Alien Attack: Get Your Relatives' AR-2s!

Many people, especially women, who came to America in the first half of the twentieth century, never naturalized, for a variety of reasons.  If they were still alive and non-citizens in 1940 (or if they weren't sure if they were citizens), the Alien Registration Act of 1940 compelled them to register their status by filling out a form called the AR-2.  These forms have recently transferred custody from USCIS to NARA, which means you can get these without the ridiculously long wait associated with the USCIS Genealogy Program.  I recently ordered several and had a wonderfully pleasant experience (USCIS had set a very low bar) and found information--and people who had registered--that I hadn't expected.

Bessie Tolchin's AR-2

These forms ask for any name used by the alien--including maiden names.  So if you have an ancestor with an unknown maiden name, you might be able to find out what the name was from her AR-2.  And if you have a relative whose ship manifest you'd been unable to locate, they'll have listed the ship and date of arrival, helping you to find the actual manifest.  In the example above, for my great-great grandmother, the only record in the United States with her maiden name on it that I had found was her death certificate--and the maiden name was incorrect!  Her mother had been married twice, and the name used on the death certificate was that of her stepfather; likely her kids knew that Uncle Harry Marienhoff was her brother so used that name--but he was actually her half brother.  For the AR-2, she was the one giving the information, and she gave it correctly.

You can see above that I have her maiden name, the surname that they originally had (Tolchinsky) and her current surname (the Americanized Tolchin)

I also found AR-2s for people who I hadn't expected to find such documents, including the one above for my great-great grandmother.  I knew her husband had naturalized years earlier and had listed her on his petition for naturalization.  But when I went back now, I realized that he naturalized after 1922, so she did not get derivative citizenship through him, so she had never become a citizen, despite having been in America since 1911.  For a great-great uncle, I had his petition for naturalization, so why did he have an AR-2?  Well, although I had his petition, there was a note that he never showed up to court to finalize his citizenship, so he was still an alien decades after he nearly became a citizen.

So, if these sound great (and they are), I'm sure you want to know how to find out if you have relatives who had to fill out AR-2s and find out where they are held.  Records Not Revenue has a great page here that gives additional information.  And as far as timeline, here's how long it took me to get original copies of AR-2s.

1. Late afternoon (after business hours) on Friday August 16, I searched through the Flexoline Index, found multiple AR-2s that I wanted, and sent an email requesting them to cer@nara.gov.
2. I received an email on Monday August 19 telling me which of those records were ones for which they actually held AR-2s.  They explained why they didn't hold AR-2s for the others--potentially because the person actually had an A-file (meaning they were pursuing naturalization or that the AR-2 was later moved to another file or lost after being indexed.  They gave me a quote to obtain the AR-2s which they did have.  I emailed that evening saying that I'd like to order those AR-2s that they did find.
3. I received an email on Tuesday August 20 telling me that they'd continued to look for me, and they were able to locate one additional AR-2, and they said that they had questions for one other to confirm that they were looking at a record that I wanted before I paid for it.  Yes, they actually did additional research for me!  (USCIS, please read and learn.)  I emailed that afternoon confirming which records I did want to order.
4. I received an email on Wednesday August 21 with a final quote and instructions on how to pay (one option was faxing my credit card number!).  I chose to call with my credit card number that morning--and that very afternoon I was sent a link with PDF images for the AR-2s!

So it took 3 business days for NARA to get me records, and that was because of the additional research they did without me even asking.  Meanwhile, I have been waiting months for a C-File from USCIS and probably have months more to wait.

NOTE:  I was contacted by the supervisor of the branch that processes these forms.  She asks that when you request AR-2 forms at cer@nara.gov, please include your full name and billing/shipping address.  They provide details on how to make a request at: https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/alien-registration-ar-2.

So look for those AR-2s and order away!  Great customer service and an awesome research resource await!

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