Texas, El Paso Alien Arrivals - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
The collection "Texas, El Paso Alien Arrivals, 1909-1924" contains arrivals at El Paso Texas from 1909-1924, it corresponds with NARA Publication A3412. The collection is arranged by date then by manifest or serial number.

The collection "Texas, El Paso Alien Arrivals, 1924-1952" consists of a card index of individuals arriving in El Paso. It corresponds to NARA publication A3396:Index to Manifests of Permanent and Statistical Alien Arrivals at El Paso, Texas, July 1924-July 1952. The index is arranged by surname then by the first letter of the given name. Both collections are part of Record Group 85 Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Collection Content
The records generally include the following information:


 * Name
 * Birth place
 * Age
 * Gender
 * Marital status
 * Physical description
 * Occupation
 * Nationality
 * Race
 * Can they read and write
 * Last permanent residence
 * Destination
 * Name and address of nearest relative
 * Port and date of entry

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The full name of your ancestor
 * Approximate date of immigration.

If you do not know this information, check the census records after 1900.

Search the Collection
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "NARA Roll Number - Contents" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example, use passenger lists to:


 * Access the original passenger or manifest list
 * Learn an immigrant’s place of origin
 * Confirm their date of arrival
 * Learn foreign and “Americanized” names
 * Find records in his or her country of origin such as emigrations, port records, or ship’s manifests.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * If your ancestor had a common name, be sure to look at all the entries for a name before you decide which is correct.
 * Continue to search the passenger lists to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who may have immigrated at the same time.
 * If your ancestor has an uncommon surname, you may want to obtain the passenger list of every person who shares your ancestor’s surname if they lived in the same county or nearby. You may not know how or if they are related, but the information could lead you to more information about your own ancestors.
 * Arrival lists was used by legal authorities to gather personal information about immigrants prior to the person being allowed to live in the United States.
 * The information was supplied by the immigrant or a traveling companion (usually a family member). Incorrect information was occasionally given, or mistakes may have been made when the clerk guessed at the spelling of foreign names.
 * Please note that when you select an image to view, sometimes the manifest includes more than one page, and when you use the "click to enlarge manifest" link, the image that appears is not always the first page of the record. You may need to click on the "previous" or "next" links to view the remaining pages of the full manifest.

What If I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for other indexes. Records are often indexed by local historical and genealogical societies.
 * Search the indexes of other port cities.

Related Websites

 * National Archives Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service
 * National Archives Collection Description A3396
 * National Archives Descriptive Pamphlet A3396
 * National Archives Collection Description A3412
 * National Archives Descriptive Pamphlet A3412

Related Wiki Articles

 * Texas Emigration and Immigration
 * United States Emigration and Immigration

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

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