Monthly Archives: March 2026

Chi Che Wan – Chinese biochemist and college professor

Form of Chinese Certificate, Return Certificate, Return Permit, Section 6 Student, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In April 1931, Wang Chi Che 王季茝 (Chi Che Wang) was applying for a Return Permit so she could attend the annual meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in Montreal, Canada. Wang Chi Che’s file contains a Form of Chinese Certificate from 1907 when she originally arrived in the U.S.as a Section 6 student. A photo was attached and the document was signed by M. P. Boyd, American Vice Consul General in Charge, Shanghai, China.

Black and white portrait of a woman with an elegant hairstyle, wearing a high-collared blouse. The image is enclosed in an oval border, with a small round object in the top left corner.
Wang Chi Che (Chi Che Wang), Chinese Exclusion Act case files, Record Group 85, National Archives-Seattle, Box 908, File 7032/1000.

Wang Chi Che had the documents she needed to enter Canada temporarily in 1931 but was applying for the documents she would need to reenter the United States after she attended the meeting. She planned to go by way of Detroit, Michigan.

In February, Thomas Thomas, District Director of Immigration in Cincinnati, wrote to the Immigration office in Seattle asking them to furnish a landing record of Miss Chi Che Wang. She arrived as a sixteen-year-old student on the SS Minnesota in August or September 1907. She had not left the country since she arrived.

The Seattle office sent a summary of the 6 March 1931, six-page interrogation of Chi Che Wang.:

  1. She was born in Soo Chow, China on 30 October 1891 and was admitted to the U.S. as a student in August 1907.
  2. Attended Walnut Hills Boarding School in Natick, Massachusetts to improve her English, then Wellesley College.
  3. Employed as head of the Department of Biochemistry at Michall Reese Hospital in Chicago from April 1920 to April 1930.
  4. Did biological research work at the Marine Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts
  5. Taught biochemistry in the Department of Home Economics at Chicago University.
  6. Since December 1939, employed as Senior Fellow, in charge of the Department of Metabolism of the Pediatric Research Foundation in Cincinnati, receiving a salary of $4,500 a year.
  7. Member of Honorary Scientific Society of Sigma Psi, American Chemical Society, American Society of Biological Chemists, Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine, and Institute of Medicine-Chicago section.
  8. Speaks English fluently and idiomatically.

Information in Chi Che Wang’s interrogation that was not included in the summary:
1. Living at 825 Locust Street in Cincinnati, Ohio.
2. Her sister, Chi Tsau Wang, a Theology student, was living at the International House in Berkeley, California.

After a review of Chi Che Wang’s documents in 1931, a Return Permit was issued to her.
A Reentry Permit was issued to her in 1939 with no additional paperwork.

For more information on Chi Che Wang go to:
Wikipedia
Wellesley College/Alumnae Corner/Chi Che Wang (1914)
AWIS (Association for Women in Science)
Galter Health Sciences Library & Learning Center

Thank you Andrew Sandfort-Marchese, for calling this file to my attention.

Opportunity to receive your Naturalization Petition files (P-files)

Naturalization File

Important research opportunity for the Asian American community regarding P-Files (Petition Files).

What Are P-Files?
P-Files are Naturalization Petition Files created by U.S. Naturalization Examiners in field offices for every naturalization petition filed between September 27, 1906, and February 28, 1950.

  • Files dated through July 1929 are typically brief summaries (“briefs”), about half a page in length.
  • After July 1929, P-Files became much more detailed and often contained richer information than C-Files.
  • After 1950, naturalization records are generally found in C-Files (through 1956) and A-Files thereafter.
  • A P-File may exist even if the petition was denied or the process was never completed.

These records are held at Federal Records Centers in San Bruno, California, or Lee’s Summit, Missouri, depending on where the individual petitions for naturalization.

Why This Matters for the Chinese and Asian American Communities

For the Chinese American community, P-Files may exist for individuals who petitioned before February 28, 1950, including:

  • Those who applied after the passage of the Magnuson Act (December 17, 1943), which repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act
  • U.S.-born women who married Asian immigrants, lost their citizenship, and later regained it
  • Men who served in the U.S. Army during World War I and obtained citizenship under the Nye-Lea Act (1935)

These files can contain valuable genealogical, legal, and historical information that may not appear in other immigration records.

Community Research Effort

Linda Harms Okazaki is working to collect and analyze as many P-Files as possible to build a knowledge base that benefits the broader Asian American community. While her primary research focus has been on Japanese Americans, she is actively gathering information related to other Asian communities as well.

How to Participate – Please submit by or before March 15 

Please provide the following information. The request cannot be made without this data.

  • Full name (including any variations or alternate spellings)
  • Date of birth
  • Country of birth
  • Proof of death
  • Naturalization documents (copy of naturalization petition, an index to a petition, or a naturalization certificate) – The petition is sometimes available on Ancestry. You might include an image of a petition for a Chinese immigrant and also an index card.
  • Location where the petition was filed

Linda will review the information, determine the appropriate court, file number, accession number, and box number, and submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the P-File.

Documents are typically delivered digitally, and participants will receive a digital copy of the records. There is no cost to submit the FOIA request, though you may need to obtain a death certificate if one is not already available.

For those who participate, a private Google Drive folder will be created to securely share documents.

No request will be made if the research subject is still living or if the documents are not provided.This is an opportunity for Linda to request something on your behalf, but you must provide the supporting documentation.

For more information or to participate, please contact:
Linda Harms Okazaki
LindasOrchard@gmail.com

This is a meaningful opportunity to help preserve and document the naturalization history of our Asian American families and communities.

The example below is a good starting point, though birthdate, location of petition, proof of death, and alternate names are also needed. 

Linda Harms Okazaki

California Genealogical Society, Past President
Nikkei Genealogical Society, Charter Member
Association of Professional Genealogists, president NorCal Chapter 
Linda’s Orchard, LLC
925-451-1929