One of my paternal great-grandfathers, Dominik Kowalski, first came to America from Poland in 1912. HOWEVER, a few months ago, I found a couple of 1929 ship manifests in which Dominik is also listed. He is on a United Kingdom incoming passenger list from 14 Jun 1929, in which he is listed 'In transit to Gdynia." He returns to New York on 27 Aug 1929. It was a short trip back to Poland, and I noticed on the U.K. list that he was accompanied by a couple with the surname of Balicki, which was his wife's maiden name. (Click on images for larger versions.)
Dominik Kowalski in June 1929 U.K. Incoming Passengers List
Dominik Kowalski in Aug 1929 New York Incoming Passengers List
So, why did he go back? Was he just accompanying some in-laws for the trip, or was there another purpose? Did a close family member pass away, perhaps? I may never figure out the answer, but since he was not yet a citizen in 1929 when he re-entered the country, a visa file should have been opened for him. (Between 1924 and 1944, visa files were created for every immigrant entering the U.S.) Visa files often contain more information that what is just simply listed in naturalization papers, so I was eager to obtain them, if indeed they did exist.
I went on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Genealogy website and ordered an index search for Dominik Kowalski. The search is supposed to return all file numbers for the immigrant in question. My search returned a C-File number for Dominik, but no visa file number. The C-File includes a person's citizenship papers, such as the Declaration of Intention and Petition for Naturalization. I already had copies of these documents for Dominik, but I went ahead and ordered a copy of his C-File anyway, in the hopes that maybe some visa documents would be found in his there as well. I recently received Dominik's C-File documents from the USCIS, but unfortunately, no visa documents were included. I did, however, get a copy of his Certificate of Citizenship, which I did not previously have and which included a nice photo of him. I do have a couple of photos of him as a senior citizen, but this one was taken when he was much younger.
I went on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Genealogy website and ordered an index search for Dominik Kowalski. The search is supposed to return all file numbers for the immigrant in question. My search returned a C-File number for Dominik, but no visa file number. The C-File includes a person's citizenship papers, such as the Declaration of Intention and Petition for Naturalization. I already had copies of these documents for Dominik, but I went ahead and ordered a copy of his C-File anyway, in the hopes that maybe some visa documents would be found in his there as well. I recently received Dominik's C-File documents from the USCIS, but unfortunately, no visa documents were included. I did, however, get a copy of his Certificate of Citizenship, which I did not previously have and which included a nice photo of him. I do have a couple of photos of him as a senior citizen, but this one was taken when he was much younger.
Dominik Kowalski's Certificate of Citizenship (1932)
So, while I didn't get any visa documents, going through the whole process was worth it for a copy of his Citizenship Certificate. I'm not sure why he didn't have a visa file - maybe it was because he had already been living successfully in the U.S. for 17 years, and had filed his Declaration of Intention to become a citizen back in 1925 before this trip to Poland. I AM pretty confident that he had to fill out some paperwork in order to take this trip (and be able to come back), but, at this point, I'm not sure how to go about finding it. Will take further digging, I'm sure.
©2013, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
©2013, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
