Dual Citizenship Papers Ready!
Our dual citizenship papers for Italy are ready! I have picked up the binder of information from our lawyer, Roberta that we are taking to California on Monday. Again, we are meeting with the Italian Consulate for dual citizenship through my grandfather. When you talk about obtaining citizenship through family it is called Jus Sanguinis (JS).
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This process has taken us about 3+ years which is expected, per Roberta, for this type of process. Here is a list of what we are bringing:
Birth Certificates: These are all on my side of the family
- My original
- Mothers
- Fathers
- Grandfather’s (Pop)
- Grandmother’s (Nanny)
** For my mother, father, and myself, we needed to get the official certificate with seal and Exemplification; then the Certificate from the County Clerks office; then the Apostille from Albany NY State.
** For Nanny and Pop’s birth certificates, we had to get the official records from the Comune that they were born in Italy. Nanny was from the Provincia di Siracusa, a town of Francofonte. Pop was from the Provincia di Catania, a town of Licodia Eubea.
Death Certificates
Pop’s death certificate had to be obtained from Brookhaven Township since he died at the summer bungalow in Farmingville, Long Island, NY. Nanny’s and my father’s death certificate was obtained from New York. All three death certificates had to have the official seals plus the long-form had to be used (like the letter of exemplification) plus the County Clerks seal and finally the Apostille from NY State.
Other Records Needed
Marriage Records
Nanny and Pop’s marriage certificate we obtained from Manhattan, NY along with my parents and my ex-wife. We obtained Ilene and my certificate from Manhattan even though we were married in Suffolk County, Long Island. Once again, we had to get the Letter of Exemplification, County Clerks Seal, and the Apostille from NY State.
Divorce Records
I also had to get my Divorce papers from Queens County with all of the signatures needed like everything listed above. Also needed was the Notice of Non-Appeal from Queens, NY with all of the signatures and seals too.
Homeland Security
Next came the fun part, dealing with the Department of Homeland Security. We needed proof that Pop never Naturalized or ever filed for US Citizenship. Without a letter stating he never filed or naturalized we could not file for our Italian Citizenship through my grandfather. Our lawyer then requested records from Queens, Manhattan, Bronx, Richmond, and Brooklyn as well as Essex County Massachusetts. All these came back with a negative response that he indeed did not request US Citizenship.
After all of the above, Roberta had to fill out the Official Translation forms into Italian so they will be accepted by the Consulate. This means that each and every document/certificate that we were presenting had to be translated into Italian!
On a Personal Note…
Through all of the research, we found out that my grandmother was previously married to Sevario Montepulciano. My grandfather was her second husband! My second surprise was that I had a half-aunt I never knew or heard of; Giovanna. She died just before her second birthday. This was never discussed when I was younger and my mother never knew either.
