Dual Citizenship
When I first started mentioning to people that I was thinking about applying for Italian citizenship, the first question by many of them was "are you allowed to have dual citizenship as an American?" There was also alot of concern about what would happen to my US citizenship.
A quick search on google gave me a number of sites that explained the US stance on dual citizenship. In a nutshell, since 1967 the US allows for its citizens to hold more than one passport. One of the other very important things that I had to understand was that I already had Italian citizenship if I met the requirements. I was not naturalizing to Italy. I was born with it because it was passed down through the generations. This was important for me to understand so that I could explain it to people that were concerned that I might be jeopardizing my US citizenship.
I am not going to explain all the details of the laws here since there are so many websites that already go into detail. The ones that I used were:
myitaliancitizenship.com - They have a great FAQ on the laws of dual citizenship.
Dual citizenship FAQ - I found this site through expatsinitaly and it was very helpful in explaining the laws.
US State Department - This is the official stance on Dual Nationality
So after I was comfortable with what I was about to do, the next step was to start collecting documents to find out if Italian citizenship was in fact passed down to me....
posted by Michael Severini @ 5:04 PM
21 Comments
21 Comments:
The only document I need is a certified copy of no record. Where can I get it and how long does it take.
This one is difficult. You will need to check with the consulate that you are applying through because not all of them have the sam requirements. Some will accept a certification of "NO RECORDS" from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as proof that your ancestor was never naturalized. Others require a statement of "NO RECORDS" from the National Archives in addition to a survey report from a census dated after the date of birth of your ancestor's child.
http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/index.html
I also need a certified copy of no record. I have contacted different departments of the USCIS to no avail. No one can tell me where to apply. what forms to file, the cost for this service, and how long is the wait for a reply. You obtained this info, please tell me the step by step process that you did to obtain this report.
Can you advise me on how you obtained your certified copy of no record. Please give me step by step instructions on how to obtain this document. For the past year and a half I have contacted many departments of the USCIS to no avail
In my situation, I didn't need to obtain a copy of no record. I found a step by step process at http://www.myitaliancitizenship.com/index.jsp?f=faq.htm#51. I have heard that trying to get a copy of no record can be difficult and time consuming. Hopefully this link will be helpful.
I'm reading and re-reading info on various sites regarding naturalization of Italian born parent and effect on jure sanguinis. Maybe you can help clarify or suggest where I might find an answer. My Grandfather became a US citizen as a young man, returned to Italy, married, fathered 2 sons (born in Italy) and eventually moved entire family to the US. So, my Dad was born(1905) a dual citizen. He would have no reason to 'become' a US citizen? ...making his children potentially dual citizens? But, if he did naturalize my siblings and I are US citizens only?
As I understand it, if your Grandfather came to the US and then became a US citizen, he gave up his Italian citizenship. Therefore he would not have been able to pass it down to your father. The laws at that time were different than they are now. Given that your Grandfather naturalized in the US and then moved back to Italy and then back to the US, I am not sure if that changes anything. My suggestion is that you pose this question to the Italian Consulate that covers your geographic area. You can find a list of the Italian Consulates here. http://www.ambwashingtondc.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Washington/Menu/Ambasciata/La_rete_consolare/
As a result of holding an Italian citizenship, are you automatically obligated to be part of the Italian military? I read somewhere this is true for males, but now cannot find that.
Military service is no longer a mandatory requirement.
I have made application for Italian citizenship on the basis of my father being born in Italy the child of Italian citzens.He came to America and was naturalized in 1919 as the minor child of his father. On this basis I have been denied citizenship and was told that had he been born in America it would not be a problem. Do you know if there is any precedent in which this obstacle has been overcome, barring living in Italy for at least 3 yrs. raa
Hi Michael,
Did you find this was a relatively easy process to do on your own? I'm considering doing the same thing and am trying to decide between a service that does it all for me (relatively expensive) and going it alone. Also, any feedback you've heard on the service offered by www.italianamericancitizenship.com?
Thanks in advance for your help.
The document collection process took the longest. I was luckily in a number of ways. It was good that I only had one document to get from Italy. That definitely made the process easier. The other thing is that there were no discrepancies with names or other information on my documents. I have heard from a number of people that that has been a problem for them. It is definitely something you can do on your own. I am unfamiliar with the pay services that do the entire process for you. I also don't have any information on www.italianamericancitizenship.com.
Best of luck,
Michael
My understanding is that if he had been born in American before your grandfather naturalized, then yes you would qualify. I do not know if there are any other situations besides living in Italy where you would be able to obtain citizenship....other than marrying an Italian citizen.
I hear that it can take up to TWO years after the paperwork is filed to be called to take your oath of citizenship. How long after you submitted the paperwork did it take?
Yes, the entire process took approx two years to complete. However, I didn't have to take an oath to Italian citizenship because I did not naturalize. I applied through bloodline which is different.
Hi Michael, I really need some help I found my grandfather's information on Ancestry.com which was great until i found out he was naturalized in WWI! Now i need to find records from Italy...my great grandparents were born in Ustica, and island off the coast of Palermo. Do you know the best offices to contact for their records? They were born in 1861 and 1865.
I am not sure of the best place to look. You can try using a service such as Myitaliancitizenship.com which I used, but I have heard that this service is not as good as it was a few years ago. The other thing you can try is posting your question over at the citizenship forum at http://expattalk.com/groupee/forums/a/frm/f/2620055123.
Really great site. Thank you.
Here is my dilemma, I have everything that I need to be naturalized except that my grandfathers birth certificate says natali pietro and then somewehre along the line he started going by name Peter. Peter appears on all documents after his birth certifcate. Although there in no record of name changes. I was told to look for the proof of the name change when I live in NY, which I was inable to find. I now live near Boston. Typically is each office run seperately and can i know try at the Boston office?
where can i get a copy or proof that my grandmother was a registered alien or do I even need such proof. I have all certificates of birth marriage etc. but do not know how to get this registerd alien proof.
Mike I
You will need to obtain a copy of your grandmother's naturalization documents which you can request from the local office of the National Archives http://www.archives.gov/locations/. If you know that she did not naturalize, then you will need to request written proof of this. You can find more details at http://myitaliancitizenship.com/index.php?content=faq.html#51.
You will need to search for the name change in the location where you think your grandfather may have registered this change. Each consulate is separate. If the name change was official, then there should be records of this with the US town or city in which your grandfather lived. I'm not sure if that helps. Unfortunately I don't know much about this.
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