Currently accepting clients for...

• Family History Research
• Speaking / Presenting
• Other Speciality

I’m an archival and documentary evidence expert specializing in complex U.S. citizenship and immigration cases. I help individuals and immigration law firms locate and obtain historical records - particularly hard-to-find immigration and naturalization documents - that support derivative citizenship claims, clarify legal status, or strengthen legal filings.

My work sits at the intersection of bureaucracy and history. I’ve built my career on understanding the systems others find impenetrable - USCIS, the National Archives, Department of State - and on knowing how to find the records that others assume are lost or don’t even know to look for.

Beneath that technical expertise is a deeper purpose: restoring stories. The right document can resolve a long-standing family mystery, unlock an individual’s right to citizenship, or reconnect someone to a part of their identity that’s been hidden or incomplete - a part of their truth. That’s what drives me.

Additionally, I offer genealogical research services and consultations, particularly when 20th-century immigration and citizenship play a central role. I assist estate attorneys in identifying missing heirs through historical documentation, and I provide dual citizenship assistance for Irish and select Italian cases.

I was a member of the research team of Genealogy Roadshow (PBS) for two seasons, and also consulted on Follow Your Past (Travel Channel). My TEDx talk, "How to Grow Empathy From Uncovering Your Roots" from TEDx Pittsburgh 2017, can be found on YouTube. As a records access advocate, I organized the Records, Not Revenue campaign to combat the fee raise proposed by USCIS for their genealogical records. This led to my being awarded the Shirley M. Barnes Records Access Award in 2020.

Geographic Specialities
NJ, NY, PA, Mid-Atlantic, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Ireland, Italy

Testimonials
Please see www.richroots.net/testimonials for testimonials.

Additional specialities or search keywords
Immigration, Naturalization, Citizenship, Irish, Italian, Dual Citizenship, FOIA, USCIS, Passports

Publications/Media
See https://www.richroots.net/news-and-media.

Lectures
Rich has numerous lectures available, from immigration research to naturalization records, to National Archives research to naturalization records, to Irish research and dual citizenship. For a full lecture list, and to see where Rich is next lecturing, see https://www.richroots.net/lectures.

Repositories
National Archives - Washington DC; National Archives - College Park (Maryland); Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; Heinz History Center; New Jersey State Archives; Pittsburgh area county courthouses; University of Pittsburgh Archives Service Center; Irish archives in Dublin; experience in most regional NARA branches

Research Time Periods

• 21st Century
• 20th Century
• 19th Century

Languages
Italian (Fluent)

Honorifics/Credentials
Shirley M. Barnes Records Access Award recipient, 2020

Certificates
Certificate in Genealogical Research (Boston University)

Affiliations

• Association of Professional Genealogists (including mid-Atlantic chapter)
• National Genealogical Society