The Document Hunt Behind Citizenship by Descent
Marta's great-grandfather left his village more than 100 years ago and never returned. Marta, our hypothetical researcher, has just learned that the government of his birthplace is offering citizenship to descendants of its citizens, and that she will need to begin her application process with a hunt for documents, not her own, but his, her grandfather's, and her grandmother's. Her quest is typical of anyone gathering citizenship by descent documents for a dual citizenship application the foreign authority requires a chain of documents linking the applicant to a qualifying ancestor, most of which are likely to be found in various American repositories, where they were filed for reasons unrelated to citizenship. This article follows Marta through her document-gathering process, not because it will necessarily lead to citizenship, but because for many applicants this document hunt is the first step. Only the foreign consulate or a qualified immigration attorney can advise on eligibility for citizenship by descent. Top Bay Area Apostille Services is not a law firm and cannot give legal or immigration advice. This article explains where to find American records, what to do with them once they are found, and when an apostille is needed.
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First, Define the Chain of Documents
Marta's first task is not actually researching records, but determining what the foreign authority will accept as proof of citizenship. This often involves contacting the consulate in person, by phone or email, or reviewing its website to establish what records are needed, what copies are acceptable, and what authentication or translation services are needed. Policies vary, but most require some combination of proof of ancestry and proof of citizenship for each link in the chain. Some countries actually require a date for naturalization, while others only ask for a verification of status.
With this information in hand, she can prepare her list, rather than collecting every document she can find.
Step One: Order the Vital Records
The usual chain of documents begins with vital records: birth certificates , marriage certificates, and death certificates. These are typically filed at the state or county level, where they can be requested individually for each ancestor. California, for example, distinguishes between authorized and informational certified copies of vital records. The state only allows authorized copies to the person named on the record, or their parents, legal guardian, child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner. Great-grandchildren are not on that list, so Marta, requesting a copy for her great-grandfather, would only be eligible for an informational copy. It contains the same information as an authorized copy, but it carries a legend across its face stating that it is not a valid document to establish identity.
Not a showstopper, but another consideration for the foreign authority. Some accept informational copies, while others require authorized copies. If Marta's target country requires authorized copies, but she can only obtain informational copies, she may need to find another family member who is on California's eligibility list to request the documents.
An eligible relative who orders an authorized copy must also sign a sworn statement, and that statement must be notarized.
Other states have similar restrictions, so she should review them for each record she needs.
Step Two: Follow the Naturalization Trail
Marta's great-grandfather became a US citizen, and the foreign authority wants to know when. It might accept his word for it or require proof, but either way, the trail is likely to lead to naturalization records. Prior to September 27, 1906 any court could naturalize a petitioner, including municipal, county, state, and federal courts. Records from this era are scattered, but often to be found in the courthouses or archives where they were filed.
After that date, however, standardized federal forms were issued, and copies of petitions for citizenship were sent to the federal immigration service, now known as USCIS.
Depending on the date of naturalization, Marta will find three possible options:
USCIS
The agency maintains records of naturalizations taking place on or after September 27, 1906. Its Genealogy Program, which serves researchers looking for records of deceased immigrants, offers naturalization certificate files (C-files) from September 27, 1906 to April 1, 1956. It handles requests via a two-step process: index search and file retrieval. The program can only retrieve a file if there is an index entry with a valid file number, which may be found by searching the database with biographical information about the petitioner. For naturalizations after April 1956, check the USCIS website for the current request process.
The National Archives
This agency keeps the citizenship records filed with federal courts between the signing of the Declaration of Independence and October of 1991, with the important caveat that most contain the declaration of intent and the petition for citizenship, but not the actual certificate of naturalization.
State Archives
Many state and county courthouses keep naturalization records on deposit at state archives or historical societies.
The USCIS Genealogy Program can also provide a certification that no naturalization record exists for an immigrant, if that is what the foreign authority needs. Some countries actually require proof of non-citizenship for certain descendants of naturalized citizens.
The File-Number Problem
Unfortunately for Marta, the Genealogy Program can only process record requests specifying a valid file number. Since she does not have one, her search for her great-grandfather's file begins with the index search, in which she provides biographical information and receives a list of associated record citations, along with instructions for retrieving the documents. Index searches can take a long time, so she should check current processing times on the USCIS website before planning around them.
If any family member still possesses his certificate of naturalization, the number on that certificate may be used, instead. Marta should check old letters and personal files for any mention of his naturalization, as well as the certificates themselves, if any have survived. She should also remember that the search will produce citations, not actual documents.
Step Three: Reconcile the Names
At this point, Marta has gathered a number of documents containing slightly different variations of her great-grandfather's name. Some may be anglicized or otherwise different from the name he was known by in his birthplace. The foreign authority is likely to compare these records, and treat them as belonging to different people if they are not consistent. She should make a list of the variations and note which documents connect them, and, if necessary, ask the consulate if any particular variation is unacceptable.
Immigrant names were often anglicized at the time of naturalization due to the efforts of clerks unfamiliar with foreign pronunciation; therefore, discrepancies in spelling do not necessarily mean that the records belong to different people. They only mean that the foreign authority may want an explanation of the differences between the names.
Step Four: Certify, Translate and Apostille the Documents
After the documents are collected, Marta reaches the final question: what does the foreign authority want done to them? The answer to this depends on the specific requirements, but some general guidelines can be established.
Many governments accept certified copies of documents, while others require an apostille, and yet others require both a certified copy and a certified translation. An apostille only works between countries that belong to the Hague Apostille Convention. If the destination country does not, the documents usually go through a different authentication process, so Marta should confirm this with the consulate. If a state or county government issues the original document, its authentication falls under that state's jurisdiction, in California it would be the Secretary of State, for example. Federal records such as those issued by USCIS are handled by the U.S. Department of State's Office of Authentications. A genealogical request for a copy of a document is unlikely to yield a certified copy, so she must ask the issuing authority what kind of certification it provides, if any.
For some California vital records, one more step comes first. In San Francisco, for example, the County Clerk must authenticate a birth or death certificate before the Secretary of State can issue the apostille. Other counties may handle this differently, so Marta should check with the county that issued the record.
Authentication services usually apply to specific documents, rather than entire collections, and if an error is made in the process, the authentication must be repeated for each affected document. Because of this, Marta should wait until she is confident that all the documents are correct before she authenticates any of them. Once she is satisfied, our apostille service can help her route the documents to the appropriate offices for certification, whether state or federal, with minimal duplication of effort. The same process can be done manually, by following instructions issued by the various agencies, if the time permits.
What Marta's Hunt Teaches Us
Working backwards from Marta's successful (if hypothetical) research, we can define the most common pitfalls as research and planning errors, which can be avoided by keeping a few simple notes.
Review the foreign authority's written requirements before ordering a single document.
Keep records grouped according to the type of office they are filed with: county, state, federal, courts, etc.
Ask if informational copies are acceptable for vital records.
Keep the naturalization trail as a separate research project, covering the appropriate date range.
Maintain a list of names and spellings from day one.
Keep authentication for the end of the process, and confirm with the foreign authority how translations should be prepared and submitted.
A Checklist to Keep
Consulate requirements regarding records
List of names, with spellings for each ancestor
Vital records requested, with indication whether they are authorized or informational
Naturalization trail: USCIS index search, archives, or court records, as appropriate, for the correct time frame
Eligibility for file-number searches
Translation and authentication requirements, in writing
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