53b2f010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD naturalization laws] in PDF format.  

=== Naturalization Terms  ===

== References  ==

{{Place|United States}}  

[[Category:United_States_Naturalization_and_Citizenship]] [[Category:National_Archives_and_Records_Administration]] [[Category:Family_History_Library]] [[Category:Record_Types_of_the_United_States|Record_Types_of_the_United_States]]