1948 case nationalization question

[kltbtd]

I am pursuing a 1948 case. I thought I had all the documents necessary to start the process, but I seem to have hit a wall. The last document I need is a Certificate of Naturalization for my grandfather, which I thought I had, but it was rejected for an Apostille. I have his original 1918 Certificate of Naturalization from Newark NJ Court of Common Pleas and a certified copy of his Petition for Naturalization and Oath of Allegiance, so I know he was naturalized. I contacted an attorney in Italy, who told me his Petition and Oath could not be used as proof of citizenship because he could have been rejected.

USCIS sent me a Certificate of Nonexistence of Record and NARA also sent me a no-record letter, but I have proof he was a citizen. I wrote to USCIS and sent copies of the Certificate, Petition, and Oath. The response was that USCIS only certifies the non-existence of records and my request does not meet their criteria.

There is a Certificate of Naturalization Number on the Oath of Allegiance. I see on the USCIS geneology site that I can request a C-File without a Request Case ID if I have the file number. When I enter the number into the request I get a message that says I must have a prefix code, which I assume would be C, but there are other prefixes, so I’m not sure.

How can I obtain a certified Certificate of Naturalization for him? Is a C-file a certified Certificate of Naturalization?

I would appreciate any information on how to obtain a Certificate of Naturalization for my grandfather. Thank you very much.

[A.Michelle]

I, too am pursuing a 1948 case. I went through much the same process as you. I had lots of information that indicated my GGF's naturalization. My GGF was rejected. I only discovered this because an archivist in Missouri found a letter my GGF sent to the Clerk in that county stating that it wasn't possible for him to travel to the final hearing. I just got lucky in discovering that he was not actually naturalized and the reason. I am using the nonexistence certificate per my attorney's advice. The dates for my information are a little different than yours, and the dates USCIS can search might be significant, though my letter states that they have records for all persons naturalized on or after September 27, 1906. You can send the nonexistence certificate to the State Department and they will issue an apostille. I just finished that process.