UNDERUSED WEBSITES: USCIS

I've been pretty active on Face book, and have noticed many people are unaware of the vast websites available for research. So I'm going to do a Blog Series of underused websites and discuss the records you can find.   

Underused Website Series: USCIS

USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Service) has early 1900 to current record sets, and listed below are the 5 record sets they are opening up for the public to order.

They are:

• Naturalization Certificate Files (C-Files), Sep 27, 1906 to Mar 31, 1956
• C-Files Image Gallery
• Alien Registration Forms (Form AR-2), Aug 1940 to Mar 1944
• A-R2 Forms Image Gallery
• Visa Files, Jul 1, 1924 to Mar 31, 1944
• Visa Files Image Gallery
• Registry Files, Mar 1929 to Mar 31, 1944
• Registry Files Image Gallery
• A-Files, Apr 1, 1944 to May 1, 1951
• A-Files Image Gallery

Ordering these files can be a bit of a maze...but here is the basic info:
If you don't have the "file" number, you need to order a file number search--cost $65.

You need to have the right "file" number to order the file from one of the 5 groups above.  The cost is $65 to order the file.

So each file you want can run up to $130 per file ($65 for the file number search, and $65 for the actual file.)

 Here's a flow chart from USCIS website

USCIS FLOW CHART

Immigration/Naturalization records before these dates, will more than likely be found at the local court house (where your ancestor lived) or possibly in the district court house for the area. 

Please don't spend money at the USCIS website for any dates outside those that are listed. 

  Spend a few moments reading all the FAQ's on the USCIS website, which will answer most of your questions!

Happy Hunting!!