ANGEL ISLAND and A-Files: How to Research & Access with Jeanie Low

This complimentary zoom program is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 5 PM PST /8 PM EST with Jeanie Low and is sponsored by the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.(https://www.aiisf.org)

Registration link is:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/angel-island-and-a-files-how-to-research-and-access-tickets-260513521957

Jeanie will help you determine whether you should file a FOIA with USCIS and/or search NARA to receive a copy of an Angel Island Immigration and/or Alien Case File for your family member. 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 relative investigated during the “Confession Program.” 3) The relative was once deported. 4) The person’s immigration records are missing. 5) The person became a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

Jeanie will show the different routes to receive the documents.

Jeanie is a member of SONA that successfully advocated that * A-Files (20th century immigration and naturalization case files) for individuals with 100 birth years be designated a permanent historic collection. Since 1993 to the present, 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.