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U.S. Immigration Requirements
The information below was provided by Dr. William Meinecke, an historian at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It is a list of documents that the United States government required before an applicant could secure a visa for immigration to the United States in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Visa application had to completed by American sponsors. The application was a two-sided document over four feet long. Six copies had to be submitted and no reasons were given to explain a rejection. If unsuccessful, the sponsor could not reapply for another six months.
Documentation Required for Immigration Visas to the United States
- VISA Application (Form BC) five copies
- Birth Certificate: Two copies (quotas are assigned by country of birth)
- Quota Number reached: (# established the person's place on the waiting list to
enter the United States)
- Two Sponsors, close relatives of prospective immigrant are preferred.
The sponsors must be American citizens or have permanent status, and they must have
filled out an Affidavit of Support and Sponsorship (Form C) six copies notarized,
as well as provided:
- Supporting documents required of sponsors:
- Certified copy of most recent federal tax return
- Affidavit from a bank about accounts
- Affidavit from any other responsible person regarding other assets
(affidavit from sponsor's employer or statement of commercial rating)
- Certificate of Good Conduct from German Police Authorities, including
two copies respectively of:
- Police dossier
- Prison record
- Military record
- Other government records about individual
- Affidavits of Good Conduct (After September 1940)
- Pass a Physical Examination at U.S. Consulate
- Proof of Permission to leave Germany (imposed September 30, 1939)
Proof the prospective immigrant had booked passage to the western hemisphere (imposed September 1939)
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