Re: Answer: None of the above
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In reply to:
Re: Answer: None of the above
Julia Purdy 1/13/05
NARA is a possibility, but still not a guarantee. If the naturalization took place in a Federal court, naturalization indexes, declarations of intent, and petitions will usually be in the NARA regional facility serving the State in which the Federal court is located. Some of these indexes and records have been microfilmed.
The Microfilm Reading Room in the National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, has some microfilmed Federal court naturalization indexes, declarations, and petitions, but they do not form a complete collection of these records.
As a general rule, the National Archives does not have naturalization records created in State or local courts. However, some county court naturalization records have been donated to the National Archives and are available as National Archives microfilm publications. But, you have to know the court and the time frame.
GO WITH USCIS (formerly INS). They definitely have the complete records and can search them just by name.
Under the statute, all federal agencies are required to respond to a FOIA request within 20 business days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. This period does not begin until the request is actually received by the appropriate agency official. This does not mean that the agency official is required to send out the releasible documents within those 20 days. The FOIA requires that they send you a letter informing you of the decision within those 20 days; it can then send out the documents within a reasonable time after its decision or its receipt of fees owed.
As a suggestion, enlist the aid of the local office of your congressman. A well placed phone call to the right person in the office of the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may speed things up considerably. Also, the Director of USCIS, Eduardo Aguirre, is himself an immigrant, who emigrated from Cuba as an unaccompanied minor at the age of 15.