Did you know that more than 86 million people have legally immigrated to the United States between 1783 and 2019? The legalities have changed radically over time, but the records, no matter the format, contain important sources of information for genealogists.
Ariana Franco, our February speaker, packed an enormous amount of valuable information into her presentation on derivative citizenship in the 20th century and how to go about accessing these records. To begin her presentation, she led us through the myriad changes to our naturalization laws over the centuries, beginning in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century and continuing through the twentieth century and beyond.
Immigration to America has never been a “one and done” process. Some immigrants were able to acquire citizenship rather quickly by enlisting in the Continental Army, while others may have been turned away at the border due to exclusionary laws. To further complicate the process of naturalization, the amount of paperwork required could be daunting, and the process could take many years to complete. If anything went wrong during the process, the immigrant may have had to start all over again from the beginning or been turned away at the border.
I found the information about the Expatriation Act of 1907 and the Cable Act of 1922 both educational and disturbing. The 1907 act penalized women for marrying a non-citizen often leaving them stateless if her husband didn’t complete his citizenship paperwork. The irony was that if an American man married a foreign woman, he didn’t lose his citizenship. The Cable Act, while a major step for women’s rights following the passage of the 19th amendment, only partially repealed parts of the Expatriation Act, leaving some exclusionary policies on the books for several years.
Ariana described the different categories or steps required for the citizenship and naturalization process. Certificate Files contain the names of all the individuals who derived citizenship through the naturalization process, and everyone who was naturalized between 1906 and 1956 has a C-File at the USCIS. In addition to the C-Files, there are Alien Files that began in 1944 with the influx of people after WWII. These files can be located at either the USCIS or NARA, depending upon the date the applications were filed.
When searching for your ancestors with derivative citizenship, Ariana suggested the following steps. Determine the date of arrival. Did they travel back and forth requiring visas or passports? Do you have the correct spelling of names and dates of birth? What was their country of origin? Are there foreign born and American born children to consider? Ariana suggested making a timeline and using the FAN club approach when searching for documents.
Lastly, when you do not have deeds, wills, or other paperwork to further your genealogical research, understanding the citizenship path that our ancestors navigated can be a beneficial alternative. Familiarizing ourselves with the various forms and files and where they are stored is just the first step. Reminding ourselves to be patient when requesting said forms and files may test the strength of our convictions. Just remind yourself that governmental entities often move with the speed of a snail . . . in a snowstorm. Happy hunting!