American Samoa, Passenger Lists and Travel Documents

Record Description
This collection will include indexes and images from 1932-1961, including passenger lists, passports, travel permits, letters of identity, affadavits of birth, visas and visa requests, and naturalization petitions from American Samoa.

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Samoa, consisting of five main islands and two coral atolls. An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef, including a coral rim that circles a lagoon partially or completely. American Samoa is part of the Samoan Islands chain, located west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some 300 miles (500 km) south of Tokelau. To the west are the islands of the Wallis and Futuna group. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the U.S. and one of two U.S. territories (with Jarvis Island) south of the Equator.

Naturalization petitions are a process by which an alien becomes an American citizen. It is a voluntary act; naturalization is not required. Congress passed the first law regulating naturalization in 1790. From the first naturalization law passed by Congress in 1790 through much of the 20th century, an alien could become naturalized in any court of record. Naturalization was a two-step process that took a minimum of 5 years. After two years, an alien could file a "declaration of intent" (so-called "first papers") to become a citizen. After three additional years, the alien could "petition for naturalization." After the petition was granted, a certificate of citizenship was issued to the alien. As a general rule, the "declaration of intent" generally contains more genealogically useful information than the "petition." The "declaration" may include the alien's month and year (or possibly the exact date) of immigration into the United States. The National Archives does not have naturalization records created in State or local courts. However, some county court naturalization records have been donated to the National Archives and are available as National Archives microfilm publications.

A passport is a travel document, usually issued by the government of a nation, that certifies the identity and nationality of its holder for the purpose of international travel. Standard passports contain the holder's name, place and date of birth, photograph, signature, and other identifying information. A passport specifies nationality, but not necessarily the place of residence of the passport holder. A passport holder is normally entitled to enter the country that issued the passport, though some people entitled to a passport may not be full citizens.

A permit to travel allows passengers to travel when they have not purchased a ticket in advance and the ticket office of the station they are travelling from is closed. Since a large proportion of passengers, especially rail passengers, travel without having their tickets checked at any point of their journey—particularly at low-peak times when stations are more likely to be unmanned—the obligation to possess a permit to travel allows the collection of at least some revenue from passengers who would otherwise travel for free.

Ship passenger arrival lists are very valuable records for documenting an ancestor’s immigration. Lists were not kept for every ship and some have been lost, but those that survive are becoming available online, giving us better access to them. Early passenger lists typically include the name of the ship, the names of passengers, ages, ports of arrival and departure, date, country of origin, and occupation. 20th century lists include even more details, giving the town or county of origin, and the names of other family members, destination, physical description, and more. Passenger lists are typically used by family historians to document their immigrant ancestor’s trip to their new country. A visa is legal permission given by the authority of a country for a person who is not a citizen of that country to enter and to remain there for a specified length of time. Each country attaches various conditions to their visas, such as duration of stay, the territory covered by the visa, dates of validity, whether the visa is valid for more than one visit, etc. Visas are associated with the request for permission to enter a country, and different than an actual formal permission for an alien to enter and remain in the country. A visa can be revoked at any time. The visa is commonly a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport or other travel document. Some countries do not require visas for short visits.

An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made under an oath to a person authorized to do so by law. The applicant’s signature is observed by a notary public or commissioner of oaths for authenticity. An affidavit is a type of verified statement, meaning it is under oath or penalty of perjury, and this serves as evidence for court proceedings.

Record Content
Visas may include the following information:


 * Name of Petitioner
 * Residence of Petitioner
 * Date of Birth
 * Month and Year of Visit
 * Intended Length of Stay in the Country
 * Areas authorized to Visit

Petitions for Naturalization may contain the following information:


 * Name of Petitioner
 * Residence of Petitioner
 * Date of Birth
 * Month and Year of Immigration
 * Court where Petition is filed

Passports may contain the following information:


 * Name of Petitioner
 * Residence of Petitioner (Sometimes included)
 * Date of Birth
 * Nationality
 * Physical Description of Petitioner

Passenger Lists may contain the following information:


 * Name of Petitioner
 * Residence of Petitioner
 * Month and Year of Immigration
 * Name of Ship
 * Date of Departure and Arrival
 * Ports of Departure and Arrival
 * Occupation
 * Names of Family Members
 * Purpose of Travel

Search the Collection
To search by index:

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To search by image:

To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link on the initial search page ⇒Select the "Record type" category ⇒Select "Year or year range" category which takes you to the images

Search the collection by 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.

When searching:

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence, age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives.
 * Don’t overlook the possibility of finding ancestors who were visiting relatives, traveling for business, or for pleasure.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Search the records of nearby localities (Tutuila, Manuʻa Islands, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island).

Related Websites

 * American Samoa Birth Certificates, Death Records and Marriage Licenses.
 * American Samoa Vital Records.
 * American Samoa Death Records.
 * American Samoa Kindred Trails.

Related Wiki Articles

 * American Samoa Census
 * American Samoa Vital Records
 * American Samoa Archives and Libraries
 * American Samoa

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Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

{{Collection citation| text =“American Samoa, Immigration and Emigration, 1918-1965.” Index and Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org: accessed 2014.