ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP FOR AMERICANS OF ITALIAN ANCESTRY / DUAL CITIZENSHIP #7 ARCHIVES MONEY

But...

DO YOU SEND MONEY?  HOW MUCH?

So, truthfully, I have tried to get a straight consistent answer on this question. And there is none. That;s because there is no central place for the Country of Italy.  Rather records are in REGIONAL ARCHIVES or DIOCESE. Basically, all the stereotypes you've seen in films that include Italians - police - investigators - and hotel personnel - seem to be, well, based in reality.  Italy is not America.  It doesn't want to be.  That's why you want to live there, at least some of the time or for a while.  You want the joy of life, the stores closed just because, the slower pace which just might be what you might consider a less professional take on work - different priorities.

I suggest you write to the archive and send a fresh $20 bill which you will never see again.  It is easy for American money to be turned into Italian money in Italy.  I can't say if this is a tip, a bribe, or an archival fee.  That and a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope. Let's say we want you to get a RESPONSE, which might be - all the documents you asked for - or a request for more money and a strong suggestion on how you send it.  I've heard that some records are free. 

I don't e-mail.  I figure people get more e-mails than they can deal with.  I like to stand out with a letter - a stamp - the cash. I hear the fees are reasonable.

A NOTE ON CIVIL RECORDS:

Depending on when and where your qualifying ancestor was born, married, or died, they may be noted on CIVIL RECORDS in addition to or instead of BAPTISMAL/ BIRTH RECORDS. Civil records can certainly work for you and if you can get them, you don't need the Baptismal/Birth records.

For my client that these posts are based on, that is not the case.  I used my personal databases extensively to try and pull up anything on this family and it seemed the story which was the basis for beginning research had some gaps or errors.  Like you, I try many spelling variations and so on in databases but no - nothing. And at some point you have to realize that you're wasting your time. That the best way is the Old Fashioned way - to write.

But let's just say that YOU DO FIND YOUR ANCESTORS on DATABASES, in CIVIL RECORDS and so on.  YOU WILL STILL NEED TO WRITE TO ITALY TO GET THE APOSTILLE COPIES that are needed as official documents in order to process your request for Italian or Dual citizenship.

We sent our first request into a DIOCESE ARCHIVE September 21st...

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Update mid March 2021. We have received no response from the archive in Italy and no call back from the consulate. An article on line in The Daily Mail suggests Italy mat be facing a third wave if Covid-19.

ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP FOR AMERICANS OF ITALIAN ANCESTRY / DUAL CITIZENSHIP #6 DOCUMENTS FROM ITALY

Now you must prepare to get your documents from Italy.  This is the part that has most Americans going belly up on their quest. It is confusing.  And you're dealing with - Italy.

Based on the location of birth, and  your history and map work, and hopefully supported by documents such as Naturalization, you have the name of a village, town, or city.

That year, what REGION was the place in?

So many people in Italy were baptized in the Catholic church.  Catholic church records can stand in or or be supplemental to CIVIL REGISTRATIONS, especially because of changes due to war.  You will want to LOCATE THE DIOCESE that likely included that place in their archival records. You will want to write to that archive.

Write to ITALY.  In ITALIAN.  If you do not write Italian, write your letter in ENGLISH, then translate it.  Google Translate can work.  I advise you keep your sentences small and your words simple.  Introduce yourself.  Explain that you are going to seek Italian Citizenship.  Say that you need official copies.  For each baptismal/birth for instance, you will say what your relationship to that person is.  I.e. My grandfather, my mother... Thank Them.

But...

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ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP FOR AMERICANS OF ITALIAN ANCESTRY / DUAL CITIZENSHIP #5 YOUR ITALIAN DESCENT

You should do whatever genealogy and obtain whatever documents you can that show you are clearly descended from an Italian person.  So far these are all documents located in the United States of America. 

Let's go over them once more.

Your birth certificate.

Your parents marriage certificate - if in the U.S.

Their death certificates - if in the U.S.

Their birth certificate - if in the U.S.

Naturalization Papers

Ship Records/ Immigration

Census Records - if at this point 1930 or before.  

In your final quest to obtain Italian Citizenship you may not need to submit an entire genealogy, but the more you have the better at this point.  You may encounter some "missing" pieces.  

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GIRL QUEEN OF PATRIOTISM

ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP FOR AMERICANS OF ITALIAN ANCESTRY / DUAL CITIZENSHIP #4 UNITED STATES DOCUMENTS

You may know, because you already have some documents, where the ancestor you wish to claim as qualifying you for Italian citizenship was born.  However, sometimes family stories or genealogy quests are confused by not reading the fine print, so to speak.

For instance, a ship record may ask where the person was LAST LIVING or WHERE THEY LEFT, which could be a seaport.  That does not mean that they were BORN at this same location.  Some immigrants got to the seaport and lived and worked there a while to earn their tickets for the ship.  And as many Italian men were seasonal workers in America before deciding to remain and claim citizenship, you  might find the same person going back and forth and information differing from one ship record to the next. Of course these records can be valuable.  They may be consistent.  One might mention a large city.  Another a village near that large city.  So get your maps out and look.

There may be a mention of relatives such as a cousin on the ship or a wife left behind.

Once the decision was made to become a citizen, a DECLARATION OF INTENT will have been filed.  For naturalization, to become an American, the clock starts ticking with these "first papers."

Perhaps  you have their NATURALIZATION / American Citizenship papers which give more details.  With the realization that these are official and governmental papers, immigrants are more likely to record accurately where they were born.  The naturalization papers might say that they renounce Austria - which could mean they were born in what is now Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, or Italy. But they should still give the name of a village, town, or city.

Do some research on that region.  What is it's history?  When did it become part of Italy?  Were there any changes in borders and when?  At the time that your qualifying ancestor was born, was that place Italy?

Even if it was not, you may still qualify for Italian Citizenship.  You'll just have to keep doing your research. 

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***

As a side, years ago while doing some Italian genealogy for a client, I came across an odd situation.  Knowing that Italian men sometimes came and went as seasonal workers in the United States, I felt pretty sure that the ancestor had come over three times before settling in Brooklyn.  The man, with same name, first and last, the same height, left the same town, left the same port, on the same ship line.  On trip one and two, about a year apart, I felt sure this was the same man.  On trip three, another year later, it seemed to be the same man but for one detail.  This man was noted to have a massive scar on his forehead.  The client said there was no way that man was from their family.  But before it was all over, they admitted their family had been in organized crime in Italy and in America. 

ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP FOR AMERICANS OF ITALIAN ANCESTRY / DUAL CITIZENSHIP #3 APPLICATION FORMS

Read over the online applications for Italian citizenship for American citizens due to ancestry - the most popular.  Print them out. 

Reading them, you'll see that you need to dentify who in your lineage is going to qualify you, if you can qualify at all. It will also tell you what information and documents you will need to apply.  For the rest of these posts, I'll call that person your QUALIFYING ANCESTOR. 

You will notice that you need official copies.  These are usually called certified copies, International Copies, or Apostilles. An apostille is a certificate that the signature of a public official (or an archivist) is authentic, in other words,  that it is not a forgery.  In your letters to archives and governmental agencies, you should mention that you are using the documents to apply for citizenship or dual citizenship.  These people are usually trained to provide what  you need, whatever term is being used.  Expect to pay extra for this.

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ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY BLOGSPOT

ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP FOR AMERICANS OF ITALIAN ANCESTRY / DUAL CITIZENSHIP #2 YOUR EMBASSY OR CONSULATE

Research for the address and phone numbers for the closest Italian Embassy or Consulate in your town.  The employees there will not do research for you but you may find meeting with them and going over your application process worthwhile.  They should give you guidance. Though they are busy, make some attempt to develop a bit of a relationship with them. Make an appointment and go in just to state your intention. They may become your advocates.  Again, this may very much depend on your closest Embassy or Consulate.  If you're far from either, call around.  You want to know if people in your location are advised to deal with a particular Embassy or Consulate or you may choose which one you might work with.

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SEPTEMBER SEEMS TO SLIP AWAY - DUAL CITIZENSHIP - ITALY # 1

I can't believe this month has gone so quickly, especially because I actually feel disorganized and burdened.  Yes, the Coronavirus-10 shut downs have finally gotten the best of me.  You may feel the same way.  I have plenty to do but I just am not getting it done.  I'm exhausted emotionally.  And maybe it was my imagination, but I thought I could feel my bones aching.  I knew I needed to get out of the house.

Although I knew there would be unmasked people at the beach, I went to the beach.  Just me and my dog.  We found a place under a tree several feet from families to the left and families to the right.  These families seemed to have brought everything from home with them - furniture - grills.  They were having a good time.  They danced and laughed and put their toes in the ocean water.

Their smoke hit my nose - and my lungs.

I got home. The humidity was high. I was covered in sweat.  I was coughing from barbecue smoke.  Like the typical American I feared this was a sign that I caught the virus.  But I didn't.

***

Recently, I unexpectedly got a small assignment.  I'm helping a person to get their duel citizenship.  Their favored country is Italy.  And so soon I will post a little bit about that.

This person is a world traveler and I know that Italy is not their favorite place on earth. But they do feel they could love living there and living in a country is much different than being a tourist.  Such a lovely person, I can't imagine Italy not wanting to have him. 

But the mess the United States of America is in, is certainly one of the reasons many Americans are trying for Dual Citizenship in European countries of their heritage and to free to live, travel, work, and be part of the European Union.  Luckily, though Italy requires correspondence in Italian, you don't have to learn the language, as in Hungary, or prove that your ancestors actually lived in Poland rather than Austria when they left.

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THE VILLAGE STREET

THE LONG WEEKEND - ENJOY IT PLEASE!

No, our lives with Coronavirus-19 are not normal and I don't even want to think about "New Normal."  I've got my mask on.  I've just gotten a new client who I'm helping so that she can get her citizenship in Italy, and I plan to respect that wee bit of fall in the air - even though we are also going to experience a "heat dome" by making a soup with navy beans and lots and lots of new harvest tomatoes.

I will be back - and so will YOU!

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