Naturalization records datedprior to October 1991from the federal courts are at the National Archives. If your brother's naturalization took place in a federal court before October 1991, you will need to contact the NARA field site that maintains federal court records for the state where you were naturalized. To determine which facility you need, please visit our webpage athttps://www.archives.gov/research/court-records. Please note thatno central index to naturalizations exists.
Records for naturalizations that occurredafter October 1991are held by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, successor agency to the Immigration and Naturalization Service or INS). If his naturalization occurred in October 1991 or after, you will need to contact USCIS directly. For information on requesting copies of records from USCIS, you will need to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with USCIS. Please go to their webpage at:https://www.uscis.gov/records/request-records-through-the-freedom-of-information-act-or-privacy-act.
Please note that depending on the date of naturalization, the records may exist outside of NARA's holdings:
In most cases, the National Archives will not have a copy of the certificate of citizenship granted to the petitioner; our holdings normally include only the declaration of intention (with any accompanying certificate of arrival) and the petition for naturalization.
Naturalization records from state or local courts are often at state archives or county historical societies.
If you have not done so already, we recommend that you check NARA's Naturalization Records page for more information about the records at:
