The National Archives has an excellent web page explaining naturalization records.

From "Discovering Your Italian Ancestors" by Lynn Nelson.

"Naturalization is the process of becoming an American citizen. If your census research shows that your ancestor was naturalized, your next step will be to seek the naturalization documents. Even if you believe that your ancestor was not naturalized, you should check these sources anyway, because he or she might have completed only the first phase of the naturalization process.

Naturalization was a two-step process. First, the immigrant had to file a declaration of intention, often called "first papers," to become a citizen. Then, after a two- to seven-year period (depending on the prevailing regulations), the petition for naturalization could be filed and approved and the immigrant was granted citizenship. After 1941, a declaration of intention was no longer necessary."

"You may obtain naturalization documents from several sources. For those processed after 1906, you can write to the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (425 1 Street, Room 5304, Washington, DC 20536) and ask for an application. The National Archives has microfilms of the naturalization papers filed in federal courts as well as those of the New York District Courts. These New York records are Particularly valuable for Italian research because the majority of Italian immigrants arrived at the port of New York. Many remained there. State archives will have the naturalization records filed in state courts. Of course, the Family History Library has access to all of these microfilmed documents."

"If you know the actual ship on which your ancestor arrived and the year of arrival, or if you know the actual date and place of arrival, you can go directly to the ship manifest. If you are not fortunate enough to have this information, you must use an index to find your ancestor's ship. You certainly don't want to search through rolls of microfilm (the lists for New York arrivals between 1897 and 1957 take up almost 8,900 rolls of film!).

There are several types of indices available. The major indices to the ships' passenger lists have been microfilmed by the National Archives and were compiled during the 1930s as part of the Work Projects Administration. The WPA was a federal program that provided jobs for the unemployed. However, not all years for all ports were indexed during this project. For example, the New York lists between 1846 and 1897 were not indexed, a period and port that include many Italian immigrants.

If the National Archives indices don't cover your ancestor's port and year of arrival, you can use other published indices. There are thousands of published ships' passenger lists in books and periodicals. A good reference to many of these published sources is Passenger and Immigration Lists Bibliograpby, 1538 - 1900 by P. William Filby. This publication lists over 2,500 published lists, indexed by port of arrival, port of embarkation, ethnic group and state. You can use this resource to find an index that may lead you to your ancestor.

A wonderful series of published passenger lists for Italian researchers is Italians to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports, 1880-1899 edited by Ira A. Glazier and P. William Filby. This projected twelve-volume series (still in process) indexes Italian immigrant passenger list information. The first eight volumes focus on arrivals at the port of New York. This helps fill that critical gap in the WPA index for New York"

From This and That Genealogy Tips:

IMPORTANT DATES REGARDING NATURALIZATION:
1790 - Citizenship required a two year residency in the U.S. and one year in the state, to be of good character, and to be performed in a court of record.
1795 - Additional requirements were added of a 3-year residency to file a declaration of intention, a 5-year residency requirement (with 1-year in the state of residence) to file final papers, and required renunciation of titles of nobility and foreign allegiance. This act provided derivative citizenship for wives and minor children.
1798 - Additional requirements stated that a copy of the return was to be sent to the Secretary of State, and the residency was increased to fourteen years. This was repealed in 1802.
1804 - Widows and children of an alien who died before filing his final papers were granted citizenship.
1824 - The residency time between filing a declaration and final papers was shortened to two years.
1855 - An alien female who married a U.S. citizen was automatically naturalized. This was repealed in 1922.
1862 - Aliens over 21 who performed military service in the Army could become citizens after one year’s residency.
1868 - African Americans became citizens by passage of the Fourteenth Amendment.
1872 - Alien seamen serving three years on a U.S. merchant vessel could be naturalized without fulfilling a residency requirement.
1882 - Chinese were excluded from becoming citizens. This was repealed in 1943.
1891 - The Office of Immigration was established. Polygamists, and those convicted of certain crimes or who carried certain diseases were excluded from citizenship.
1894 - Aliens serving in the Navy or Marine Corps could be naturalized under the same conditions of the 1862 law.
1906 - The Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization was established. Alien registration was required. Residency requirements were changed to two years to file intent, and five years for final papers. Derivative citizenship was still practiced.
1907 - A female U.S. citizen who married an alien lost her U.S. citizenship and took on the nationality of her husband. This was repealed in 1922, but citizenship was not restored until 1936.
1918 - Aliens serving in U.S. Forces during World War I could be naturalized without any residency requirement.
1921 - The first Immigration Act to establish quotas of immigrants based on national origin was enacted.
1922 - Women 21-years of age and over were entitled to citizenship. Derivative citizenship was discontinued. The residency requirement to file a declaration of intention was waived.
1924 - The Citizen Act of June 2, 1924 provided that “all non-citizen Indians born with the territorial limits of the United States be, and they are hereby declared to be, citizens of the United States.” This included Indians living on tribal reservations.
1940 - The Alien Immigration Act required registration and fingerprinting at a local post office within 30 days of arrival.
1952 - The Immigration Act Amendment abandoned the national origins system of setting quotas on ethnic groups.

Naturalization is voluntary. According to Census Bureau - of the foreign born persons listed on the 1890 through 1930 censuses, 25% had not become naturalized or filed their “first papers.

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