Ohio, Western Division Naturalization Records, 1906-1943

What is in This Collection?

This collection contains naturalization petitions and records of the U.S. District Court for the Western Division (Cincinnati) of the Southern District of Ohio. Images were originally captured at the NARA Regional Archives facility in Chicago. Naturalization is the process of granting citizenship privileges and responsibilities to foreign-born residents. The first naturalization act was passed in 1802. 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 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.

Collection Content

Sample Images

• 

  1912 Declaration of Intention

• 

  1941 Certificate of Arrival

• 

  1942 Petition for Naturalization

• 

  1942 Affidavit of Winesses and Oath of Allegiance

Inventory

For a list of all the titles included in this Historical Records publication see Ohio, Western Division Naturalization Records - Inventory