What You Can Learn From Your Ancestor’s Alien Registration (AR-2) Form

This is the second post in my new blog series about researching your 20^th century U.S. immigrant ancestors’ alien registration documents. If you did not yet read part one, you want to consult that post here first. This second article focuses on the information you can learn about your immigrant ancestors and their family from a World War II-era Alien Registration (AR-2) form.

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All applicable aliens living in the United States on the designated date registration was scheduled to begin on 27 August 1940 were required to register in person at their nearest first or second class post office or other registration place designated by the Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS). They had to register by 26 December 1940. A parent or guardian for those under age 14 had to register in person for that minor.¹ Registration was done on form AR-2, an Alien Registration form that consisted of 15 groups of questions.

The Registration Process

The designated registration officer at the post office filled out the AR-2 form with information provided to them by the alien or the parent or guardian of any alien under the age of 14. The registering officer took a complete set of fingerprints for the INS, although only the print of the right index finger was attached to the AR-2 form. The alien registrant had to personally sign and swear to or affirm the accuracy of the information they provided to the registration officer. If they could not sign their name, the individual had to make their mark in front of a witness, and the witness signed their name and address near that mark.²

Registration officers sent the AR-2 forms to the INS in Washington, D.C. The Alien Registration Act of 1940 stated that the information submitted by the alien on the form would remain secret and confidential, made available only to individuals and government agencies approved by the INS Commissioner and the U.S. Attorney General.³ The INS assigned and stamped a unique Alien Registration number on the top left corner of the front of the AR-2 form and sent the registered alien a receipt card (AR-3 form) with their new Alien number.

Analyzing the AR-2 Form

To thoroughly analyze and understand a WWII Alien Registration (AR-2) form, we need to look beyond the form. We need to consult the instruction manual issued by the Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) Alien Registration Division to carry out Title III of the Alien Registration Act of 1940.⁴

We will dissect each part of the World War II-era Alien Registration form for my great-aunt Maria Guadalupe “Lupe” (Robledo) Perez. To avoid a long list of footnotes repeatedly citing this same AR-2 form as we walk through each part of the form, I am citing that single historical document once here.⁵ Each section of information about Guadalupe that I am extracting from this AR-2 form is marked with italics so that it is easier to distinguish from the information we learn about that section of the form from the instruction manual.

Form Header & Footer

This is the front page of the AR-2 Alien Registration form for Guadalupe. The INS stamped her unique Alien number (also called an Alien Registration number) 2752504 on the top header after receiving this form from her post office.

The footer on the back of Guadalupe’s AR-2 form tells us that she registered as an alien on 9 October 1940 in Glendale, [Los Angeles County], California, likely in the Glendale post office. She signed her name Guadalupe Mary Perez and we we see her fingerprint.

Question Groups 1 & 2: Names & Residence

Guadalupe’s current legal name was Guadalupe Mary Perez. She first entered the U.S. under the name Guadalupe Robledo, which was her maiden name. She was also known by the nickname Lupe. Gudalupe lived at 2322 North Verdugo Road in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California and regularly received her mail from the Glendale post office.

Although questions 1A and 1B on the form do not tell us this is Guadalupe’s current legal name in 1A and the name under which she first arrived in the U.S. in 1B, the Alien Registration Division instruction manual make this clear.

The alien shall give in full his present legal name. He shall also give the name under which he first arrived in the United States, as it was spelled at the time of arrival. The alien shall list all the names by which the alien has ever been known, either in the United States or outside, including the maiden name of married women, the original name or name or names of an adopted child, business, or professional name, aliases and nicknames. If the alien is under fourteen years of age, then his mother’s maiden name shall be listed. All names given by the alien shall be in the English alphabet.⁶

The manual informs us that question 2A pertains to “the place where the alien habitually sleeps” and that the registering alien must state if they do not have such a place. The post-office question in question 2B pertains to “where his mail is regularly received or delivered.”⁷

Question Groups 3 & 4: Birth & Citizenship

Guadalupe was born 30 June 1910 in or near Guamuchi in the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and she was a citizen of Mexico.

Regarding the birth information in question group 3:

The alien shall state the month, day, and year of his birth according to the American (that is, Gregorian) calendar. He shall also state the city, town, or village of his birth, as they existed at the time of birth [emphasis added by me]. The alien shall name as the country of his birth the state or power which, at the time of his birth, exercised dominion and sovereignty over the place of his birth.

Question 4 asked the country in which the registrant was a citizen or subject. The manual explains that if the registrant is no longer a citizen of any country, they needed to list “the country of which he was last a citizen or subject, or to which he last owed allegiance.”⁸

Question Groups 5 & 6: General & Physical Info

Guadalupe was described as female, married, and of the (Other) Mexican race. She stood 5 feet 1 inch tall, weighed 140 pounds, and had black hair and brown eyes.

Regarding marital status, the manual states “If the alien is separated from his or her husband or wife, but not divorced, he shall be listed as married.”⁷ I mentioned in the first blog post that I think the term alien is dehumanizing. The way in which the Alien Registration Division instructions address how to report the race of the registrant is dehumanizing as well.

The alien shall state the race to which he belongs. Persons of mixed blood shall not be considered members of the white race; they shall be considered as belonging to the racial stock other than white from which they may have sprung. Persons sprung from more than one racial stock other than white shall list themselves as “Other” as of mixed blood. Hindus shall be listed under “Other” as Hindus.⁷

Question Groups 7 & 8: U.S. Immigration Status & Residency

Guadalupe reported that she last arrived in the U.S. in October 1915 at the Laredo, Texas port of entry, but she was uncertain of the exact date. She arrived by train as a passenger and entered the U.S. as a permanent resident. Lupe first arrived in the U.S. in October 1915, which although not stated here was likely the same arrival event. If she had visited her home country of Mexico since immigrating in 1915, those visits were under six months. She reported that she had lived continuously in the U.S. for 25 years, which aligns with her 1915 immigration year.

Last Arrival in the U.S.

The Alien Registration Division of the INS required quite a bit of information pertaining to what it defined as the date of last arrival into the U.S for question 7A . First, they defined date of last arrival from the point of an alien who had been in the U.S. before, then left the U.S., and later returned to the U.S. The INS applied a geographic criteria to that:

• If the individual returned from a visit to Mexico or Canada that lasted less than six months, that return date of arrival was not considered their last date of arrival. This implies that returning from a visit to Mexico or Canada that lasted six months or longer qualified as a new last arrival event.
• Individuals returning to the U.S. from a visit of any length to a different country than Mexico or Canada, however, had to report that date of entry as their new last arrival date.

The final questions (7B & C) pertaining to their date of last arrival dealt with the mode of transportation the individual used to enter the U.S. and their immigration classification (7D). If the individual arrived by boat, they had to provide the name of the ship or at least the shipping line if they could not remember the name of the ship.

Although this section of the instruction manual does not directly state that individuals who entered the U.S. only once needed to report that single arrival date as their last arrival, we see from Guadalupe’s AR-2 form that was the procedure.

First Arrival

In question 7E, the individual reported their official date of first arrival to the U.S. However, what the INS classified as the official date of first arrival does not necessarily reflect the first time an immigrant came to the U.S. The instruction manual defined the first arrival as “the earliest arrival following which the alien remained for six months or longer.” So stays in the U.S. for less than six months did not qualify as the date of first arrival.

Residency

In question 8A, the individual had to report the total number of years they lived in the U.S. since first arrival (question 7E). The date of first arrival started the residency clock. If the registrant had traveled outside the U.S. any number of times for trips of less than six months, that time abroad could still be counted towards residency. If any trips abroad lasted six months or longer, that time had to be deducted from what they reported here as a years of residency. For question 8B, the manual states: “The alien shall also state whether he intends to stay in the United States permanently, and if not, how long he expects to stay.¹¹

Question Group 9: Occupation

Guadalupe usually worked as a housewife. However, she presently did factory work for the Derick Paine L.A. Basket Company, a basket manufacturer located at 1295 Los Angeles Street in Glendale.

The instruction manual indicates the registrant needed to state their usual occupation, “the trade, business, or profession by which the alien ordinarily earns his livelihood.” They also needed to report their present occupation, the name and address of their current employer, and the type of business or industry. If the registrant owned their own business, they had to state this along with their business address.⁷

Question Groups 10 & 11: Organizations & Military Service

Guadalupe reported that she had no organizational affiliations within the past five years. She also stated that she had no prior military service in the U.S. or any other country.

Question 10 required the registrant to “state any activities in addition to his occupation which he is, has been within the past five years, or intends to be engaged.” This included naming any “clubs, lodges, groups, organizations or societies” in which they participated, held a membership, or served as an official. The registrant was required to report in question 11 if they had served in the armed forces or auxiliary arms of service of the U.S. or any other country, and if so, which country, branch of service, enlistment date, and discharge date. They also needed to indicate if they had served as a mercenary.¹³

Question Groups 12 & 13: U.S. Naturalization & Relatives

Guadalupe stated she had not applied for first citizenship papers, a declaration of intention to start the process of naturalizing as a U.S. citizen. She indicated that she had one living parent, a spouse, and one child living in the U.S.

Question 12 pertains to U.S. naturalization status. The registrant needed to indicate if they had already filed first papers (the declaration of intention), second papers (the petition for naturalization), or the preliminary application for the petition. They also needed state the date on which they filed any of these papers, and the city and state where filed. Question 13 required the individual to indicate if they had any parents, a spouse, and/or children – including the number of children – living in the U.S.⁷ Unfortunately for genealogists, the immigrant did not have to name those living relatives.

Question Groups 14 & 15: Criminal & Foreign Activities

Guadalupe reported that she had no arrests, indictments, or convictions of criminal offenses in the U.S. or any other country. She also stated that in the past five years, she had not been active in or affiliated with any organizations that worked towards supporting “the political activities, public relations, or public policy of a foreign government.”

In question 14, the registrant needed to report if they had ever been arrested, tried, or convicted of criminal office in the U.S. or any other country. If so, they had to “state the nature of the offense, the date of arrest, the city, town or county, the State or country (if outside the United States) where he was arrested, tried, or convicted, and the disposition of the case.”⁷  The individual had to list in question 15 any organizations in which they had been involved the past five years that supported foreign government activities and indicate if they held an official position with any of those groups.⁷

Learning More

In the next post of this blog series, we will discuss where and how you can obtain the WWII-era Alien Registration (AR-2) form for your immigrant ancestors.

Aunt Guadalupe went through a complicated pathway towards obtaining U.S. citizenship. I teach a case study about her immigration records in an upcoming webinar for Legacy Family Tree Webinars, “Taking a Deep Dive into Mexico – U.S. Border Crossing Records“. The webinar is scheduled for Friday 20 November 2026 at 11:00 am Pacific. The live webinar is free, however, registration is required. An annual membership to Legacy Family Tree Webinars ($49.95) gains you access to the handout and the entire library of recorded genealogy webinars. REGISTER TODAY to save your seat for this upcoming webinar.

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