Check NARA first for older A-Files. As of August 2025, NARA says Kansas City and San Francisco hold many A-Files for people born in 1925 or earlier, with gaps. Search the National Archives Catalog first to see whether NARA already holds the file.

The signed cover-letter structure that worked for us

For our successful USCIS request, we submitted an online FOIA request and attached a signed cover letter. The subject was deceased, so we also attached proof of death. Our letter identified the subject with full name, maiden name, date/place of birth, the known A-number and a related cross-referenced A-number.

A-File FOIA cover-letter example
Subject: Request for Complete A-File – [FULL NAME] – A[NUMBER] Dear FOIA Officer, I respectfully request a complete copy of the A-File for [Full Name], also known as [maiden / alternate names], born [date] in [place]. Primary A-Number: [A-Number] Related / Cross-Referenced A-Number(s): [if known] The subject is deceased. I have attached proof of death. Last known U.S. address: [Address] Please include all available immigration, visa, alien-registration, naturalization, petition, correspondence, internal memorandum, index, certificate-stub, and cross-referenced records associated with this individual. If any related A-number or cross-reference appears in the file, I respectfully request that associated records also be searched and released to the extent permitted by law. Thank you for your assistance. [Signature] [Printed Name] [Mailing Address] [Phone] [Email]

A practical issue we hit: the deceased person's address

An earlier submission in our case received a non-compliance response connected to the missing subject address. On the successful resubmission, we put the deceased person's last known U.S. address directly into the signed cover letter. That is our experience—not a claim that every FOIA request fails without the same wording.

Proof of death matters

USCIS's current FOIA instructions provide for proof of death when requesting records concerning a deceased person, with an exception generally available where the subject was born more than 100 years before the request. Follow the current USCIS instructions for acceptable proof.

How the records arrived for us

USCIS ultimately made the released records available electronically through its system, together with a response letter. We downloaded the release and used it in our citizenship-document package. The German mission accepted the downloaded records in our particular case; another case or mission can have different evidentiary needs.

Why request the complete file?

We were not looking for one isolated form. We wanted the immigration, visa and naturalization trail, related correspondence and cross-references that could establish what happened and when. In citizenship-by-descent research, timing can be as important as the existence of a later naturalization record.

Official sources

Use current agency instructions at the time you file. This article describes our workflow and is not a substitute for USCIS or NARA requirements.