Arrival Records Collection
Free passenger-arrival records for tracing U.S. immigrant ancestors.
The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Foundation provides an online search tool for historical U.S. arrival records, including Ellis Island and other ports of entry. The collection is aimed at family-history research and covers records from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, with supporting guidance for interpreting immigrant names and search results.
Why it stands out
- Tied directly to the Ellis Island museum and the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Foundation.
- Covers more than the common Ellis Island narrative, with records from multiple U.S. arrival locations.
- Free online access to a historically important immigration-record collection.
- Provides context on how arrival records were created, including why immigrants’ names were usually recorded before arrival.
Good to know
- The database is focused on arrival records, not a complete family-tree or all-purpose genealogy platform.
- Successful searches may require approximate dates, birth details, port information, or names of traveling relatives.
- Names may appear in ethnic or original-language forms rather than later Americanized versions.
- Expert search help and record-ordering options are separate from the basic free search.
Under the radar: If a direct name search fails, try searching for relatives who may have traveled with the person; nearby family entries can help identify the correct manifest even when one name is misspelled or unfamiliar.
Photos
Family historians researching immigrant ancestors can search passenger and arrival records tied to Ellis Island and other U.S. entry points. Look up a relative’s arrival using name, approximate birth year, arrival year, or port. Prepare for an Ellis Island visit by finding records connected to a family story. Check alternate spellings or original-language names when a known ancestor is hard to find. Request expert help or order an arrival record through the Foundation’s related services.
Searchable Arrival Records Collection; coverage beyond Ellis Island, including New York and other U.S. entry points such as Massachusetts, Florida, Hawaii, and California; research tips for narrowing searches; guidance on historical name spellings; instructions for submitting suspected record corrections; optional family records assistance through the Foundation.
Alternative listings
Guidance for tracing U.S. arrivals through federal passenger manifests.
Genealogy & family-history researchThis National Archives guide explains how to locate U.S. passenger arrival records for people entering from foreign ports, mainly from 1820 through 1982 with known gaps. It covers what details manifests may contain, where records are held, how to request copies, and when to use partner genealogy sites, FOIA, or USCIS instead.
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