U.S. Legal Immigration Records

U.S. legal immigration records document a person’s entry into the United States through the official process in place at the time. As laws changed over time, different types of records were created.

The major records that document when and where an immigrant arrived include passenger manifests, migration indexes, naturalization records, passport applications, alien registrations, and A-files. Not every type of record will exist for every immigrant.

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Passenger manifestsPassenger manifests

An 1871 passenger manifest providing the immigrant's name, age, sex, occupation, place of origin, and destination country.

Customs listsCustoms lists

In 1820, the US government began to require immigration ship’s captains to create lists of passengers after arriving at U.S. ports. Information on these passenger lists may include:

• Port of departure
• Port of arrival
• Date of arrival
• Name of ship
• Place of origin (usually a country)
• Name, age, sex and occupation of immigrant
• Destination of immigrant

Passenger listsPassenger lists

In 1892, the United States began to require steamship companies to create lists of passengers at the port of departure, as tickets were purchased. Passenger lists typically include more details than customs lists, and over time, new laws required more details. Information on these lists may include:

• Port of departure
• Port of arrival
• Date of arrival
• Name of ship
• Nationality of immigrant
• Name, age, sex and occupation of immigrant
• Whether the immigrant had been to the United States before
• Final destination of the immigrant
• If the passenger was joining a relative, the name and residence place of the relative
• Who paid for the immigrant’s ticket
• The amount of money the immigrant had
• After 1906, the immigrant’s place of birth and a physical description

Border-crossing recordsBorder-crossing records

Some immigrants arrived in Canada or Mexico and entered the United States over land.

Until 1894, these passages weren’t tracked. Beginning in 1894, U.S.-bound immigrants to Canada were inspected at their Canadian port of arrival and are included with collections of U.S. passenger records.

Records of crossings at the Mexico border start about 1906, and are also included with U.S. passenger records.

Finding passenger manifestsFinding passenger manifests

Before starting a passenger list search, it’s helpful to know about when your relative immigrated and their name in the “old country” (it may be different from the name they used in the United States).

All surviving U.S. passenger manifests have been digitized. Many passenger manifests are available at MyHeritage and all are available on genealogy websites including the free FamilySearch.

All passenger records from New York City, the nation’s busiest immigration port, are searchable on New York, Passenger List Book Indexes 1906-1942 on MyHeritage, the Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 on MyHeritage and on the Ellis Island website.

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Migration indexesMigration indexes

Migration indexes are lists of immigrants gathered from other sources, such as old newspapers, local histories, emigration records (documenting those leaving their homelands), and more. These indexes may give some or all of the information provided in the original source, or you may be able to locate the source for additional details.

Finding migration indexesFinding migration indexes

A large, well-known migration index is Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1500–1900, available on MyHeritage.

The MyHeritage Immigration & Travel Collection includes indexes to various 19th-century arrivals called:

• Germans Immigrating to the United States
• Russians Immigrating to the United States
• Italians Immigrating to the United States

Naturalization recordsNaturalization records

Laws regulating the process of becoming a U.S. citizen changed over time. In general, they required two steps:

1. The immigrant filed an intent to naturalize, or “first papers,” in any court of record.
2. After living in the United States for the legally required period of time, the immigrant filed a petition to naturalize, or “second papers.”

Until 1906, immigrants to the United States could file for naturalization in any court of record, and first and second papers might be filed in different courts. After 1906, courts were required to forward copies of naturalization paperwork to the federal government. After 1917, most people filed for citizenship in federal courts.

Before 1922, wives of naturalized men automatically became citizens. Before 1940, those under age 21 became citizens when their father naturalized. This is called derivative citizenship.

This 1942 declaration of intention to naturalize includes a photograph of the immigrant.

Information in naturalization recordsInformation in naturalization records

Information provided in naturalization papers increased over time. You may learn:

• Name and address of immigrant
• Date and court of naturalization filing
• Immigrant’s date and place of birth
• Physical description
• Family members’ names, birth places and places of residence
• Date and port of immigration
• Immigrant’s overseas travel
• Names, addresses and occupations of two witnesses who could vouch for the immigrant (on second papers)

Finding naturalization recordsFinding naturalization records

MyHeritage has a Citizenship, Passport, and Naturalization collection with indexes and digitized naturalization records from many U.S. states. 

You’ll also find naturalization records at FamilySearch.

Keep in mind that not all immigrants became citizens. If you know your ancestor naturalized and you don’t find the record online, search court records where they lived.

Passport applicationsPassport applications

Except for brief periods during times of war, Americans traveling overseas weren’t required to obtain passports until 1941. Many did, however, because it made their passage easier.

Before the early 20th century, parents and children traveling together would be listed on one passport under the name of the father (or mother, if traveling alone with children).

Information in passport applicationsInformation in passport applications

Passport application records provide more information over time. They may include:

• Date and place of birth
• Physical description (and a photo, starting in 1914 )
• Foreign destination
• Date and court of naturalization
• Date and ship of immigration

Finding passport applicationsFinding passport applications

The National Archives has microfilmed passport applications, and the records have been digitized. Search United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925, on MyHeritage as well as on FamilySearch.

Alien registration records  Alien registration records  

The Alien Registration Act required all noncitizens age 14 and older who lived in or entered the United States between August 1940 and March 1944, to fill out an A-R2 form. More than 5.6 million noncitizens registered. The forms include:

• Date and place of registration
• Name (current and at time of entry)
• Other names used
• Address
• Date of Birth
• Citizenship
• Sex
• Marital Status
• Race
• Physical description
• Port, date, and ship of most recent U.S. arrival
• Date of first arrival
• Years lived in U.S.
• Occupation (usual and present) and employer
• Club, organization, or society memberships
• Military service (Country, branch, dates)
• Date and number of declaration of intention (if filed), and place of filing
• Date of petition for naturalization (if filed), and place of filing
• Arrest history
• Fingerprint
• Signature

How to find AR-2 formsHow to find AR-2 forms

Obtaining your relative’s AR-2 form from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is a two-step process. Fees apply to both steps.

• First, request an index search, which will tell you if there’s a record for your relative and give you the information needed to request the AR-2.
• Second, follow the USCIS provided instructions to submit a records request online or by mail.

A-filesA-files

Beginning in April 1944, A-files contain all records of noncitizens as they progressed through the immigration and inspection process. The files may include visas, photos, affidavits, and correspondence. These are being transferred from the USCIS to the National Archives 100 years after the date of birth of the person in the file. Most are now in the National Archives Kansas City, Mo., location, but some files for people who lived near San Francisco, Honolulu, Reno, and Guam are at the archives’ San Francisco location.

MyHeritage provides a collection called United States, Alien Case Files that contains records created by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) between 1944 and 2003. Records typically include the name of the individual, date and place of birth, date and place of arrival to the United States, date and place of naturalization and the assigned registration number.

The National Archives provides instructions to request your relatives’ A-files.  

Search immigration & travel records on MyHeritageSearch immigration & travel records on MyHeritage

Explore more about legal immigration recordsExplore more about legal immigration records

• Video: Ask The Expert—Find a Boatload of Passenger Lists on MyHeritage
• Video: Using Census, Immigration, Newspaper, and Yearbook Records at MyHeritage to Explore the Lives of Your Ancestors
• Video: Following Your Family’s Immigration Trail on MyHeritage
• Video: Tracing Migrating Ancestors: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and Howon the MyHeritage Knowledge Base

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