What you need to know about crossing records.

Record crossing information concerns everyone interested in revealing facts about their family. Crossing records are also known as immigration records. Each record contains information about when and where a person has entered The United States.

Crossing records are archived in the National Archive. There you can find records for people who have entered the county from 1800 until 1959. Knowing when the person has immigrated to the USA can help you find their records much faster. Records from 1800 until 1820 are somehow harder to find due to the fact that ship captains were not obliged to keep passenger lists during this period of time.

How to find country crossing records?

Since country crossing records are managed by the National Archive, you can file a request for the records you need to obtain there.

An easier and faster way to search for country crossing records is via the Internet. There are some public record databases that can help you get old immigration records. If you are unable to find country crossing records at the National Archive or online, you can check some bibliographies, indexes and registries. A full reference of the publications that can help you is available both at the National Archive and online.