I just received this from NARA San Bruno, Ca:
This is response to your e-mail dated September 5, 2008 concerning Petitions for Naturalization for San Francisco for the years 1985-90.
The holdings of the Archival Records Operations Unit (NRHA-S) of the National Archives and Records Administration - Pacific Region (San Francisco) includes approximately 56,500 cubic feet of original records generated by Federal courts and agency field offices within our region from the 1850s to the 1970s. Our region covers northern and central California, Nevada (except Clark County), Hawaii, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. We also have a large collection of National Archives microfilm publications, including all extant Federal population census schedules from 1790 to 1930 for the entire United States.
On March 26, 1790, Congress passed an act (1 Stat. 103) that allowed any individual seeking citizenship to apply to any court of record in a state where he or she lived for one year. Before September 27, 1906, an alien could seek citizenship through any Federal, state, or local court. As a result, you need to know to which court an immigrant submitted the application for naturalization.
There is no central repository for all naturalizations that ever occurred in the United States between March 26, 1790 and the present. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) only have custody of records of naturalizations that occurred in Federal courts prior to ca. 1975.
Fortunately for the time period you are inquiring about (1985-90), naturalizations only occurred in U.S. District Courts. Unfortunately, the actual records you are seeking (the original Petitions for Naturalization) are still in the custody of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Our facility holds some naturalization records transferred from Federal courts in northern California, Hawaii, and Nevada. U.S. district and circuit courts in Honolulu, Reno, Sacramento, and San Francisco originated these naturalization records. In addition to these Federal court records, we hold naturalization records of two Nevada state courts, the First District Court of Nevada at Fallon (Churchill County) and the Second District Court of Nevada at Reno (Washoe County), and one California county court, the Marin County Superior Court. These latter state- and local-level holdings are exemptions to the rule.
Our records document naturalization proceedings performed during the specified time periods in the following courts:
District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco), 1851-1973
Circuit Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco), 1855-1911
District Court, Eastern District of California (Sacramento), 1917-74
District Court, District of Hawaii, 1900-91
District Court, District of Nevada, 1868-1929 (microfilm only)
State Court, First District, Churchill County, Fallon, Nevada, 1877-1956
State Court, Second District, Washoe County, Reno, Nevada, 1853-1949
Superior Court, Marin County, California, 1871-1957
Since October 1906 most naturalizations have been performed in Federal district courts. Generally, each U.S. District Court maintains card indexes to naturalization records filed in that court from 1906 (or earlier) to the present. Among our microfilm holdings is National Archives microfilm publication M1744 entitled Index to Naturalizations in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, 1852 - ca. 1989 and Naturalizations in the U.S. Circuit Court for the Northern District of California, 1855 - 1911.
The entire series includes 165 rolls of microfilm, but there are some substantial gaps in the alphabetic sequence. Fortunately, the original index cards still exist in our custody. We can perform a search of this NARA microfilm publication if you provide us with the name(s) of the person(s) you are interested in. We should be able to provide you with the person's petition number, which you can then use to contact the Clerk of the Court of the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California, Southern Division (San Francisco) to receive a copy of the actual record (Petition for Naturalization). For more information, please contact:
U.S. District Court
Northern District of California (Southern Division)
Attn: Clerk of the Court
450 Golden Gate Avenue Floor 16
San Francisco, CA 94102-3426
Telephone: 415-522-4151
FAX: 415-522-2176
URL: http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you; I trust the information furnished will be of benefit to you. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
J. S., Archives Technician
NARA - Pacific Region (San Francisco)
Archival Records Operations (NRHA-S)
1000 Commodore Drive
San Bruno, CA 94066-2350
Telephone: 650-238-3487
FAX: 650-238-3510
URL:
http://www.archives.gov/pacific/san-francisco/index.html
I am not aware whether the Clerk of the Court has access to NARA microfilm publication M1744 or if they have some other way of searching for the aforementioned petitions (perhaps an electronic index), but you can contact the court directly to inquire about their procedures and the costs associated with securing copies of the documents you are requesting.