Immigration arrival records are the official record of an immigrant's admission to the United States. These official records took different forms in different historical eras. From 1820 to 1924, official arrival records were kept on big sheets called passenger lists, ship lists, or ship passenger manifests. Since 1924, visas have been the official immigration records, and since 1944, Alien Registration records and files.
Researchers use historical immigration records to document the arrival of immigrants in the United States. While most historical immigration records are open to the public at the National Archives, more recent records remain with DHS and are subject to the Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts.
