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  • Immigration records
    • Main contributor: Gena Philibert-Ortega

    Immigration records document immigration, meaning the act of arriving in a foreign country to live permanently. When researching an immigrant ancestor, always research their life in their adopted homeland before searching for records about their immigration and life in their country of birth.

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    Tips for researching immigrants

    European immigrants are arriving in Argentina during the late 19th century.

    Knowing where to start when researching an immigrant ancestor can be difficult. As you begin to research your immigrant ancestor, keep these steps in mind:

    • Begin with what you know: Use home sources to document what you already know. Home sources, such as photographs, letters, and immigration paperwork, may help you continue your research in records found online and in archives. Don't forget to ask other family members what paperwork they may have in their homes relating to that ancestor and anything they may know about the person. Document everything you find in a timeline to help you understand what time period to research.
    • Document the details: Write down their full name and any other names they may have been known by, when they were born, where they were born, parents' and siblings' names (if known). It's ok if you don't know much about the ancestor; what's important is to document everything you know.
    • Start with what you know and work backward: Always start with the last event, your ancestor's death and work backward in time. Exhaust all the records in their adopted homeland, such as death certificates, censuses, city directories, and newspapers, before researching their birth country. Don't research their birth country until you document their lives in the adopted home country.
    • Identify what immigration and naturalization records exist: Learn more about the time period and country they were from and their adopted country. Then identify what records exist for that time period. Finally, look online and in archives for possible record locations. Remember that immigration and naturalization records were probably federal records, so that they may be located in a federal archive or a genealogy website.
    • Utilize DNA testing: If you're unsure where your immigrant ancestors are from, DNA testing can provide ethnicity results that can help you identify countries of origin. The other benefit is you may match with new-to-you cousins who have information about your immigrant ancestor or live in the country where the ancestor was from.
    • Hire a professional: The records you need may be in a different country than where you live or written in a language you do not read. Hiring a professional genealogist knowledgeable about the country and records can save time and frustration.

    Types of immigration records

    Greek immigrants are embarking in a small boat to reach a steamer heading to America.

    Genealogical records that might provide clues to an immigrant's origins include death certificates, obituaries, newspaper articles, church records, and censuses. Immigration records include:

    There are records that document the immigrant experience. For example, ship passenger lists will document when and where they left and what country they arrived at. Ship passenger lists do not exist for all times or locations. An immigrant may have become a citizen of their adopted homeland, so that naturalization paperwork may exist. This paperwork may be through a court or other government agency. Naturalization paperwork may include information about when, where, and with whom they immigrated. It also may include a photograph. However, not all immigrants become citizens. Learn more about citizenship in their new country and what was required. If you exhaust all records and cannot find their naturalization when there should be one, it's possible they didn't naturalize. If they naturalized, It's possible that the naturalization ceremony that the immigrant was a part of was reported on in a newspaper. Those articles can include immigrants' names.

    During wartime, immigrants, not citizens of their new country, may have been required to register as "enemy aliens."[1] This happened in some countries during World War I and World War II when the immigrant was from one of the "enemy" countries. These records can include immigration information, family information, and photographs. Immigration records, such as passenger lists, may be found online on a free or genealogy subscription website. Naturalization records and records that pertain to immigration can be found online on a genealogy website or through a federal or court archive. Learning more about what records exist can help in determining where they can be found.

    Laws impacting immigrants

    This sculpture found at Battery Park in New York City captures the range of emotions felt by immigrants during their journey to a new homeland.

    When researching an immigrant ancestor, it can be worthwhile to read more about the citizenship and immigration laws of the adopted homeland. This may help you determine why they came at a specific period of time. It might also explain why they never left to visit their homeland. In some cases, discriminatory laws such as exclusion acts and immigration quotas may have impacted when they traveled.

    Not all immigrants became citizens; sometimes, it may not have been required. Don't assume they became a citizen; search for possible naturalization records and consult the laws of the time.

    Some records may have been generated because the person was an immigrant. For example, they may have had to register to work. Federal repositories like the National Archives will have more information about immigrants and records left behind by immigrants.

    See also

    Explore more about immigration records

    References

    1. ↑ Enemy Alien Records. U.S. National Archives


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