|
ERC: Genealogy and Family History: Records
DECLARATION OF INTENTION
If a person was
at least eighteen years of age, had entered the United States
lawfully, and wanted to become a U.S. citizen, they could file a Declaration of Intention at whatever
office was in charged of the naturalization process. Unlike the
Petition for Naturalization, there was no minimum period of
residency requirement to submit this document. After 1926, the U.S. Department of Labor
issued this form; before this it was the U.S. Department of
Commerce. Physical characteristics of the alien would be listed on
this form, as well as where and when they were born, where they currently
lived, and their immigration information, i.e. what port did they
emigrate from and on what ship, where they last resided before
emigrating, at what port and on what date they arrived in the United
States, and of course, the date they filed their Declaration.
If the person wishing to declare their intent to become a U.S.
citizen arrived in the U.S. after 29 Jun 1906, then a
Certificate of Arrival needed to be
obtained, stating that they entered the U.S. lawfully and was
admitted for permanent residence. If they arrived on or before this
date, they could immediately file a Declaration of Intention. Note
that the U.S. Naturalization Service only came into existence on 27
Sep 1906. All immigration and naturalization files from this time on
were kept in a centralized location in Washington, D.C. Thus, the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) has
no naturalization records before this date. Before this date in
1906, naturalizations were handled by the court of record at the
time, whether it be at federal, state, county or municipal level. In
New York City, a person could still be naturalized at the local
level until sometime in the 1920s when this was stopped. After this
time, the petitioner had to go to the federal courts, i.e. the U.S.
District Courts to apply for citizenship. In New York City, the
Southern District handled naturalizations in Manhattan, Bronx and
Westchester counties; the Eastern District handled Kings (Brooklyn),
Richmond (Staten Island), Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
To access these naturalization records in person while in New York
City, one can visit the Northeast branch of the National Archives
and Records Division (NARA) at 201 Varick St., 12th floor, or Room
703 (the County Clerk's Office - Division of Old Records) for
Petitions for Naturalization filed in New York County's State
Supreme Court (1868, 1896-1924), Court of Common Pleas (1792-1895),
or New York County Superior Court (1828-1895). Declarations of
Intention filed in New York County are also available there. Full
naturalization records for the Southern District of New York City
(Manhattan, Bronx and Westchester Counties) between 1897 and 1944
are now on microfilm (M1972) and can be either copied at the NARA
office or requested for a ten dollar fee per record from NARA
itself. The records for the Eastern District (Consisting
of Kings, Richmond, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties) will be
microfilmed shortly, and the same remarks mentioned above for the
Southern District documents, will apply. There were, of course,
different courts that could conduct naturalization procedures (see
below.)
|
PETITION FOR NATURALIZATION
A person who had satisfied
the time requirement after filing their Declaration of
Intention,* could then file a Petition for Naturalization. If
they waited too long (they had to file their Petition before
two and seven years), they had to reapply. Also, the applicant
had to live in the U.S. (or its Territory, or Washington,
D.C.) usually, but not always, for five years continuously and
a period of time, usually a year in a particular state (see
no. 4 below). See the explanation of the
Cable Act (aka Married Woman's Act)
of 22 Sep 1922 which explains the
law that allowed women to become naturalized on their own
(when this law was passed, a woman was no longer required to
file a Declaration of Intention and could immediately file a
Petition for Naturalization. The five-year residency
requirement was also lowered to one year.)
What information was asked for on the Petition depended on the
period of time it was filled out. Usually, the following
information was listed: petitioner's name, residence,
occupation, date of birth, place of birth, date of departure,
port of departure, name of ship (or other means of transport),
date of arrival, port of arrival, date and place they filed
their Declaration of Intention*, and affidavits of witnesses
(2). At a certain point, the names and residences of the wife
and minor children were included.
The Petition also tried to root out anarchists (not always on
Petition), polygamists, and those who couldn't speak English:
1. From a 1913 Petition form: "I am not a disbeliever in or
opposed to organized government or a member of or affiliated
with any organization or body of persons teaching disbelief in
or opposed to government."
2. From the same 1913 form: "I am not a polygamist nor a
believer in the practice of polygamy. I am attached to the
principles of the Constitution of the United States, and it is
my intention to become a citizen of the United States and to
renounce absolutely and forever all allegiance and fidelity to
any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty and
particularly to (e.g. Nicholas II, Emperor of All the Russias)
of whom at this time I am a subject, and it is my intention to
reside permanently in the United States.
3. I am able to speak the English language.
4. I have resided continuously in the United States of America
for the term of five years at least, immediately preceding the
date of this petition, to wit, since the (day) of (month),
anno Domini (year) and in the State of New York, continuously
next preceding the date of this petition, (day) of (month),
anno Domini (year), being a resident within this State of at
least one year next preceding the date of this petition. |
OATH OF
ALLEGIANCE
This oath was taken by the petitioner once it
had been established that they satisfied the requirements
necessary to become a citizen. The petitioner had to
renounce their allegiance to the country that they were
formerly a citizen of, give up any titles of nobility, and
swear to defend and be loyal to the United States.
|
RECORD OF
NATURALIZATION
Also known as the Certificate of Citizenship,
this record was used for many years, between 1867 and 1941.
It listed the applicant's name, date of naturalization, term
of the court, name of naturalized aliens and their former
nationality. |
| |
CERTIFICATE OF NATURALIZATION
It is a
document issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
(USCIS) since October 1, 1991 and the Federal Courts or
certain State Courts on or before September 30, 1991 as
proof of a person obtaining U.S. citizenship through
naturalization (a legal process to obtain a new
nationality).
|
CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION
|
This certificate was issued by
the Naturalization Service and acted as proof that Pauline
became a U.S. citizen through "derivation or acquisition at
birth (when born outside of the United States.") For
example, if Pauline's parents were already U.S. citizens
when she was born out of the country. It could also be that
her parent(s) became citizens when she was a minor (under 18
years of age) and met the special conditions of the law. |
PETITION
AND RECORD
This was a combination of the Declaration,
Petition and Certificate of Arrival.
Follow the links below to examples and
explanations of the following naturalization records:
(With the exception of the last two forms, the others are
not ready yet for publication, but will be added to the
Museum's ERC very soon.)
Common Pleas NYC (1892)
County Court, Kings County, NY (1891)
County Court, Queens County, NY (1898)
County Court, Richmond County, NY (1898)
Marine Court NYC (1848)
Superior Court NYC (1878)
Supreme Court NY First Judicial District (1905)
U.S. District Court--Eastern District NY (1903)
U.S. District Court--Southern District NY (1893)
Also:
Military Naturalizations
(World Wars I and II, and the Korean War)
Women and U.S. Naturalization Law
|
|
|
Copyright © 2006 Museum of Family History
All rights reserved.
Image Use Policy
|