Ho appena ricevuto la lettera!!!

[gmontanaro71]

I was so happy that I couldn't contain myself. Much to the dismay of my wife, I called out to all that could hear on the subway. I had just learned from my brother that the longest of all longshots had come through...my Grandfather was in fact naturalized as an American, but it happened less than six months after my Father was born! On a whim and a prayer, my brothers had paid a service to investigate the dates.

Thus began the all out search for the documents. My three brothers and I were all planning to pursue our citizenship, but due to the fact that we all live in different regions, we'd need four copies of every document, translation and apostille... $$$$$$$

The search proceeded the way most would. Some documents were easy to get, some were difficult. And of course there was the impossible-to-get one: My Grandparents' marriage certificate. Nobody living knew exactly where or when the event took place. I searched every municipal, church and library record from 1920 to 1930 in 4 counties. Some of these were done in person, but most involved long conversations with various records keepers in southern NJ and eastern PA. The last place it could possibly be (of course) was where it was at last located.

The second after I got off the phone with the gentlemen who confirmed the document was found, I called the NY consulate to make an appointment. The first available appointment was six months off. This gave me enough time to get all the documents, copies, translations, apostilles and the application itself together. I needed every single day. It was quite an effort to put it all together. It's amazing how many plates you can spin at one time when the goal is important enough.

My meeting went smoothly as I could hope, although it started out pretty shaky. Since the copy of my Grandfather's Certificate of Naturalization was in such poor condition, the year looked as though it read 1925, not 1928. That would put the event well before my Father was born.
Interestingly enough, the way they figured out the date was the preamble which read, "In the one hundred and fifty-second year of our independence"... 152 + 1776 = 1928.

I also had two translation errors which the gentlemen was kind enough to point out to me. At the end of the appointment, he went ahead and opened a file for me and asked that I fix the translations and return them to him in a week. I met with him briefly the next week to hand them over.

Last week I received the letter telling me that my birth certificate was being sent the comune of my choice and that I could proceed with getting my passport.

I can't wait to return to Italy as one of its own.

[jlg]

Congratulations! This is great news, for you and all of your family.

To help others with a realistic picture of the timelines; what date was your appointment?

[gmontanaro71]

To help others with a realistic picture of the timelines; what date was your appointment?

I had my appointment in August of this year.

[Pagliari]

Grazie for sharing these stories. They encourage me that someday I too may become an Italian citizen.