…Philadelphia!
The 44th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy takes place in person from 18 – 22 August 2024.
I’m presenting two talks, and participating on a panel:
The Alphabet Soup of USCIS Records: Meet the Foreign Address and Occupation Index (FAOI)
Not all records of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) are locked behind a government paywall! The US Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) recently made the Foreign Address and Occupation Index (FAOI) available for research onsite. What’s the FAOI and how did USHMM come to have a copy of it?
The FAOI is a detailed, index card-sized form which gathered geographic location and employment information about immigrants to the United States. The FAOI data collection began in 1957, asking the immigrant to provide every address or location they lived at from 1940 onwards, as well as their trade or occupation, and any organizational memberships. Additionally, immigrants who arrived before 1957, but adjusted their immigration status after 1957, (e.g. became a citizen) can be located in the records. The facts listed in the FAOI make the cards an important research tool for tracing Holocaust experiences of survivors who came to the United States. The presentation will explain how the cards came to be, the information they contain, and how the FAOI can expand the knowledge and stories about survivors. The talk will also include details on how to access the cards, along with explaining some challenges in using the collection.
Stuck: Immigration, Naturalization and Repatriation in the WWI Era
Stolen passports, pleading letters and fake visas all appear in the US State Department’s Records of Foreign Service Posts. These documents tell harrowing tales of families separated by WWI, and the incredible lengths people went to in order to leave war-torn Europe and reunite with relatives in America. In the years before WWI, husbands immigrated to the USA, intending to send for their family after getting settled, but the outbreak of war turned temporary situations into lengthy separations. Other cases illustrate a short visit to see family in the Old Country morphing into a years-long ordeal. Both during and particularly after the war, the emergence of new European countries meant new rules and regulations controlling movement and emigration. Simultaneously, panic over an assumed mass influx of war refugees spurred the US Congress to pass restrictive laws that imposed quotas on would-be immigrants. This presentation highlights some of the incredible experiences families endured during this era and explains the records used to recount their stories.
The Future of USCIS Records: The Record Destruction Clock is Ticking, with Alec Ferretti and Rich Venezia
USCIS maintains millions of priceless historical documents, some of which can be accessed via the troubled Genealogy Program, while others require FOIA requests, or remain out of reach entirely. Panelists will provide a brief background on some of the records sets; why the documents are vital to knowing 19th and 20th Century US Immigration history; and what lies ahead. Panelists will:
• Update participants on advocacy efforts to push USCIS to transfer historical records in its custody to the National Archives;
• Discuss C-Files and the urgency of needing USCIS to change their status from temporary to permanent (destruction date: 2056);
• Discuss P-Files and the urgency of needing USCIS to change their status from temporary to permanent (destruction date: 2050); and
• Explain how legislative advocacy is necessary to implement these changes.
Genealogists and genealogy societies play a vital role in influencing Federal records management. The future of USCIS-held records remains in jeopardy if the community does not work to protect them. Participants will come away with new information and key action steps.
Will I see you in Philly?
eastern european mutt 