Records Not Revenue Celebrates “Small Victory”

On 31 January 2024, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule which included decisions on the USCIS Genealogy Program fees. The final rule announced that requests filed online for a Genealogy Program Index Search will drop from $65 to $30. Similarly, Genealogy Program Record Requests filed online will now cost $30 per record. This is a 54% cut in fees to access the historical records held by USCIS. The rule goes into effect on 1 April 2024.

The final rule also explained that Genealogy Program records already digitized will be provided with the results of an Index Search, with no additional fee. Only AR-2 Forms and C-Files created before ca. 1944 have been digitized, and could be provided under this change. Visa Files, Registry Files, high-numbered C-Files, and A-Files all remain in paper form.

As a professional genealogist, one of the hats I wear is as a records access advocate – “records don’t save themselves” – to quote former USCIS historian Marian Smith. On behalf of RecordsNotRevenue.com, which I co-lead, I thank everyone who posted a comment to the Federal Register, or contacted their elected official. This accomplishment would not have happened without the groundswell of support. Grassroots advocacy works!

This ruling by USCIS is a small victory, and much work remains. According to the USCIS website, a Genealogy Program Index Search takes 245 days to process, and a Genealogy Program Record Requests can take up to an astounding 275 days. The rule does not tackle how the Genealogy Program will close the years’-long backlog; address customer service issues; or improve the poor quality of copies of paper files.

Additionally, USCIS must work with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to transfer these historical records to NARA’s custody, where they belong. Due to years of records mismanagement, USCIS remains years behind in transferring its records. Millions of other immigration and naturalization records held by USCIS have yet to be scheduled for transfer, so their status remains in limbo.

In the coming weeks, RecordsNotRevenue.com will refocus its efforts on ensuring the spotlight stays on what happens next to these invaluable records, which tell the story of late 19th- and 20th Century immigration to the United States

Graphic adapted from https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-01427/page-6204