Naturalization Records

What are naturalization records?

Naturalization is typically a two-step process where a person born outside the United States becomes an American citizen. After residing in the United States for a required amount of time, a non-citizen, or” alien” could file a declaration of intention or “first papers.” After an additional required number of years, an alien could continue the naturalization process by filing a “petition for naturalization” or “second papers.” For more information about the laws governing this process, please see the “What is the story behind this collection?” section of this page.

How do I search this collection?

You can search this collection by the county where a naturalization proceeding occurred, as well as a person’s given name, family name, allegiance, birthplace, immigration year, and birth date. You can also search by the document type and date issued. Please note that records created before 1906 generally do not list a person’s birthplace, immigration year, or birth date. See below for more guidance on searching these fields.

County

Before filling in any other fields, select the county where a person filed naturalization paperwork from the drop-down menu at the top of the search options.

Names

You can search for individuals in this collection by their given name and family name.

If the name you are searching for may have alternate spellings or if you are unsure of the correct spelling, use a question mark (?) at the exact spot where you are unsure of the spelling. The search results will include all results with all letters available for that single spot. For example, using “Sm?the” would return results for both Smithe and Smythe.

If you want results for different variations of a name, use an asterisk (*) at the end of the term where spelling starts to vary. This type of search is called a truncation search. The results will include all results with the exact spelling up to the asterisk (*), and results with any additional letters after the exact spelling. For example, searching for “Smi*” will return results for Smith, Smithe, and other words that begin with “Smi”.

Allegiance

You can search for records by the national allegiance the person named on the record has renounced. Fill in the place name, such as “Italy” or “Denmark” in the appropriate field.

Date Issued

You can search for a naturalization record by date using the “Date Issued” field. Fill in the beginning and end date in the MM/DD/YYYY format. If you’re searching for a single date, enter the same date in both the from and to fields.

Document Type

You can select a document type from the drop-down menu. Options include certificate of arrival, declaration of intention, oath of allegiance, petition for naturalization, and other naturalization documents.

Immigration Year

You can search records created after January 1, 1907, by the year a person immigrated to the United States. Enter the year as a four-digit number, such as “1887” or “1912.”

Birthplace

You can search for records created after January 1, 1907, by the country where a person was born. Enter the country into the appropriate field.

Birth Date

You can search for records created after January 1, 1907, by a person’s birth date. Fill in the beginning and end date in the MM/DD/YYYY format. If you’re searching for a single date, enter the same date in both the from and to fields.

What information can be found in this collection

If you’re doing genealogy research, you might use these records to fill gaps in your family history. You can find ancestors’ birthplaces, immigration date, method of travel to the United States, residence, occupation, and other information in association with the process.

Prior to January 1, 1907, naturalization records typically listed other following:

After January 1, 1907, naturalization records listed the following:

How can I browse this collection?

This collection will consist of more than 2 million naturalization records from Michigan circuit courts created between 1821 and 1985. Starting in the fall of 2025, records will be added alphabetically by county.

What is the story behind this collection?

This collection will consist of more than 2 million naturalization records from Michigan circuit courts created between 1821 and 1985. Starting in the fall of 2025, records will be added alphabetically by county.

Laws governing naturalization records changed over time resulting in various forms. The changes also impacted who could naturalize and when. Please review the timeline of these laws below to understand the context of your research.