AIISF Webinar: "Angel Island and A-Files"

This free webinar presented by Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) will help explore the ways you can find your family's records at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Jeanie Low will help you determine whether you should file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with USCIS and/or search NARA to receive a copy of an Angel Island and/or an A-File for your family member. The Alien File (or A-File) typically contains all of the official files related to immigration status, citizenship, or relief, and includes both documents submitted by the non-citizen as well as any investigations, statements, correspondence, and memoranda created by the agencies. Those records are rich in family history, photos, and immigration information.

Indications that there is an A-File are:

1. The Chinese and American surnames for a man are different. 
2. There’s a family story about the person investigated during the “Confession Program.”
3. The person was once deported.
4. The person’s immigration records are missing.
5. The person became a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

Jeanie Low will show the different routes to receive these documents.

About Jeanie Low

Jeanie Low is a member of Save Our National Archives (SONA), which successfully advocated that A-Files be designated a permanent historic collection. Since 1993, she has given over 40 genealogical presentations on researching Chinese Americans. Her parents immigrated through Angel Island with “paper names." They underwent the “Confession Program” to clear their status and reclaimed their family name. She is the author of China Connection: Finding Ancestral Roots for Chinese in America. She is also a fiber artist.

Register here for the webinar.