Cant get a certified copy of grandfathers naturlization cer!

[stupidyank]

NARA can't find my grandfathers naturalization cert. Apparently it is at the county of Erie. Called the county recorder and he said that they could look for it but they do not make certified copies of naturalization certificates! What is the deal how do I get a certified copy?! I have the original but there is no way my mom will let me use that to get citizenship! How the hell am i supposed to get a certified copy then?! Ahh New York state I hate you!!!

[penguindump]

You should talk your mom into letting you use the original.. The consulate won't send it to the comune. Maybe they'll make a copy and let you keep the original after seeing that you actually have it..?

NY seems to be near impossible to deal with when it comes to documents.

[CPA21]

If you have the original Citizenship papers make a copy and ask USCIS to certify them!

Isn't that what the NY web site asks you to do?

[stupidyank]

The problem is that I am applying in Sweden, as I live here. Things will go much faster on this end of the world. No wait at all, once I get the paperwork it will only be a few months! But from what i have seen I need to have an apostilled copy of the cert of naturalization. But, they will only apostille documents that are less than five years old. The original I have is from 1924! and no one will give me a certified copy! I'll try to contact immigration to see if they will make certified copies that I can have apostilled. Could you show me where it says that on the new york website?

[Jessica]

I think that I might have mentioned this to you in a previous post before, but I'm not sure. I'm in a very similar situation. And I spoke to someone on the phone at NARA in Philly and she said that they don't keep C of N on file there. Only other naturalization documents and that I would have to request a copy of my GGF's from USCIS. USCIS keep separate records so you can have them do a search and it should turn up there, especially if you have a copy with all the info the search will go faster.

I haven't actually written to USCIS yet myself. I'm very busy now and I'm not sure I really need that if I get copies of all the other stuff they have at NARA. But my requirements may be different since I'm applying through Miami. I plan to write to USCIS soon anyway, just in case.

[drovedo]

You wrote:

I would have to request a copy of my GGF's from USCIS.

FYI: USCIS has records from Sept. 27, 1906 on.

[lisotta]

Dear Yank,
If Erie county has a copy of the certificate I believe that it is possible for the county clerk to give you a certified copy. In my hunt for documents, I retrieved copies of federal census forms from a county historical society in upstate NY. They were notarized there, and I then took them to the county clerks office. The women in the office told me that I should have come to them first as they could issue me certified copies of any documents as long as they had them in their files. They had copies of my grandfather's petition and oath, but NOT his certificate. (This I obtained from Homeland Sec.) I also was able to get certified NYS census forms from 1915 and 1925, since NYS did their own in off years.
If Erie county has that certificate on file, they should be able to issue you a cetified copy. County clerks can certify court documents, wills, deeds, etc...Good Luck.

[lisotta]

I just re-read your message again...you have already asked at the county clerk's office, and they said no? The naturalization certificate that I received from Homeland Security is a nasty photocopy that does not have a raised seal. It is accompanied by a signed letter attesting to it's authenticiy, and the letter has the raised seal. Perhaps the county can't put a raised seal on the photocopy, but they should be able to issue a certified statement similar to the one I mentioned.

[NOLA]

Lisotta,

You are correct. As backup to the copy of the Naturalization certificate and letter with the raised seal from Michael Quinn, I went to the Courthouse in Brooklyn and got a certified copy of the petition and further had it exemplified by a judge of the Court. I didn't need to submit it, but I did have it notarized by the Clerk in NYC and then Apostilled. This was probably an unnecessary step, but I did it anyway. I didn't want to have to go back and make another submission to the consulate and wait another six months.

[lisotta]

Nola,
I understand completely about going the extra mile with the documents just so that you don't have to repeat the process later!
Surely there is a way for Yank to work around this problem...It's a shame, he has the real thing and has to figure out how to use it, others have cheap photocopies. Legalizing paperwork makes my head ache...

[NOLA]

Lisotta,

This is really a tough one. On the NY consulate sight, it says that you really do not need to get INS documents apostilled. However, when you go to the consulate, itself, you get conflicting opinions. Here is an address that I wrote to when I had to send back an illegible Naturalization Certificate to be certified. I wrote a letter directly to:

Mr. Michael Quinn
Department of Homelnd Security
Office of Records Management
111 Massachusetts Ave., NW 4th Fl.
Washington, DC 20529

I explained that I understood that there was a long line ahead of me, but that it was essential to receive it as soon as possible. Since the Naturalization Number was legible, they didn't have to do a lot of reasearch; they sent the certified letter signed by him with the raised seal within a few weeks. Good luck; maybe this will help. Then you can have this apostilled since you are applying in Europe.

[gcs]

Just get a no record letter if they can't find it.