I am trying to find a copy of my mother's passport and naturalization papers. Her name was Elsa Freund. the number for naturralization is 454181with a date of May 26,1947
I am trying to find a copy of my mother's passport and naturalization papers. Her name was Elsa Freund. the number for naturralization is 454181with a date of May 26,1947
Thank you for posting your question on History Hub!
The copies of the naturalization records that Mr. Weintraub located for you on FamilySearch are from the Petitions for Naturalization, 1824–1991 for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in the Records of District Courts of the United States (Record Group 21). The Declaration, Certificate of Arrival, and the Petition available online constitute the entirety of the court record in NARA custody. To request certified copies of these records, please contact the National Archives at New York City (RRFN) at newyork.archives@nara.gov.
In most cases, the National Archives will not have a copy of the certificate of citizenship. Two copies of the certificate were created – one given to the petitioner as proof of citizenship, and one forwarded to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). All INS records are now overseen by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS maintains duplicate copies of court records (including the certificate of citizenship) created from September 27, 1906 through March 31, 1956 within Certificate Files (C-Files). Beginning on April 1, 1956, INS began filing all naturalization records in a subject’s Alien File (A-File). C-Files and A-Files may be requested through the USCIS Genealogy Program.
In regards to her passport, it is not clear if you are referencing the passport of her country of origin, or an American passport. If the US government has any record of her passport (or any other documentation) from her country of origin, it may be in her A-File. A-Files were created for all immigrants starting in 1944. We searched the Alien Case Files in NARA custody without success, therefore her A-File should still be in USCIS custody. If you do not have any success requesting her A-File under the USCIS Genealogy Program, you may file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to USCIS for more recent A-Files.
If you are referencing a US passport, the State Department has custody of passport applications dated from March 1925 to the present. For information on how to request an application, please visit their website. All requests for passport records issued after 1925 to the present should be mailed to the U.S. Department of State, Office of Law Enforcement Liaison, FOIA Officer, 44132 Mercure Circle, P.O. Box 1227, Sterling, VA 20166. Please note that the State Department only has the application and any related documents. The passport itself was, once issued, treated as the private property of the passport holder and was not collected by the federal government upon their death.
Finally, we suggest that you review the National Archives page on Dual Citizenship Assistance - Frequently Asked Questions.
Sincerely,
Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RA)
23-43625-JA
Thanks so much for this information. It’s quite a challenge to search for all this Maureen
Thanks so much for this information. It’s quite a challenge to search for all this Maureen