Did Your Ancestor Need a Passport?

Until 1941, American citizens were not required to have a passport for travel abroad. Exceptions to this general rule were:

* Passports were required from August 19, 1861, to March 17, 1862, during the Civil War.
* Passports were recommended, but not required, as of December 15, 1915, by Executive Order stating that all persons leaving the U.S. should have passports.
* Passports were required from May 22, 1918 until the formal termination of World War I in 1921 by treaties.
* Passports have been required since the passage of the act of June 21, 1941

Passports and passport applications can provide the following genealogy information:
* family, marital status
* birth place and date
* name of wife
* residence
* father's name and place of birth
* naturalization year
* name of ship, port and date of entry (after 1900)
* photograph of ancestor

1922 Passport for Gustav & Betty Stiefel. His passport applicaton providing his father's name and residence, as well as Gustav's town of birth can be found in Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925

• Register of Passports from 14 November 1834 to 1843 an Index for all states in USA
• Index to Special Passports 1829-1887 an Index for all states in USA
• Index to Special Passports 1887-1894 an Index for all states in USA
• Index to Special Passports 1872-1882 [NaturalizationRecords.com has the images, we need a transcriber]
• Register of Passport Applications 1809-1817
• Index to Emergency & Special Passport Applications 1830-1831
• Index to Passports 1850-1852 [NaturalizationRecords.com has the images, we need a transcriber]

What Years are Available for American Passports

After 1888 there were separate passports for native citizens, naturalized citizens and derivative citizens.

Where to Find American Passports

Passports 1925 and later are found at
Passport Office
Dept. of State
1425 K Street NY
Washington DC 20520

Naturalization & Passport CDs & Books

 Passports of Southeastern Pioneers, 1770-1823: Indian, Spanish and Other Land Passports for Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia, North and South Carolina . (Baltimore, Md: Gateway Press, 1982) by Dorothy Williams Potter
 Schaefer, Christine.Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1997)
 Szucs, Loretto Dennis.They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records & Ethnic Origins Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, 1998
 Brick Wall Help

NARA Passport Resources

Index To Passport Applications, 1850-52, 1860-80, 1881, 1906-23 [NARA M1848] Use the Registers and Indexes first to find the application date and passport number, then look for the passport application.

Naturalization Records Help

Get help finding your ancestor's immigration or naturalization year in

 Naturalization Tips
 Alien Registrations
 Census Records
 City Directories
 Land Records
 Newspapers
 Ships Passenger Lists
 Voters Registration

• Passport Applications, 1795-1905; (National Archives Microfilm M1372, 694 rolls)
• Passport Applications, January 2, 1906-March 31, 1925; (National Archives Microfilm M1490, 2740 rolls)
• Registers and Indexes for Passport Applications, 1810-1906; (National Archives Microfilm M1371, rolls 1-3, 13)
• Emergency Passport Applications (Passports Issued Abroad), 1877-1907; (National Archives Microfilm M1834, 56 rolls)

American Ancestor Passports on NaturalizationRecords.com

American Ancestor Passports on Other Sites

Passports From Other Countries