How to Find Immigration Records and Use Them to Trace Your Ancestors
*This post may have affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). All opinions remain my own.
If you’re feeling stuck in your family tree, especially if you’ve hit a wall with where an ancestor came from, immigration records might hold the clue you need.
Whether your family arrived in the 1600s or the 1920s, chances are they left behind some kind of paper trail. Learning how to find immigration records can connect you to their journey: where they came from, who they traveled with, and what life looked like on both sides of the ocean.
Hi! I’m Jessica, a professional genealogist with 20 years of personal experience (and five years helping clients just like you). I specialize in New England, French Canadian, and Hawaiian research, and I love untangling confusing immigration stories. I’d love to help you!
Let’s walk through how to find immigration records, and how to use them to move your research forward.
What Immigration Records Can Reveal
These records do more than confirm a name or date. They can bring your ancestor’s story to life.
Depending on the record and time period, you might find:
The ship your ancestor traveled on and the date it arrived
Who they were traveling with or joining in the U.S.
Who paid for their passage
Their occupation, marital status, or final destination
A relative left behind (including their name and address)
A physical description or even a photo
Naturalization paperwork after 1906 is especially rich with details, like exact birth dates and names of witnesses (often relatives). And if your ancestor came by land, border crossing records from Canada or Mexico might surprise you with family clues.
These aren’t just dry facts, they help you picture someone’s journey, understand their motivations, and identify connections to extended family. When you combine immigration clues with census records, military files, or vital records, you can start to build a fuller story of your ancestor’s life.
Image via the National Archives
Tips for Using Immigration Records in Your Research
Once you’ve found an immigration record (or even just suspect one exists), here’s how to get the most out of it:
Ship Manifests
Start by looking beyond just the name and age. Who’s listed next to them? Were they traveling with someone from the same place or with the same surname? Pay close attention to the destination listed and the name of the person they were joining in the U.S., if it’s included. Also, check both pages of the manifest, since some are two-page documents, and the best clues are often on the second side.
Naturalization Records
If your ancestor became a citizen, look for both the Declaration of Intention (first papers) and Petition for Naturalization (second papers). Before 1906, the paperwork can be sparse and handled at the local level, so formats vary. But after 1906, the federal government standardized the process, and those forms are a goldmine. Look for arrival details, birthplaces, occupations, and witnesses.
I’ve found photos, exact dates of births and arrivals in the US, marriage dates and spouse maiden names, lists of children with their birthdates and places of birth, and more. I even once found a description of someone’s house and where it was located!
Border Crossings
If your ancestor entered the U.S. from Canada or Mexico, you might find them in border crossing records, especially if they were avoiding ocean routes or traveling for seasonal work. Many European immigrants actually entered the U.S. through Canada and took trains and other methods of transportation to their final destinations in the U.S. These records can include family details, multiple trips, and sometimes even a photo. Ancestry and FamilySearch both have searchable collections, just be ready for creative spellings.
While the image quality of these border crossings can be hit and miss, even when they’re blurry they can tell you a wealth of information.
Alien Registration Forms
In times of war or national security concerns, non-citizens were required to register with the government. Alien registration files, also known as A-Files, from the 1940s, for instance, might include work history, places of residence, dates of death, what name they entered the US under and when, and clubs they participated in. They also have fingerprints and photos.
In my great-grandmother’s A-File, I found a record of her traveling back to Okinawa in the 1950s to visit family, as she had to get permission to leave and return. In her permit, I found the address of family she would be staying with. This address could be invaluable in finding living relatives in Okinawa.
All these sources offer not only facts, but insight into the small details that make our ancestors come alive as unique individuals. It can also lead to unexpected discoveries about extended family, chain migration patterns, or regional communities your ancestor may have been part of.
Where to Start: Online Databases and Indexes
When learning how to find immigration records, it helps to start with broad searches. These are my go-to resources:
Ancestry.com: Requires a subscription, but has extensive collections of passenger lists, naturalization records, and border crossings. Read here for the best way to use Ancestry.com!
FamilySearch.org: Free and has many of the same collections as Ancestry. Their wiki is also helpful for learning about what records exist for different ports or countries.
National Archives AAD: These searchable databases include passenger arrival records covering nearly 100 years.
Steve Morse’s One-Step Pages: These tools help you access Ellis Island, Castle Garden, and other databases more efficiently. If you’re feeling frustrated with a site’s default search tool, Steve Morse is often the fix you didn’t know you needed.
If you know roughly when and where someone arrived, start with that. But if not, cast a wide net using name variants, estimated birth years, and possible ports of entry.
Image via the National Archives
Common Challenges (and How to Work Around Them)
Immigration records aren’t always straightforward. Here’s how to troubleshoot:
Name spellings were often phonetic. Use wildcards or search creative variants.
Conflicting countries? Borders changed, don’t stress if one record says “Russia” and another “Poland.”
No known arrival date? Census records from 1900–1930 list immigration years.
Don’t know if or when they became a citizen? The census records also often say whether someone an alien or naturalized.
Missing records? Some ship lists didn’t survive. In those cases, shift your focus to naturalization records, passports, or even newspaper announcements.
Can’t find your ancestor? Look sideways and research siblings, cousins, or neighbors. One might lead you right back.
Staying Organized as You Search
Knowing how to find immigration records is one thing, keeping track of the search is another.
Keep a log of what you’ve searched and where, noting different name spellings and possible arrival ports. I use my Ancestral Arrivals worksheet to track immigration clues from censuses so you can stay organized. You can grab your copy here!
Even small notes, like an address or occupation, can crack open new leads later.
When to Ask for Help
If you’ve spent hours searching and still aren’t making progress, it may be time to bring in a professional genealogist. I work with clients all the time who are stuck trying to find that one immigration record or who need help tracing an ancestor back to their country of origin. Whether you’re unsure where to look next, overwhelmed by spelling variations, or need someone to dig into archived records that aren’t online, I’m happy to help.
You can browse my family history research services (I offer 5- and 10-hour packages), or if you’re not quite ready to dive in, schedule a free 20-minute consultation, and we can talk through your goals.
Immigration records are powerful. They’re not just names on a list, they’re stories of hope, resilience, risk, and reinvention. Whether you’re researching for the first time or circling back to a familiar mystery, learning how to find immigration records can bring you closer to understanding your family’s journey.