National Archives at New York City

Naturalization Records at the National Archives at New York City

See Also: our Naturalization Records page and our guide to the areas covered by Federal courts in New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico.

 

Our Holdings 

Court Type of Record Dates Available Records Online
Eastern District of New York Petitions for Naturalization - District Court 1865-1991 1865-1958
  Petitions for Naturalization - Overseas Military - WWI 1918-1920  
  Petitions for Naturalization - Overseas Military - WWII 1942-1944  
  Petitions for Naturalization - Overseas Military - Korea 1953-1955  
  Petitions for Naturalization - Transfers 1952-1992  
  Declarations of Intention - District Court 1865-1979 1865-1929
Northern District of New York Petitions for Naturalization - District Court 1821-1855; 1906  
Southern District of New York Petitions for Naturalization - District Court 1824-1991 1824-1946
  Petitions for Naturalization - Circuit Court 1846-1911  
  Petitions for Natuarlization - Overseas Military - WWII 1942-1946  
  Petitions for Naturalization - Overseas Military - Korea 1954-1955  
  Petitions for Naturalization - Transfers 1953-1991  
  Declarations of Intention - District Court 1842-1991  
  Declarations of Intention  - Circuit Court 1845-1911  
  Oath Ceremony Lists and Petitions for Name Changes 1991-1996  
  Repatriation Applications 1937-1970  
Western District of New York Petitions for Naturalization - District Court 1903-1991 1903-1925
  Petitions for Naturalization - Military - WWI 1918-1919  
  Petitions for Naturalization - Military - WWII 1942-1946  
  Petitions for Naturalization - Military - Korea 1954-1955  
  Declarations of Intention - District Court 1906-1963  
  Repatriation Applications  1937-1970  
New Jersey - Camden Petitions for Naturalization - District Court 1932-1981 1932-1981
  Declarations of Intention - District Court 1933-1968  
New Jersey - Newark  Petitions for Naturalization - District Court 1914-1982 1914-1945 1945-1982
  Petitions for Naturalization - Military 1918-1946 1918-1946
  Petitions for Naturalization - Overseas Military 1942-1956 1942-1956
  Petitions for Naturalization - Transfers 1953-1980 1953-1980
  Declarations of Intention - District Court 1914-1982  
  Repatriation Applications  1921-1970  
New Jersey - Trenton Petitions for Naturalization - District Court 1838-1988 1838-1988
  Petitions for Naturalization - Military 1918-1946 1918-1946
  Petitions for Naturalization - Transfers 1953-1988 1953-1988
  Declarations of Intention - District Court 1906-1983  
  Repatriation Applications 1918-1967  
Puerto Rico Petitions for Naturalization - District Court 1897-1985 1900-1985
  Petitions for Naturalization - Military 1944-1955 1944-1955
  Petitions for Naturalization - Transfers 1953-1971 1953-1971
  Declarations of Intention - District Court - San Juan 1900-1969 1900-1969
  Declarations of Intention - District Court - Ponce 1917-1939 1917-1939
  Declarations of Intention - District Court - Mayaguez 1939 1939
  Declarations of Persons Who Retained Spanish Citizenship 1900-1922 1917-1918
  Declarations of Allegiance 1939-1940 1939-1940
  Repatriation Applications 1942-1973 1942-1973
Local New York City Courts Petitions for Naturalization 1792-1906  
Clinton County (New York) Petitions for Naturalization 1851-1906  
Essex County (New York) Petitions for Naturalization 1799-1906  

Online Indexes and Records

You can use the following sites to search indexes to some of our naturalization records. If you find a record and want to obtain a copy of it, please follow the procedures outlined in our naturalization records page.

Free sites

Online indexes are available at the web sites of the German Genealogy Group and the Italian Genealogical Group. These sites are free and can be accessed from anywhere. They also provide indexes to New York area naturalizations held by other repositories and information on how to obtain copies.

Select petitions for naturalization can be found online as well.  FamilySearch currently provides access to some petitions for naturalization, declarations of intention, and other naturalization records in our holdings. Please see the table above for information about which records are available and to link directly to the databases that maintain the records.

Subscription required

Ancestry and Fold3 (formerly Footnote) have online indexes to some of our naturalization records. They also have indexes to naturalizations held by other National Archives regional offices and many other repositories, so please read the descriptive information for the databases you search on these sites to determine where any records you find are located.

These sites require a subscription, but they are available for free public use at any National Archives research facility. They may also be available at your local library.

Ancestry has put the following indexes online. The names of the databases are in italics, and they are located in Ancestry's Immigration Collection:

  • New York Petitions for Naturalization contains National Archives microfilm publication M1674: Soundex Index to Petitions for Naturalizations Filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts in New York City, 1792-1906 plus additional naturalizations filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York up to 1989
  • U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 includes National Archives microfilm publications M1676: Alphabetical Index to Petitions for Naturalization of the U.S. District Court [and Circuit Court] for the Southern District of New York, 1824-1941; and M1164: Index to the Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957
  • New York Southern District Court, Korean War Military Naturalization Index, 1950-1955
  • New York Southern District, World War II Military Naturalization Index, 1941-1946

Fold3 (formerly Footnote) has put several of our microfilm series pertaining to naturalization records online. See the next section on Records and indexes on microfilm for details.

Petitions for naturalization filed through Federal, state, and local New York City courts prior to October 1906 have been digitized and are now available on Ancestry.  The database is titled, New York, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1940. 

 


Records and Indexes on Microfilm

The following microfilm publications are available for free public use at our facility. Copies on our self-service machines are 40 cents per page. To read more about these microfilm series, including information on where you can view them (in addition to our facility in New York) and how you can order copies (of entire rolls, not individual pages), please see the National Archives online Microfilm Catalog.

Naturalization records on microfilm/online

The two microfilm publications listed below can be accessed online through Fold3. Please note that the work to put these online may not be complete. These microfilm publications are available in their entirety for research at our facility.

  • M1879: Eastern District of New York Petitions for Naturalization, 1865-1937
  • M1972: Southern District of New York Petitions for Naturalization, 1897-1944

Indexes on microfilm/online

The six publications listed below pertaining to indexes only (M1164, M1674, M1675, M1676, M1677, and M1952) can be accessed online through Fold3 (formerly Footnote). They are also available for research at our facility.

  • M1164: Index to the Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957
  • M1674: Soundex Index to Petitions for Naturalizations Filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts in New York City, 1792-1906
  • M1675: Alphabetical Index to Declarations of Intention of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1917-1950
  • M1676: Alphabetical Index to Petitions for Naturalization of the U.S. District Court [and Circuit Court] for the Southern District of New York, 1824-1941
  • M1677: Alphabetical Index to Petitions for Naturalizations of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, 1903-1966
  • M1952: Index cards for locating naturalization records for soldiers serving in the US Armed Forces during World War I, specifically the year 1918 (please read the descriptive information for this microfilm publication, which is available through Fold3 or the National Archives online Microfilm Catalog, to determine where a specific record you may find in this index is located; they are not all New York/New Jersey or Federal court naturalizations)

 

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