![]() ![]() Records older than 75 years are publicly available, and many have been digitized by National Archives partners. See our list of all the digitized records available on our partners' websites. ![]() Please note: All requests for passenger arrival records dated post 1957 must include the full name of the passenger exact day/month/year of arrival port or airport of arrival vessel or airline name and for airport arrivals, the flight number. The National Archives is in the process of transferring the microfilm to a digital format, and all digitized copies will eventually be available online via the National Archives Catalog.Īrrival records are restricted due to personally identifiable information for 75 years, and must be requested through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request during the restricted period. Unfortunately, due to the fragile nature of the original camera negative film, access to the microfilm is limited until it can be transferred to a more suitable format. The accessioned microfilm reels now in the custody of the National Archives in Washington, DC, are the record copies of the original paper records which no longer exist. Passenger arrival and departure records dated post 1957 were filmed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the original paper records were not retained. Use Form NATF 81or order online to obtain copies of inbound federal passenger arrival manifests for ships and airplanes, 1820-1959. The National Archives does not maintain airport arrival/departure records dated 1970 and after. The records are arranged by port or airport of arrival. The National Archives has immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1820 and December 1982 (with gaps). The Act also created a Superintendent of Immigration who oversaw immigration inspectors at ports of entry and barred polygamists, persons convicted of crimes of moral turpitude, and those suffering from diseases – creating a provision for medical examinations.Ĭa.1903 - ca.1955 Locating Immigration Records It is interesting to note that approximately 40% of the foreign passengers arriving in Canada were actually bound for the United States, so the creation of border crossing records began capturing a large pool of immigrants that likely would not have shown up on previous arrival documents. The Immigration Act of 1891 introduced further documentation as it required that information be collected about immigrants entering the United States overland from Canada and Mexico. Until January 1820, the United States government did not require passenger lists, but the new Steerage Act required the master of a ship to provide a manifest of passengers boarded at foreign port, and it required each vessel to carry a specific quantity of provisions for each passenger with an entitlement to compensation should supplies prove deficient. The Customs Bureau oversaw ports starting in 1789, but, with limited exceptions such as New Orleans and Philadelphia which consistently recorded arrivals for spans of multiple years, it is difficult to find documentation at NARA of immigrants to the United States during this early time frame. ![]() Documentation of immigrants entering the United States varied significantly from 1789-1819 because there was not a singular entity creating and maintaining records of immigrants. ![]()
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