How to get an ancestor’s US naturalization records for citizenship by descent

For a naturalization between 27 September 1906 and 31 March 1956, ask the USCIS Genealogy Program. First file an index search (Form G-1041, $30 online) to learn whether a file exists and get its number, then a records request (Form G-1041A, $30 online) for the copies. Naturalizations before 1906 are only in the court that granted them, so you search court records at the National Archives or county level instead. If your ancestor never naturalized, the formal proof is a USCIS Certificate of Non-Existence (Form G-1566).

This page covers how to get the records. For why the naturalization date matters to each country, and how to build a full case when there is no record, see how to prove an ancestor never naturalized.

Which record do you need, and who holds it?

Start from when your ancestor might have naturalized. The answer decides where the record sits.

• Before 27 September 1906: only the naturalizing court kept a record. That could be a federal, state, county or city court. USCIS has nothing.
• 27 September 1906 to 31 March 1956: the court kept the declaration and petition, and a duplicate of the certificate went to the federal government. USCIS keeps those duplicates in Certificate Files (C-Files), available through the Genealogy Program.
• 1 April 1956 onward: naturalization records were filed in the person’s A-File. Older A-Files may now be at the National Archives; others need a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to USCIS. Federal court records up to October 1991 are at the National Archives.

Even after 1906, many naturalizations still happened in state and county courts. The federal duplicate exists either way, but the court’s own papers (declaration of intention and petition) stay with that court.

What the USCIS Genealogy Program holds

The program releases five series of historical records:

• C-Files (Certificate Files), 27 September 1906 to 31 March 1956. The duplicate naturalization certificate and related papers. This is the main file for most citizenship-by-descent cases.
• A-Files numbered below 8 million, 1 April 1944 to 1 May 1951. Individual alien files. Anyone who naturalized before 1 April 1956 has only a C-File, because their A-File was folded into it.
• Alien Registration Forms (AR-2), August 1940 to March 1944. Since 17 May 2024 these are available only from the National Archives (see below), though USCIS still finishes requests it received before that date.
• Visa Files, 1 July 1924 to 31 March 1944. Arrival records for immigrants admitted under the Immigration Act of 1924.
• Registry Files, 2 March 1929 to 31 March 1944. For people who arrived before 1 July 1924 and later went through Registry to get a lawful arrival record.

USCIS’s index also covers anyone naturalized in any court (federal, state, territorial or local) between 27 September 1906 and 1975, so a search can point you to records it does not hold itself.

Step 1: the index search request (Form G-1041)

You cannot search the USCIS index yourself; Genealogy staff search it for you. File Form G-1041 online through the Genealogy Program portal, or mail it to the Chicago lockbox listed on the form page. The current edition is dated 04/01/24, and an unsigned form is rejected.

At a minimum, USCIS needs:

• the immigrant’s full name, with every spelling and alias you know (for a woman, maiden and married names);
• date of birth, or at least the year;
• country of birth (the historic or current country name is fine).

Add where they lived in the US and when, the names of a spouse and children, marriage dates and military service. USCIS’s own advice is that there is never too much information on an index search, and thin or common-name requests are a main cause of “no record” answers.

If your ancestor was born less than 100 years before your request, attach proof of death: a copy of a death certificate, an obituary, a gravestone photo, a religious death record, an individual Social Security Death Index entry or similar. Send copies, not originals.

What you get back: a letter listing every file reference found. For a C-File it gives the C-number, the court and date of naturalization and, where available, the petition number, plus instructions for ordering. If a file is held elsewhere, the letter tells you where: the National Archives, the USCIS FOIA program or a state or local court. If a file no longer exists, the letter says so and gives whatever the index shows.

Step 2: the records request (Form G-1041A)

With a file number in hand, order the copies on Form G-1041A (also edition 04/01/24). Online, use the Case ID from your index search. You can skip the index search if you already have the correct USCIS file number, for example a C-number printed on your ancestor’s original naturalization certificate. But a naturalization petition number is not a C-number, and a number written on a passenger list is not a USCIS file number. A wrong number gets a “no record” reply and no refund.

Ask for the certificate only. If you need just the naturalization certificate for a citizenship application, write “Dual Citz-Natz Certificate Only” on the G-1041A, or type it in the Optional Information section online. USCIS says this avoids delays from privacy review of information about the immigrant’s children.

You receive a photocopy, never a certified copy. USCIS states that the Italian and German consulates in Washington, D.C. told it applicants need not provide certified copies: present the photocopy with the Genealogy Program response letter and its mailing envelope. Keep all three together, and check your own consulate’s document list before relying on this.

Fees and processing times

• G-1041 index search: $30 online, $80 on paper.
• G-1041A records request: $30 online, $80 on paper, per request.
• G-1566 Certificate of Non-Existence: $280 online, $330 on paper.

These are the amounts in the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition 10/16/26). Online requests are paid through Pay.gov. Fees are generally not refundable: not when a search finds nothing, not when the file turns out to be at the National Archives, and not when a records request uses a wrong file number. The main exception is when USCIS gave you a file number in an index search and then can’t find that file.

USCIS says it tries to answer within 90 days, but files stored off-site, files naming living people and files needing security review take longer. Send only one request per immigrant; duplicates slow things down. Status questions go to the Genealogy mailbox with your Case ID.

Records held by the National Archives instead

Pre-1906 and federal court naturalizations

If the naturalization took place in a federal court, the indexes, declarations of intention and petitions are usually at the National Archives facility for that state. There is no central index. Email the right facility with the name and variants, date of birth, country of origin, approximate arrival and naturalization dates, and where they lived. A certified copy (red ribbon, gold seal) of a naturalization record in its holdings costs $25. The National Archives usually does not have the certificate itself, which is why the USCIS C-File matters.

A-Files

Under a 2009 agreement, A-Files become eligible for transfer to the National Archives 100 years after the immigrant’s year of birth. As of August 2025 the National Archives at Kansas City held more than 1.5 million A-Files for people born 1925 and earlier, and San Francisco more than 300,000, both with large gaps. Search the National Archives Catalog by name first; if the person isn’t listed, the archives can’t help. Mail-order copies cost $27 for someone born before 1890 and $40 for 1890 or later.

AR-2 alien registration forms (1940–1944)

About 5.6 million noncitizens registered between 1 August 1940 and 31 March 1944. An AR-2 shows the person was still an alien when they registered, and it may list the date and place of any declaration of intention or petition already filed. Find the A-number free in the Flexoline index on the National Archives’ Access to Archival Databases (people born 1923 and earlier), then email the request. A single PDF copy costs $20; certification is $15 extra. For someone born less than 100 years ago, a FOIA request with proof of death is required.

County and state court records

For a pre-1906 naturalization, or a later one granted by a state or county court, the court’s papers are usually with the county clerk, the state archives or a historical society. Find where your ancestor lived using census entries, city directories and death records, then contact that county’s clerk of court or the state archives. Ask in writing, and ask them to reply in writing even when they find nothing. A local no-record letter is what fills the gap a USCIS certificate can’t cover.

Search free first

1. Census citizenship columns. The 1900 to 1940 censuses record whether a foreign-born person was an alien, had filed first papers or was naturalized, and often the year. That narrows the date window. The codes are explained in our never-naturalized guide.
2. FamilySearch. A free account gives access to many digitized court naturalization indexes and records. Finding the court, date and petition number here makes every later request easier.
3. National Archives Catalog and AAD. Free name searches for A-Files and the AR-2 Flexoline index.
4. Family papers. An original certificate shows the C-number; an alien registration card shows the A-number.

Then file the USCIS index search. Even if you found the court record, the C-File often adds the certificate and supporting papers, and the index search letter confirms what USCIS does and doesn’t hold.

What a “no record” result means

A “no record” index search letter means USCIS found nothing in its index matching the details you gave. It is not proof your ancestor never naturalized. Common causes are a common name, too little detail, a misspelling, or a naturalization before 1906 that USCIS never had. Before treating it as an answer, try again with more spellings, the wife’s maiden name and places of residence.

Remember too that wives and minor children often became citizens through a husband’s or father’s naturalization, with no record in their own name. Until the Cable Act of 22 September 1922, an alien woman usually became a citizen when her husband naturalized. Look up the husband’s file if a woman in your line has none.

Getting a Certificate of Non-Existence

When your evidence points to no naturalization, most consulates want something more formal than an index letter. File Form G-1566, Request for a Certificate of Non-Existence, online or by mail to the Elgin lockbox address on the form page. Give all names, aliases and dates of birth, the country of birth and a US mailing address. Proof of death is needed only if the ancestor was born less than 100 years ago. USCIS mails certificates only to US addresses.

If USCIS finds no record of the type you asked about, it issues the certificate. If it finds one, you get a response instead and no certificate. Two limits matter:

• It only covers records USCIS holds. The G-1566 instructions say pre-1906 naturalizations are not in USCIS custody, so pair the certificate with National Archives and county or state no-record letters for the years and places your ancestor lived.
• The National Archives can’t issue one. It gives only a negative search letter, saying staff searched specific indexes and found nothing in its own holdings. The State Department accepts a printout of that electronically signed letter for an apostille.

Italian, German, Polish and Hungarian authorities all ask about foreign naturalization, but each consulate sets its own document list, including whether US federal documents need an apostille (issued by the US Department of State) and a translation. See our apostille guide and certified translation guide.

Why the exact date matters

In most descent claims the question is whether your ancestor was still a citizen of the old country when the next person in your line was born. So you need the date the naturalization was granted, shown on the certificate and the court order, compared against that child’s birth date. Filing a declaration of intention (first papers) did not make anyone a US citizen; naturalization came only when the petition was granted, normally years later.

How each country treats that date differs. Read the rules for your country: Italy, Germany, Poland and Hungary. To see where this record fits among all your documents, use the documents checklist and how to build a document chain.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• USCIS: Genealogy Program (record series, searching the index, requesting records, genealogy FAQ, record request FAQ, A-Files below 8 million, common errors)
• USCIS: Form G-1041, Genealogy Index Search Request and Form G-1041A, Genealogy Records Request
• USCIS: Form G-1566, Request for a Certificate of Non-Existence (form page and instructions)
• USCIS: Fee Schedule (Form G-1055, edition 10/16/26)
• National Archives: Naturalization Records and Dual Citizenship Assistance FAQ
• National Archives: Alien Files (A-Files) and Alien Registration (AR-2) Forms
• National Archives, Prologue: Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802–1940

Checked against these sources on 24 October 2026. Fees, forms and processing times change; confirm on the USCIS and National Archives pages before you file, and check your consulate’s current document list.