Immigration in America

Finding immigration records on your ancestors who immigrated before 1906 can be, what you might call, a hot mess!  Let’s try to make a little sense out of what was a very complex and constantly shifting set of laws.  This will be a simple and brief explanation.  If you want more details, there are several good genealogy focused books on immigration.

In the Beginning

In 1790 the U.S. Congress passed the first law on immigration.  Under that law, anyone over 21 who lived in the U.S. for 2 years could be declared a citizen by any court in any state.  Women and children became citizens along with their husbands and fathers.  Before this there was no official way of becoming a citizen, but there were several ways of telling if someone immigrated to America. 

• If a person came or was brought over as an indentured servant, often there was a record of that transaction.  Sometimes states would compensate a person with money or land when they brought several colonists to America.  There are many books covering these transactions.
• Often when a person came to America they would be required to take an oath of allegiance.  Whether this was required varied among states or colonies.  As the Revolutionary War got closer, these oaths became more common.
• If a person came to America as part of a group, often there is a record of that group and the person’s in it.  The most famous example of this is the Mayflower Compact, where people on board the Mayflower formed a government and signed an oath before they left the ship.  There are records of religious groups and churches who were fleeing persecution in Europe.

An Enduring Standard

In 1795 Congress replaced this law with a law that has been the basic foundation for our immigration policy ever since. 

• The immigrant must live in the U.S. for five years before becoming a citizen.
• They must file a declaration of their intent to become a citizen in any court, declaring their loyalty to their new government.
• After the declaration was filed, there was a three-year waiting period before they could be naturalized.

Over the years this basic law was tweaked and changed a little but remained basically the same.  The problem for us as family historians is immigrants could file their Declaration of Intention and then their Petition for Naturalization in almost any court in any state.  They did not even have to file them in the same court! 

Your ancestor who immigrated to Philadelphia and lived there a couple of years could file a Declaration of Intention with the County Court in Philadelphia, then move to Cleveland, Ohio, and file their Petition for Naturalization with the federal court.  If that weren’t bad enough, each court was responsible for creating its own form.  A Declaration of Intention in one court might include the year they immigrated, where they came from, and the date they arrived.  In another court it might simply say they renounced their former king and wanted to become a citizen. 

One exception to this was for military service.  Starting with the Civil War, citizenship has been expedited for people who served in the U.S. Armed Forces.  Specific requirements varied over the years, but if your ancestor seems to have become a citizen as soon as they arrived, you might want to check for military service.

A Central Location

In 1906 the Immigration and Naturalization Service was formed.  They required standardized forms, with one copy being filed with them in Washington DC.  The marvelous forms we all love to find, including a wealth of personal information and maybe even a picture, are a result of this law.  Immigration records since 1906 and before 1956 are generally available at NARA.  After that, they must be accessed through the Freedom of Information Act from the USCIS in Washington DC.

Next time we will talk about some of the places you can find immigration records online.  If you have any questions, drop us a line below!