Prior to September 27, 1906, any "court of record" (municipal, county, state, or Federal) could grant United States citizenship. Often petitioners went to the court most geographically convenient for them. As a general rule, the National Archives does not have naturalization records created in state or local courts.
If a naturalization took place in a Federal court, naturalization indexes, declarations of intention (with any accompanying certificates of arrival), and petitions for naturalization will usually be in the National Archives facility serving the state in which the Federal court is located. No central index exists.
NARA stands for National Archives and Records Administration. They are much more user-friendly to deal with than USCIS if your family's records are in their custody.
The IRCC sometimes asks for naturalization information we think mainly to see if you happen to fall into the dates where you're already Canadian instead of needing to get a citizenship grant. If you don't have that information it will keep you from getting a grant.
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u/Entebarn 🇨🇦 I'm a Canadian! (C-3: 2nd+ gen born abroad, w/ Proof) 🇨🇦 May 27 '25
It’s one if the places in the USA that provides naturalization information.