Tag Archives: Save Our National Archives

Stop the Closure of the National Archives in San Francisco and Chicago

File, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Save OUR National Archives
Don’t let our community’s history disappear STOP the closure of the National Archives at San Bruno (SF) and Chicago

AsAmNews National Archives offices in San Bruno and Chicago to close

San Bruno: San Bruno Archives Closure Faces Congressional Challenge, Bay City News Service, Aug 24, 2026

Lawmakers push to save San Bruno National Archives amid planned federal closure

Planned closure of National Archives could force relocation of historic Bay Area records

Report by Grant Din, Communications co-chair, Save Our National Archives, 19 August 2026:

We had about 100 enthusiastic, creative, and vocal people at NARA San Bruno for Rep Kevin Mullin’s press conference. Mullin and Rep. Judy Chu’s delegation letter includes 37 members of Congress, including several from the Midwest, and you can see it here: 

https://kevinmullin.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Mullin-Chu-et-al-re-NARA-closing-San-Bruno-San-Francisco-Archive-2026-08-19.pdf

The bill that Mullin, Garcia from Chicago, Jayapal from Seattle, and Chu from So. Cal.are introducing would require any NARA move or closure to get Congressional approval. It’s very brief and changes a few words in the US Code and is posted here: 

https://kevinmullin.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/National-Archives-Bill.pdf

(Save Our National Archives) SONA’s video of the press conference is here: saveournationalarchives.org and you can click on the media tab to see the many TV, print, radio, and podcast stories.

We’re also close to 10,000 signatures on the change.org petition and will send a copy with all the signers to Wilson. Chicago has also been very active and I hope Suzanne Hoffman can update us.

NARA has posted information about where they plan for SF and Chicago materials to go and the details are here: https://www.archives.gov/research/news

See Save Our National Archives (SONA) website for Updates, Take Action, About SONA, Media Coverage, Our NARA stories, Work by Researchers, and Honoring Tom Lantos

Proposed 492% fee increase for USCIS documents – Submit comments before 16 December 2019

File, , , , , ,

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently proposed a 492% increase in fees required to access historical records held by the USCIS Genealogy Program. Many of these records should already be publicly accessible.

  1. These include the A-files for records numbered under 8 million.
  2. Current fee $65 for a search, which has no guarantee of results
  3. Proposed fee $240! + $385 for the paper file.

1912 Gong Kay photo1912 Photo of Gong Kay from A-File at National Archives at San Francisco

Summary of the Issues:

  • Access: Fees – starting at $240 and up to $625 for a single file
  • Transparency: USCIS proposes a raise in fees with virtually no explanation.
  •  Efficiency: These files should already be at the National Archives (NARA). Some already exist at NARA but are withheld from the public due to restrictions placed by USCIS.
  •  Visa Files and Registry Files, both subject to the proposed $625 total fee, became eligible for transfer to NARA in April 2019. These records should already be available to the public at NARA.
  •  Alien Registration Forms, subject to the proposed $240 fee, exist on microfilm at NARA but remain unavailable because of a USCIS restriction. A-Files of immigrants born more than 100 years ago should be at NARA, as per its 2009 schedule.

Make your voice heard in 3 easy steps:

Step 1: Review the proposed rule here, and jump to the Genealogy Program section here.

Step 2: Write your comments on the issues. See https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/#conversationstarters for thoughts on how to begin.

Step 3: Send your comments BEFORE 16 December 2019 to

AND
• Send a copy of your comments to your US Senators and Representative, and refer to DHS Docket No. USCIS-2019-0010. Tell them you care about preserving access to federal records!

Sign up to stay informed on this important effort: and learn more at  https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/

Update from the Save Our National Archives group, led by Jeanie Low and Jennie Lew: USCIS has finally released the A-files for people born between 1911 and 1915 to the National Archives at San Bruno. NARA already has all the A-files for people who passed through San Francisco and were born from 1910 and earlier available, and they are indexed at NARA’s website.

Write your comments to USCIS then request your ancestors’ A- or C-files in case the price does skyrocket!