My Citizenship Journey

I’m Italian on my father’s side but my Italian ancestry was not a huge part of my childhood.  Both Italian great-grandparents passed away before I was born.  There were 11 kids in my grandfather’s family but we didn’t get together at holidays or birthdays.  I grew up in New Jersey which has its fair share of Italian surnames and I know a good piece of pizza or pot of sauce when I taste them, but my love for Italy and Italian culture, cuisine and language came later in my life.  My parents travelled there every year and on their return each time, we listened to the stories of the scenery, the people, the food and the wine waiting for the day we could experience it in person.  It wasn’t until 2007 that my husband and I were finally able to go see for ourselves.

We were there for 2 weeks and fell hopelessly for it all.

Like most people who visit Italy do, I started planning our next trip soon after we got home.  Knowing it would be a while, I made a significant life decision.  In between trips, I decided I would learn the language.  Having studied French in high school and college, I’d been told I have a knack for learning languages, so I enrolled in our local community college to start Italian 101.

Fast forward… a few years, a move to a new state and a new Italian teacher and this is where we pick up today’s story.

My new Italian teacher asked me if I planned to get my Italian passport.  To get dual American and Italian citizenship, by jure sanguinis, there are a number of criteria that have to be met, followed by a long long list of documents and then a long wait for your appointment with the Italian consulate.  Having always been curious about my own lineage + my love for the Italian way of life (the food and wine, the culture, the great art of “dolce far niente” ) made the challenge of this idea very enticing.  I just turned 56 and the likelihood of me having my Italian passport on my 60th birthday is quite slim… But I love a challenge, so I decided to take the first most important step.

Was I a candidate?  Is my lineage clear enough and more importantly, can I prove it? This question was the first step.  If I could prove it, then off we go.  If not, then the challenge is over.

This blog is a history of what I learned and how it all went.

I am so happy to report that I was able to book an appointment through Prenotami, the Italian Consular services portal, to submit my application for citizenship.

The unfortunate news is that the appointment is for May 4, 2027.  Yeesh!

The process to gain Italian citizenship is either through blood or through marriage.  Anyone interested in this process falls in one of those two categories.  Are you Italian by blood or by marriage?

In my case, I am Italian by blood so I will be seeking my citizenship recognition via Jure Sanguinis.

I would have a much easier time than most people searching for their ancestors because some years earlier, my dad had started writing a document – lovingly called “A Short and Unfinished Story of an Italian-American Family” and he had a significant amount of genealogical research already done.

There is a longer story here of how my great grandparents travelled separately in 1903 and 1905 to the US from Naples, Italy.  My grandfather first then after saving his earnings for a few years, he sent for his wife and two children.  Neither of the adults could speak or read English, and in truth neither of them could read or write Italian.  But, in search of a new life, they made the trip – passing through Ellis Island in NY and ended up in Newport, Rhode Island where the whole story began.

In the spring of 1903, my great-grandfather Guiseppe Maria left his home in Bucita, Italy.  He found his way to Naples, where he boarded a boat to cross the Atlantic and start a new life.  He left behind his wife Angela who was pregnant with their second child and their daughter Mary. His son Salvatore would be born the following Christmas and he wouldn’t meet his dad for another two years.  Guiseppe had likely never been away from Calabria in his life and in fact, after leaving that May – he would never go back.

He is my LIBRA — my Last Italian-Born Registered Ancestor.

He is the person I use to base my Italian citizenship claim.  I start my journey to finding out about him as the first step of what will be many.

Despite the hardship he faced as he came to the US, in the end the most important thing for me to know is when he became an American citizen.  I know he arrived at Ellis Island May 22 that same year.  He was 22 years old. I know his wife and two children didn’t arrive in Newport until January 24, 1906.   They were separated for 2 years and 8 months, while Guiseppe worked in the US, saved his money then finally was able to send for them.

The first thing anyone seeking dual citizenship learns is that you need to clearly understand your Italian line. Mine looks like this: GGF > GF > F > Me.  It’s actually quite simple.  There are no divorces, the line is all male (except me) and I’ve had great success using Italy’s main ancestor portal to find the records I need to confirm the lineage.  I have found birth records for almost all of Guiseppe’s 7 siblings and Angela’s 5 siblings.  I have found both sets of parents’ marriage records as well.

The next question is — Was your LIRA an Italian citizen when the next in line was born?  Meaning – was Guiseppe Italian or American when my grandfather was born?

My grandfather was born in the US — he was the first child in his family born here.  He was born in 1906, just 11 short months from when Angela arrived in the US.  They went on to have a total of 11 children (2 born in Italy and the other 9 born in the US)

I needed to find out if and when Guiseppe became an American citizen.

I decided to spring for a few months of Ancestry.com while I was doing all the research.  I thought I might be able to find some clues on that site, and I was right. The first clue came with Guiseppe’s draft card, which I found through Ancestry.

It was dated 1912.  The card did not list his nationality.

I also found the 1910 census.  At this point, Guiseppe and Angela had 5 kids:  Mary, Charlie, John, Frank and Sam.  On the census form, there is a column for citizenship information.  It lists Guiseppe’s naturalization status as Alien.

This is critical information for my quest as the John listed on that census form, the 3 year old little boy whose name fills the last line of the Census page… he is my grandfather.

When you seek your dual citizenship, the Italian government rightly requires you to prove that your LIRA’s line was not broken by someone along the way renouncing their Italian citizenship.  One way a newly arrived Italian man would to do this is by becoming a naturalized citizen in the US.  The process as I understand it was long and filled with its own pitfalls.  The 1910 census that proved by great grandfather Guiseppe was still an “alien” when my grandfather John was born also helped me learn that neither Guiseppe nor Angela could read or write English when that census worker knocked on their front door.

Many of the forms and documents I am reading to learn the steps to acquire my dual citizenship are in Italian.  I have been studying Italian for a while now, and have a passable understanding of the written language.  My speaking skills are rudimentary, though slowly improving with my continued desire to be able to have a conversation in Italian.  But I also have a powerful computer in my pocket at all times that can quickly translate for me or allow me to look up a word or phrase when I stumble.

Imagine my great grandfather at 30 years old, presenting himself to the Superior Court of Rhode Island with his two witnesses but perhaps only a passable understanding of the words being spoken while he did so, all to become a US citizen.  I hope he is not rolling in his grave with the thought of me going the opposite direction for the very thing he was relinquishing.

As crazy as it sounds, once I knew Guiseppe was not yet an American citizen on the day the census worker was at their house in 1910, I figured my work would be easy enough.  Time to figure out how to find his Naturalization papers.  This is where a website related to Ancestry really made my life easier.  Using FamilySearch.org, I was able to find the naturalization index card that gave me the certificate number, that gave me the page of the book that contained Guiseppe’s Naturalization papers.  Imagine my delight when I found those three pages written in 1912, with the long list of his children.

I now had access to the proof that the Italian government would require to confirm my lineage and give me the opportunity to prove my Italian citizenship.

A small but essential step in the right direction.  With this evidence, I decided to move forward in earnest with the task ahead.

To prove my Italian birthright, I have to acquire a number of essential documents.

I need the birth, marriage and death certificates for everyone in my line (where applicable).  As you remember, my line is pretty simple:  GGF > GF > F > Me.  Since my Great Grandmother Angela could also be my LIRA (though going through the paternal line is simpler), I will get her documents as well.

And I’m super lucky that no one moved around much – beside the birth and marriage certificates for Guiseppe, Angela and myself — every other document will have to come from Rhode Island.

12 in total — 3 from Italy, 7 from RI and 2 from other states!   Whew!

Add to that, the Naturalization records from the Superior Court of Rhode Island, and I should have what I need.

I already have my own birth and marriage certificates, so I need to focus on Rhode Island.  Since it has been more than 100 years since my GF was born, his birth record is public information and finding it turned out to be a fairly simple internet search.

But then, I encountered the first of what I’m sure will be many hurdles ahead.  The aged image of the registry book has his last name incorrectly spelled.  Perhaps it’s a more precise description to say it was spelled phonetically.  When you have the letter Z twice in a row in an Italian word (like pizza), it has a T sound to it.  For the sake of privacy, I’ll just say that the last name misspelling was significant enough that I have to resolve it somehow.  I decided to order the actual certified document in hopes that perhaps it had been corrected at some point in his life.  I received the certified copy the other day and it is not… his official birth record is incorrect.

I reached out to experts on the Dual Citizenship Facebook group that I am a member of to seek advice.  One option is to have a lawyer represent my family in the Superior Court of Rhode Island to get his name corrected on the official record – but this seems like a costly plan.  The alternate plan, and one which has been used by many successful petitioners, is to write an affidavit to explain the discrepancy.  I’ve decided to write the letter but augment it by getting official, certified documents for all the records I have to support the correct spelling.

While I’m working on my affidavit, I have also written to the Comune Di San Fili, a small town in Calabria to ask for their help in acquiring the documents I need for my great grandparents.  I put together the request with a whole bunch of supporting documents and sent it off about two weeks ago.  I literally kissed the envelope before dropping it in the post office mail slot; the first step on its long journey to Italy.  I have read that this can take some time and not to expect a quick response, so the rest is a waiting game.

The one thing I really love is seeing the images from what I imagine to be huge, heavy and dusty books with yellowed pages representing days gone by. These books have been digitized by the Italian government and are available for anyone to search.  The portal is called Antenati.  I’ve linked here some of the beautiful pages that record the beginnings of my Italian heritage — >  Angela’s birth record, Guiseppe’s birth record, and their 1900 marriage certificate.  These are the three documents I must have to present my case to the Consulate.

I know these documents are the beginning of my story but these books represent so many stories… births, weddings, deaths are just one moment in the generations of people, roaming this planet, living their lives, being good, being bad, happy lives, sad lives  — just writing their own stories.

This is what I find so fascinating.

Remember I mentioned the phonetic spelling of my grandfather’s last name on his birth record for Rhode Island? Well, I had an opportunity to speak with one of the very experienced state archivists there and he recommended that I take the time to double check with the county of Newport to see if their records match the state records. A voicemail to the city clerk’s office and a return call with a quick check of the database and guess what? This whole thing just got so much better for me. Turns out, the county records have the correct last name. Spelled correctly and everything. The phonetically misspelled last name on the state record is listed as his middle name on the county record. While a complete error and a bit of a mess, the best news is that his last name is correct on his county birth record. That along with his baptismal record will suffice for the Consulate. I’ll write a letter to include in my packet to augment the certified document and explain what we believe happened. It’s all good news — no Rhode Island courthouse for me.

The other great news is that my US document acquisition is complete. I have all the paperwork I need with the exception of the three Italian documents. I’ll be on hold now for a bit while I wait to get the Italian ones. After that, I’ll need to get everything professionally translated and then apostilled by the Secretary of State of each issuing state. I’ll be done after that and have to just patiently wait for my appointment in 2027.

I’ve been spending a lot of time writing about my time here in Italy that I have let some important milestones pass in my journey to dual citizenship so I’ll recap for you here.

1 — I have every document I need now.  A local genealogist in Calabria was able to get the certified copies of the three Italian documents.  He sent them to me in February but they didn’t arrive until after I left for Italy in March so I haven’t seen them yet.  But I know they are what I need.

2 — I was able to visit San Fili.  My parents, my husband and I stayed in San Fili for three nights in early May.  It was wonderful.  We met many people and enjoyed explaining about our family heritage.  We hired a translator and guide to help us with the Comune office and to my surprise, she arranged a lovely meeting with city officials.  They gave me flowers and a certificate and were very happy to meet me and my dad.  It was a magical day and I’m so pleased that we were able to make such an important connection.  We went to the village where Angela and Guiseppe were born, we stood in the church where they were baptized and the bigger church where they were married.  It was wonderful to be there and stand on the same land as they had.

3 — One night, I was scrolling through Facebook and someone from the dual citizenship group posted that San Francisco had just released a bunch of new appointments.  The appointment that I got in December is for May 4, 2027.  I quickly hopped on my laptop and was able to secure one of the new appointments for July 1, 2025.  Almost two years sooner !!  I’m very excited that now I think I will have my passport before I’m 60.

My translations are complete!  I hired a great translator from Portland who was recommended by the San Francisco Consulate.  She made exact copies of the documents and translated every word.  These translations really do need to be done by a truly fluent Italian speaker and a professional.  I’m delighted with the outcome and would recommend her for sure.  Please feel free to reach out (hello@italyrandr.com) if you want her name and email.

And with that — my packet is complete!

Now I just wait until late June 2025 when I should get information from the consulate about my appointment and packet.  Seems so long to wait but I don’t mind!  I’m just happy I have an appointment.

Some really amazing news from here!  San Francisco has just opened a new way to make an appointment for jure sanguinis.  Now, they offer afternoon appointments that are only about 6 weeks out.  These appointments are for people who definitely have their packet 100% ready.  They just opened this in April so I’ve been watching and trying every single day.  I’ve been keeping a log of the timing and what the results were (you know I love a spreadsheet!) and it’s clear the appointments are listed on Mondays and Wednesdays.  I log in every time at a little before 3pm (which is midnight in Rome).  Well, it took about a month but I got an appointment.  I cried!  Then I went to Italian class and cried again in front of all my classmates!

As a reminder, my first appointment was May 4, 2027.  Then last year when we were in Polignano a Mare, I got an appointment for July 1, 2025 and now my appointment is for June 13, 2024.  If everything goes well, I may have my passport by early 2025.

For San Francisco, you are asked to submit your packet ten days before your appointment.

Today, I got a cashier’s check for $300+ and sent my packet to the consulate on Webster Street in SF.

I was putting a lot of faith in the USPS but this is the way the consulate requests the submission of documents and I gave it a kiss and sent it off.

Even asked a lady in the Post Office to take my photo before turning it over to the clerk.

SF – JS: GGF > GF > F > ME
I had my phone call today. We are on the coast getting ready to head to our daughter’s college graduation so I had to take it in my car!

She called a few minutes late and apologized for her being late. We went straight into my documents. All look good except my GF name is wrong on the state issued birth certificate (which is the only one RI will apostille) so I included the county issued birth certificate which is correct and the baptism certificate which is correct.

She said she would make a note and they would send an email if it is a problem. She asked if my dad was still alive and I told her that yes, he is (and just celebrated his 90th bday) and he and my mom are actually in town for the graduation.  I told her we all went together to the comune in Calabria last May! Otherwise everything looked good and I don’t have any homework. She said expect a letter in 6 months to a year! She asked if I had any questions and I said no and that I appreciated her time. I said I was sorry I didn’t practice my Italian with her so she asked me, in Italian, where I had been learning and about the town I live in in Oregon.

Total call time was exactly 10 mins and I was nervous but she was exceptional kind and easy to talk to! Now we wait!

On October 3, 2024, the Italian Ministry of the Interior released a Circolare (directive) that has a massive impact on many folks seeking their bloodline citizenship.  This notice directed personnel at Consulates and Comune to change the rules for citizenship by descent.  For now, this directive does not apply to court cases.

Basically, it says that prior to this directive, the bloodline was intact as long as your first American born ancestor was BORN before that person’s father became an American citizen.  Now, after 10/3/24, the rule is that your first American born ancestor had to be 21 years old before the parent acquired American citizenship.

My line is broken now. My GF was 12 when his parents became US citizens. But I already had my appointment at the consulate (in June ’24) so it’s all a waiting game to see what each consulate does to implement this new policy.  I’m worried my application will be denied but hopeful.  Fingers cross and in bocco al lupo!

At 12:17pm today, I received an email from the Italian Consulate of San Francisco.  The subject line was “Invio lettera di riconoscimento della cirttadinanza” which translates to “Sending a letter of recognition of citizenship”.

Needless to say, I was shocked!  I called for my husband to come see and then started crying!  I had not heard anything since my appointment in June but I was hopeful, despite the 10/3/24 rule change from the Italian Ministry.  I immediately called my daughter, she checked her email and she also was recognized.

Processing all of this is very hard for me.  I’m delighted, I can’t wait to get back to Italy in February and I’m so relieved.  It’s a long process and one filled with a lot of research and learning.  To be successful and to be recognized as having Italian blood is everything to me.