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Main topic: Naturalization ::: Sub topic: Naturalization Documents

Naturalization documents can be very helpful to genealogy research.

Naturalization is the process by which an alien becomes an American citizen. It is a voluntary act. Naturalization is not required.

Of the foreign-born individuals listed in the 1890 through 1930 censuses, about twenty-five percent had not completed any naturalization process or filed their first papers. In general, naturalization documents can help you find the date, ship, port of arrival, and the place of birth of your ancestor.

How much information you can obtain on your ancestors depends on when the naturalization was done. The naturalization process did not have to happen in any particular federal court, or in any particular state. Not all aliens become citizens, and not all completed the process once they started it.