Need help getting certified copies of US Certificates of Naturalization
My grandparents were German citizens living in Utah from 1940-1946. They obtained their US certificates of naturalization in 1944 and 1945 from the Utah state courts' Fifth Judicial District in Iron County, Utah. I have obtained uncertified copies of the certificates of naturalization from the USCIS, but for reasons I don't understand, they do not provide certified copies.
I have been trying to find the certificates filed with the Fifth Judicial District in 1944 and 1945. (Sadly, the original certificates are nowhere to be found). I cannot find where those records from the 1940s are stored. I checked with the Iron County Clerk, the Fifth Judicial District, the Utah State Archives, and the National Archives in Denver, and all of them have indicated that they don't possess those records.
I am trying to obtain certified copies of the US certificates of naturalization to support a package of German naturalization applications on behalf of 16 descendants of my grandparents.
Q1: Is there some way to get certified copies of the certificates of naturalization from the USCIS?
Q2: Is there a workaround to the USCIS that I'm missing? I've received multiple pointers to the State Department apostille process, but it seems to say quite clearly that I need originals or certified copies.
Q3: Do you know who might be in possession of the naturalization paperwork filed with the Utah Fifth Judicial District from the 1940s?
Thanks, Eric.
Answers
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The basics for requesting from the USCIS: https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy
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USCIS Genealogy cannot certify its historical photocopies, so an apostille is not a workaround for the copies you received. The certifiable court record may instead be the petition and oath (or a naturalization record-book entry), not a duplicate of the certificate itself. Ask Utah State Archives to search the Fifth District Court, Iron County series specifically for petitions, oaths, and naturalization record books for 1944–45, and ask the district court’s records manager where those series were transferred. For the German applications, keep the USCIS C-file response, envelope, and cover letter together, and ask the German mission/BVA whether that federal packet plus any court-certified petition/oath will satisfy the proof requirement before ordering 16 sets. I’m involved with CitizenFolio; its evidence checklist can map one shared ancestor record to all 16 descendant files without implying that an uncertified copy is certified.
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