Texas, Naturalization Records, 1906-1989

What Is in This Collection?

The collections consists of naturalization records for the Dallas and San Antonio Divisions from the National Archives - Southwest Region. The collections are from Record Group 21 Records of District Courts of the United States.

U.S. District Court for the Dallas Division of the Northern District:

• Index to petitions, 1908-1989, NAID 4509780
• Declarations of intention from 1906 -1922, NAID 566197

U.S. District Court for the San Antonio Division of the Western District:

• Index to petitions covers 1933-1985 NAID 4424085

Related National Archives Collections

U.S. District Court for the Austin Division of the Western District:

• Petitions for Naturalization, 1907–1981 NAID 577172
• Petitions for Naturalization Transferred from Other Courts, 1953–1976 NAID 577174
• Repatriation Oaths of Allegiance, 1939–1966 NAID 577175

U.S. District Court for the Del Rio Division of the Western District:

• Declarations of Intention for Citizenship, 1907–1981 NAID 584658
• Petitions for Naturalization, 1908–1982 NAID 584660
• Petitions for Naturalization Transferred from Other Courts, 1955–1981 NAID 584662
• Repatriation Oaths of Allegiance, 1941–1967 NAID 584664

U.S. District Court for the El Paso Division of the Western District:

• Declarations of Intention for Citizenship, 1890–1906 NAID 584737
• Declarations of Intention for Citizenship, 1906–1991 NAID 584751
• Petitions for Naturalization, 1907–1991 NAID 584764
• Petitions for Naturalization Transferred from Other Courts, 1953–1990 NAID 584766
• Repatriation Oaths of Allegiance, 1937–1969 NAID 584767

Naturalization is the process of granting citizenship privileges and responsibilities to foreign-born residents. Counties recorded naturalization procedures in the court records as legal proof of citizenship. Immigrants to the United States were not required to apply for citizenship. Of those who did apply, many did not complete the requirements for citizenship.

Naturalization to become a U.S. citizen was a two-part process: the Declaration of Intent to Naturalize, or First Papers, and the Naturalization Record (including the Naturalization Petition), or Final Papers. The First Papers were normally filed five years before the Final Papers because of the five-year residency requirement to become a citizen.

No centralized files existed before 1906. In 1906 federal forms replaced the various formats that had been used by the various courts. Copies were sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), creating a central file for naturalization papers. The INS is now known as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Naturalization records are generally well preserved, but some records may have been lost to fire or other disasters. The index is very accurate and the information that was current at the time of naturalization was usually reliable. However, there was always a chance for misinformation. Errors may have occurred because of the informant’s lack of knowledge or because of transcription errors or other circumstances.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for Texas, Naturalization Records, 1906-1989.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Indexes

• Name
• Date
• Volume
• Document or page number

Declaration of Intent and Naturalization Petitions

Collection Content

Sample Images

• Texas, Naturalization Records
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  1935 Certificate of Arrival

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  1935 Declaration of Intent

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  1935 Petition for Naturalization

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  1937 Witness Deposition

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  1937 Oath of Allegience