Tag: USCIS

A USCIS Update

On 15 December 2015

In March of this year, I mentioned that I was sending out for my 2x great-grandfather’s naturalization records to the USCIS. I discussed how that works where you first had to have them search the index for the name if you didn’t have a record number for them, which I did not.

Then about the end of July, I received a letter in the mail stating that the record did exist, some information in it, and how to get the full document. I, of course, wanted the whole thing!

FINALLY – it came!! I nearly did a dance in my driveway! It took me about six months to get this information!

There was a delay in the records (I had been checking up on them through the website) because a Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act request had to be sent out. There was a letter in with the copies of the records that stated that I received two pages in their entirety and one page released in part (you can see the white blank space on the petition for naturalization). That information had to deal with where the two witnesses to the petition for naturalization lived so it was likely a privacy issue. I’m not sure how common that is when requesting these records.

There were three documents that came in the mail (oddly, it came in the mail – when I requested the information I asked for it to be emailed to me):

The Declaration of Intention (dated 18 November 1920)

Stalmacher Declaration of Intention

The Petition for Naturalization (dated 27 November 1922)

Stalmacher Petition for Naturalization

And the Certificate of Naturalization (dated 14 June 1923)

Stalmacher Certificate of Naturalization

I find it interesting that in that three year span, the town John Stalmacher was born in went from Russian territory to Polish territory. In his initial declaration, he said he was born in Suwalki, Russia and he it was his “…intention to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to… The Republic of _____” that part is too faded to read but there is a stamp that reads “Russia or any independent state within the bounds of the former Russian Empire.”((“Declaration of Intention,” John Michael Stalmacher, Citizenship File No. C1759741; Naturalization Certificate Files, 27 September 1906 – 31 March 1956, Historical Records Series, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Washington, D.C.))

By the petition in 1922, he states he was born in Suwalki Russia and renounces allegiance to the Republic of Poland.((“Petition for Naturalization,” John Michael Stalmacher, Citizenship File No. C1759741; Naturalization Certificate Files, 27 September 1906 – 31 March 1956, Historical Records Series, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Washington, D.C.)) I’ll need to do more research on the town but I can map it out and see that it is on the eastern border of what is now Poland, close to Lithuania. Wikipedia has some information too but I would like to verify it. It does state that after 1915, the area was no longer Polish, which does mean that when John Stalmacher was born in 1891, he was born (technically) in Russia. Weirdly though, it wasn’t part of Russia at the time of his declaration (at least according to Wikipedia). But I do want to read more about that to see what exactly was happening in that area.

Besides that fun tidbit (I have a hometown now!), there is also some fun information on what he looked like. He had a fair complexion, was 5 foot 4 inches (only an inch taller than me!), had brown hair and blue eyes. Neat information!((“Declaration of Intention,” John Michael Stalmacher, Citizenship File No. C1759741.))

I also have a where and when he entered the U.S.!

He came in to Baltimore by the first part of July in 1905. Sadly there isn’t a ship named. Which means I’ll have to search for all ships that left Bremen, Germany and arrived in Baltimore that left on the 18th of June and arrived in Baltimore on the 2nd of July.((“Petition for Naturalization,” John Michael Stalmacher, Citizenship File No. C1759741.))

He would have only been 14 at the time and it’s likely that his younger brother, August, who would have been 10 at the time, was with him. Was it likely that the two came to America by themselves? I would think not but until I find his passenger list, I’m not positive on if their parents (or other older relatives) were with them.

So in the end, it took about 6 months from the beginning to the end of this project. I did get some answers to some questions (like his birth city, which can explain the switching between Poland and Russia as a birthplace) but now I’m left with more questions. That’s always the case though, isn’t it?

Tuesday’s Tip: Naturalization Records

By Nichelle Barra

On 4 August 2015

In Research, Resources

Back in March, I wrote about the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the types of records you can get from them.

I also mentioned that I had sent for a genealogy index search for my 2x great-grandfather, John Michael Stalmacher. Yesterday, I received this glorious letter in the mail:

So I immediately filled out a request for the information!

That was about a 90-day wait to get the letter that states that yes, they have his file. Now I have another 90-day wait for the file. I did ask for it by email, which was cheaper and I’m hopeful that it will be faster as well.

Getting the Information

First – Search Request

So, how do you go about getting all of this information? First, I filled out the search request (first box on the page) for the index search request. I did not have a file number for John Stalmacher, so I had to have them search for one. The cost is $20 just for the search, and no, you can’t go there yourself to do the searching.

You’ll need this information:

Name of immigrant
Immigrant’s Country of Birth (you can choose other to type in a country)
Immigrant’s date of birth and then you indicate if that is the estimated birth or exact (if estimated, you’ll get a warning that if the DOB is less than 100 years, proof of death would be required to release information)
Immigrant’s Date of Arrival – either the exact date or date range
Where did the immigrant live in the US and when – you can put a range for the possible dates if unknown (I used census information and draft cards to help fill this in)
Optional information that include a maiden name of immigrant, other names, or names of other family members as well any other information that can help a search. For this part I filled in that in 1920 he was an alien and in 1930 he was naturalized according to census records.

Then you wait. Sometimes it can come in 3-4 weeks but it could (like mine) take up to 90 days. Be forewarned, I got a letter within a week from them and got very excited. Then I opened it to find it was just the confirmation that they got my request and gave me my case number. That case number is important though as you use it to check your status.

Once the status shows the search is completed, wait for about 6-7 days to get your letter that looks like the above.

Second – The File

Once you get that letter, you can then request your file! Check out my previous blog post about the USCIS (link in the beginning) to read what kind of files you can hope to get. The file for my ancestor is a C-File or Certificate File. I am hoping it will have when he arrived in the U.S. as well as his place of birth. It says Russia on the letter but he also says Poland in other records (which is also where his younger brother was born). So having a city could help me to see where exactly and then look at the border changes that happened when he filled out certain forms. Plus, that will lead to possible baptism records, which could lead to parents, etc. etc.

Don’t Forget to Check Your Local Court Records!

Now, if you happen to live in an area where your ancestor applied for citizenship, you don’t necessarily need to go through all of this. You could just go get them from the court indicated in the letter. They may not have the information, that’s always a possibility you should be aware of. Of course, calling ahead of time (or checking out the website) can help you to find where the information is held and what kind of information they have and I’d highly recommend doing that before heading over.

For me, the cost of gas for such a visit is well over the cost of the emailed information. Of course, not waiting may have been worth it… but I can’t schedule in a visit during the week for a few months anyway so this is the course I’m taking.

Do any of you have successful or not successful stories about searching for naturalization records? Share below or on Facebook!