AR-2 Forms and the Flexoline Index
What are Alien Registration (AR-2) Forms?
Per the Alien Registration Act of 1940, the US Government registered all aliens aged 14 and over resident in the US from 1 August 1940 - 31 March 1944, as well as those who immigrated within that timeframe. These two-page forms provide a great deal of biographical information. All 5.6 million of these records transferred to NARA, in both microfilm and digital format. The Form AR-2 is the only historical USCIS Genealogy Program document series fully digitized.
The original Alien Registration Act of 1940 was a national security measure, and directed the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to fingerprint and register every alien aged 14 and older living within and entering the United States, including arriving seamen.
Between the start of Alien Registration on August 1, 1940 and early 1944, the INS collected approximately 6 million Alien Registration Forms (Form AR-2, or Form AR-102) and indexed them with up to three alias names in the Flexoline Index.
Prior to 17 May 2024, the only way to obtain an AR-2 Form was via the USCIS Genealogy Program.
AR-2 Form Resources:
Image from USCIS History Office & Library
What is the Flexoline Index?
The Flexoline Index references WWII-era Alien Registration (AR-2) Forms 1940-1944, and later registrations (1944- ca. 1954) filed in A-Files. The Flexoline identifies the A-number needed to request an AR-2 Form from NARA, or to request an A-File from NARA or from USCIS -- either through a FOIA or Genealogy Program request (depending on the number).
“Flexoline” refers to a technology that printed individual entries on strips of paper that slid into plastic holders attached to racks for searching. By the late 1950s, the Flexoline was used only for reference and eventually INS microfilmed the Flexoline data. After much use, and time, the microfilm started to deteriorate, and INS created a digitized version of the microfilm, while also keying the codes and letters from the Flexoline strips to create a digital database index system. The database keyed in the early 2000s transferred into the legal custody of NARA's Center for Electronic Records (CER) in 2024.
CER had to process the Flexoline index and the AR-2 digital images, and recreate a functional database -- as what they received from USCIS was not immediately usable. CER then established a public use version of the Flexoline index, which provides access to data on persons born more than 100 years ago. The public use version of Flexoline resides online as part of NARA's Access to Archival Databases (AAD) site. NARA offers a detailed FAQ to assist researchers in using the Flexoline, and additional Flexoline technical documents can be found on NARA AAD's Flexoline page. Researchers can also request searches in the Flexoline index from CER for individuals born less than 100 years ago if they can provide a proof of death, or assist a living immigrant in requesting their own information.
Note well the Flexoline index can also provide some A-numbers needed to request an Alien File (A-File), including:
- New immigrants who arrived from 1944 to 1955, and whose alien registration document was filed in their new Alien File (A-File); and
- Certain A-Files opened or reopened between 1944 and 1955.
For more on NARA's A-Files, see NARA's Alien Files (A-Files) web page.