United States Emigration and Immigration

Links to Online Records

 * A list of online links is available at U.S. Immigration Online Genealogy Records.
 * One-Step Webpages by Stephen P. Morse effectively searches the records of the major ports at the same time.
 * Ancestry.com has a very thorough collection of emigration and immigration records. ($)

National Archives and Records Administration

 * The National Archives (NARA) has immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1820 and 1982. The records are arranged by Port of Arrival (See Part 5).
 * Order copies of passenger arrival records with NATF Form 81.


 * You may do research in immigration records in person at the National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001.
 * Some National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regional facilities have selected immigration records; call to verify their availability or check the online Microfilm Catalog.

U.S. Citizenship and and Immigration Services Genealogy Program
The USCIS Genealogy Program is a fee-for-service program that provides researchers with timely access to historical immigration and naturalization records of deceased immigrants. If the immigrant was born less than 100 years ago, you will also need to provide proof of his/her death.

Immigration Records Available

 * A-Files: Immigrant Files, (A-Files) are the individual alien case files, which became the official file for all immigration records created or consolidated since April 1, 1944.
 * Alien Registration Forms (AR-2s): Alien Registration Forms (Form AR-2) are copies of approximately 5.5 million Alien Registration Forms completed by all aliens age 14 and older, residing in or entering the United States between August 1, 1940 and March 31, 1944.
 * Registry Files:''' Registry Files are records, which document the creation of immigrant arrival records for persons who entered the United States prior to July 1, 1924, and for whom no arrival record could later be found.
 * Files:''' Visa Files are original arrival records of immigrants admitted for permanent residence under provisions of the Immigration Act of 1924.

Requesting a Record

 * Web Request Page allows you to request a records, pay fees, and upload supporting documents.
 * Record Requests Frequently Asked Questions

What are United States immigration and emigration records?
Immigration refers to people coming into a country. Emigration refers to people leaving a country to go to another. The records usually take the form of ship's passenger lists collected at the port of entry.

Partner Sites Indexing Multiple Databases
Use these search engines first to check for your ancestor in multiple databases for many ports all at once.
 * FamilySearch Historical Records: Under "Restrict records by", click on "Type". Check the "Immigration and Naturalization" box.
 * Ancestry.com Immigration and Travel Collections.  ($)
 * FindMyPast Immigration and Travel Collections. ($)
 * MyHeritage Immigration and TravelCollections. ($)

Included in Above Partner Site Indexes
If you have already searched the Partner Sites, you have searched these collections.
 * New World Immigrants, Vol. II, ($), index
 * U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s ($), index. Also at MyHeritage, ($), index.
 * Persons of Quality Original Lists (immigrants 1600-1700), ($), index
 * New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635, ($), index
 * Passengers and Ships Prior to 1684, ($), index
 * United States, Atlantic Ocean and Gulf Coast Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1874, ($), index
 * U.S., Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959, ($), index. Roll 1: 1820-1871,Roll 2: 1820-1873, Roll 4: 1820-1870, Roll 6: 1820-1863, Roll 7: 1820-1835, Roll 8: 1845-1849
 * U.S., Select Crew Lists and Manifests, 1890-1963, index, images, ($)
 * United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956, index & images, ($)
 * No index, browse images only.
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Additional Collections Not Included in Above Partner Site Indexes
Although there will be some overlap with the Partner Site searches, you should search these collections. Different search engines can yield different results.
 * United States, Transatlantic Migration Indexes, index, ($)
 * Ship Passenger Lists and Records Online, links
 * BYU Immigrant Ancestors Project, index
 * Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's, index
 * The Great Migration Study Project, 1620-1640, index
 * Alien Registration, 1940-1944, index
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, index

Border Crossings

 * , index; also at MyHeritage ($)
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 * Border Crossings: From Mexico to U.S., 1895-1964, index and images, ($).
 * Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1960 ($)
 * Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1963, ($)
 * Border Crossings: From U.S. to Canada, 1908-1935 Some records in French.($)
 * Border Crossings: From U.S. to Canada, 1908-1935 Some records in French.($)

Baltimore

 * One Step Webpages by Stephen Morse
 * Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore Steamship Arrivals, 1890-1930, ($), index
 * Baltimore, Passenger Lists, 1820-1964 ($)
 * Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Baltimore, 1820-1834, ($), index
 * Baltimore, Maryland, Passenger List Card Index, 1820-1897, ($)
 * Maryland, Baltimore Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, ($), index
 * Baltimore Passenger Lists 1846-1851, ($), index
 * Baltimore, Maryland Passenger Lists, 1891-1943, index ($)
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Boston

 * One Step Webpages by Stephen Morse
 * Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore Steamship Arrivals, 1890-1930, ($), index
 * — index and images
 * Boston, Massachusetts, Passenger Lists, 1820-1891, index ($)
 * Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists, 1820-1943, ($), index
 * Boston Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963 ($)
 * Index and images. Also at MyHeritage, index ($)
 * Boston Passenger Lists 1846-1851, ($), index
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 * Book Indexes to Boston Passenger Lists, 1899-1940, ($), index
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Galveston

 * One Step Webpages by Stephen Morse
 * Galveston Immigration Database, index
 * Galveston Passengers (1893-1960, index, ($)

Honolulu

 * Hawaii, Honolulu Passenger Lists, 1900-1953, ($), index
 * Images only. Also at MyHeritage, index ($)
 * Honolulu, Hawaii, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1959 ($)
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Los Angeles

 * California, Los Angeles, San Pedro, and Wilmington Passenger Lists, 1900-1948, ($), index

New Orleans

 * One Step Webpages by Stephen Morse
 * Louisiana, New Orleans, Slave Manifests of Coastwise Vessels, 1807-1860, index & images
 * New Orleans, Louisiana, Slave Manifests, 1807-1860 Index and images ($)
 * New Orleans, Passenger Lists, 1813-1963 ($)
 * New Orleans Passenger Lists 1846-1851, ($), index
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 * Louisiana, New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1903-1945, ($), index
 * Louisiana, New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1903-1945, ($), index

New York

 * One Step Webpages by Stephen Morse
 * Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore Steamship Arrivals, 1890-1930, ($), index
 * — index and images
 * Immigrants to New Netherland 1623-1664, Ship Passenger List Index ($)
 * Ships Passenger Lists to New Netherland, New York 1624 to 1664
 * New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920 Includes passenger lists. ($)
 * Browse images only.
 * Partial index.
 * The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. Index only.
 * New York, Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1820-1850 ($)
 * New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 ($). Also at FindMyPast, ($), index
 * Passengers arriving in New York from Ireland 1846 - 1851 ($), index
 * New York Passenger Lists 1846-1890, ($), index
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 * Index only. Also at Ellis Foundation.
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 * Browse images only.
 * New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1973 ($)
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Philadelphia

 * One Step Webpages by Stephen Morse
 * Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore Steamship Arrivals, 1890-1930, ($), index
 * Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1962 ($)
 * Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Philadelphia, 1800-1819, ($), index
 * Philadelphia, Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1800-1850, ($), index
 * Also at MyHeritage,index ($)
 * Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1948, ($), index
 * Philadelphia Passenger Lists 1846-1851, ($), index
 * Also at MyHeritage, index ($)
 * Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Immigration Records, Special Boards of Inquiry, 1893-1909, ($), index
 * Also at MyHeritage, index ($)
 * Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Immigration Records, Special Boards of Inquiry, 1893-1909, ($), index

San Diego

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San Francisco

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Indentured or Bonded Servants

 * Bonded Passengers to America (9 vols. In 3), ($), index
 * Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1775, index, ($).
 * Bonded Passengers to America (Volumes I and II) 1615-1775 &amp; 1617-1775, ($), index
 * Immigrant Servants Database, index

Slavery

 * U.S., Southeast Coast-wise Inward and Outward Slave Manifests, 1790-1860 ($)

Quaker

 * Immigration of Irish Quakers to Pennsylvania, 1682-1750, ($), index

British

 * UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960 Includes ships coming to U.S. ($)
 * Early Emigration From Britain 1636-1815, index, ($)
 * Early Emigration From Britain 1636-1815, browse images, ($)

Chinese

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 * New York Chinese Exclusion Index, 1882-1960, ($), index
 * U.S., Chinese Immigration Case Files, 1883-192, index and images ($)
 * San Francisco Chinese Exclusion List, 1884-1906, ($), index
 * No index, browse images only.
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Dutch

 * Dutch Immigrants to America, 1820-1880, ($), index
 * Dutch Immigrants: New York Passenger Lists, 1881-1894 ($)

Filipino

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 * , Images only. (FS)
 * — index and images (FS)

Finnish

 * 1892-1960 Matkustajaluettelot Suomen Höyrylaiva Osakeyhtiö (Passenger lists Finland Steamship Company) 1892-1960
 * Migrant Register($) at Siirtolaisuusinstituutti (Migration Institute) Information on contents

German

 * Germans Immigrating to the United States, index ($)
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 * Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 In German, includes ships coming to U.S., index only for 1850-1923. ($)
 * Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 In German, includes ships coming to U.S., index only for 1850-1923. ($)

Irish

 * Irish Emigration database
 * Irish Immigrants Database
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Choose a volume and then choose Ireland under "Listed by Port of Departure" or "Listed by Port of Arrival".
 * Irish Emigrants in North America, Part 1-6 - at Ancestry, index and images, ($).
 * 1682-1750 Immigration of Irish Quakers to Pennsylvania, 1682-1750, ($), index
 * 1803-1806 Irish Passenger Lists, 1803-1806, index, ($)
 * 1833-1839 Irish Emigration Lists, 1833-1839, index, ($)
 * 1841-1849 Irish Emigration to New England through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841 to 1849, index, ($).
 * 1846-1851 Ireland Famine Emigrants Online (1846-1851)
 * 1846-1851 New York, Irish Immigrant Arrival Records, 1846 - 1851, ($)
 * 1846-1851 Irish Famine Immigrants, 1846 - 1851
 * 1847--1871 Irish Passenger Lists, 1847-1871, index, ($)
 * 1850s Workhouse Emigration – 1850s Limerick, index.
 * 1850-1883 New York Emigrant Savings Bank, 1850-1883, index, ($)
 * 1946-1971 Free Access: Africa, Asia and Europe, Passenger Lists of Displaced Persons, 1946-1971 Ancestry, free. Index and images. Passenger lists of immigrants leaving Germany and other European ports and airports between 1946-1971. The majority of the immigrants listed in this collection are displaced persons - Holocaust survivors, former concentration camp inmates and Nazi forced laborers, as well as refugees from Central and Eastern European countries and some non-European countries.

Italian

 * Italians to America Passenger Data File, 1855 - 1900, NARA, index, incomplete.
 * Italian Passengers to Louisiana, 1905-10 ($), index, incomplete.
 * Italians Immigrating to the United States, 1855-1900, ($), index, incomplete.
 * EMIGRANT UNCLAIMED PROPERTY IN ITALY, ($), index
 * Italians to America Passenger Data File, 1855 - 1900, NARA, index and images
 * Italian Passengers to Louisiana, 1905-10, index ($)
 * Ships Transcribers Guild - Naples, Italy, index
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild - Genoa, Italy, index
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild - Palermo and Messina, Sicily, index
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild - Palermo and Messina, Sicily, index

Japanese

 * , Images only. (FS)
 * — index and images (FS)
 * — index and images (FS)

Jewish

 * U.S, Boston Arrivals of Jewish Immigrants from HIAS Records, 1882-1929, ($), index
 * Galveston, Texas, Jewish Immigration Records, 1901-1917, ($), index

Russian

 * Russians Immigrating to the United States, index ($)
 * Russians To America ($), index.
 * 19th Century Russian Immigrants to the USA, index.

Swedish

 * The Swedish settlements on the Delaware : their history and relation to the Indians, Dutch and English 1638-1664 with an account of the South, the New Sweden, and the American companies and the efforts of Sweden to regain the colony

What can I find in them?

 * Passenger lists before 1820 included name, departure information and arrival details. The names of wives and children were often not included.


 * Customs Passenger Lists between 1820 and 1891 asked for each immigrant’s name, their age, their sex, their occupation, and their country of origin, but not the city or town of origin.


 * Information given on passenger lists from 1891 to 1954 included:
 * name, age, sex,
 * nationality, occupation, marital status,
 * last residence, final destination in the U.S.,
 * whether they had been to the U.S. before (and if so, when, where and how long),
 * if joining a relative, who this person was, where they lived, and their relationship,
 * whether able to read and write,
 * whether in possession of a train ticket to their final destination, who paid for the passage,
 * amount of money the immigrant had in their possession,
 * whether the passenger had ever been in prison, a poorhouse, or in an institution for the insane,
 * whether the passenger was a polygamist,
 * and immigrant's state of health.


 * In 1906, the physical description and place of birth were included, and a year later, the name and address of the passenger’s closest living relative in the country of origin was included.

Search Strategies

 * You will usually find several possible entries for immigrants with similar names and ages. Learn everything you can so you can distinguish your ancestor from others of the same name. Knowing your ancestor’s full name, approximate date of arrival in the United States, approximate age on arrival to the United States, the likely port of arrival, the name of their spouse, their religion, and their occupation will all help in identifying your ancestor in passenger lists.


 * Many immigrants traveled in groups or settled among friends and relatives from their native land. Knowing the names of some relatives, neighbors and friends of your ancestor will help identify him on a passenger list.


 * Remember it wasn’t uncommon for one member of the family to come to the United States first and send for the rest of the family after getting established.


 * It is important to understand that many immigrant names were misspelled, misunderstood because of heavy accents or the lack of the ability to speak English, or Americanized. A name may have been lengthened or shortened.  Search each index creatively for name variations.