The United States District Court maintains court orders and microfiche of persons naturalized in the jurisdiction since the beginning of the Southern District of Texas in 1902. The Court Orders are filed instruments and are public record. There is a search fee of $15.00 to search a name. If the person wants a certified copy of the court record, the fee is an additional $10.00 to certify and $1.00 in copy fees. Fees are waived if the search is made for a federal agency. Naturalization petitions were filed until December, 1991, and these records may be searched by microfilm. After December, 1991, there is no search vehicle for these records, and the person requesting a search must look through the court orders to find the name. The court orders are numbered sequentially. Court orders from 1986 to present date are tabbed and court list number is written on the index tab.