Research Guides
USCIS continues to build upon the historical legacy of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Research with INS records can provide historians, genealogists, and other scholars with a better understanding of USCIS’ institutional precursors as well as the history of federal immigration and nationality policies.
Historical federal immigration and naturalization records can be divided into two groups:
1) Researching Topics and Events; and
More information about each will be found on its respective pages.
| Topics and Events | Individuals |
|---|---|
|
Most helpful for: Students and scholarly researchers interested in agency history or a specific topic related to immigration history, from 1891-present. Researchers interested in the history of federal immigration and nationality laws, policies, and procedures. |
Most helpful for: Family historians looking for information about an ancestor or a specific historical immigration record. Scholarly researchers searching for records related to an individual immigrant (biographical research). |