Question about petitions and certificates

[lenster]

I've been doing research regarding possible italian citizenship since I learned I might be able to claim italian citizenship through jure sanguinis. It's all down to a USCIS search for my grandfather's naturalization records. I did have a few questions for folks in the meantime.

* My research has shown that my grandfather petitioned for citizenship in Dec 1944. Typically, how long did petitions take for naturalizations? I ask, because my mother was born in October 1946 so there is a real chance that my grandfather was not naturalized until after my mother was born.

* I've learned that when I apply for citizenship that I'll need apostilles. How much harder are these to obtain than regular vital records? What are folks experience with obtaining apostilles in Texas or New York?

* Can I apply for Citizenship at any consulate or do I have to apply at the one that is local to me, in this case Houston?

Thanks!

-Len

[corrado]

I think it is 5 years after you petition.
Apostiles are seperate from getting the docuemnts. Once you have the docs you send them off to get the apostile, it is easy. Just get the regualar vital records.
You must use the consulate in the juristiction you live in.
Also you must get the vital records translated. Photocopy them before you get the apotiles, so you can do both at the same time.

[lenster]

Thanks for the quick response.

I've got a bit of work to do and have started the process. I think my biggest issues with revolve around my grandparent's Marriage Certificate from NYC and my mother's birth certificate from NYC. The rest of the documentation looks straight forward.

[johnnyonthespot]

Naturalization in the US was basically a three-step process: 1) file Declaration of Intent, 2) file Petition for Naturalization, and 3) take Oath of Allegiance.

My paternal grandfather filed his Declaration in May, 1932, Petition in October, 1934, and signed the Oath in February, 1935.

My maternal grandfather's dates were June, 1938; November, 1941, and January, 1944.

In case you hadn't noticed, the pre-printed Oath of Allegiance form is on the back side of the Petition for Naturalization form (although this is usually provied as photocopies on two sheets of paper, it was actually a single form printed on both sides). The moment of naturalization is the moment the Oath is signed and attested to by (typically) a court officer.

As noted already, the Apostille is easily obtained by mailing or bringing the original documents to (again, typically) the office of the Secretary of State. They review the document to ensure it is authentic and then attach their own document attesting to that fact. Instructions for Texas are here http://www.sos.state.tx.us/authinfo.shtml and for New York here http://www.dos.state.ny.us/corps/apostille.html

Note the special instructions for documents which originated in New York City.

[johnnyonthespot]

Addendum: Some states will apostille vital records only if they were issued by the state's vital records office.

Here in Connecticut, you can obtain birth/marriage/death records at local town clerk's offices and then have them apostilled by the state. This is not the case for all states. Check carefully before obtaining documents from local offices.

Also, in case it is not obvious, each state apostilles only its own documents. Documents which originated in Texas are apostilled by Texas, and so on.

[lenster]

That makes me less hopeful than before. I can only hope that WWII helped slow the process of Naturalization to Oath because I don't have the petition in hand, I just have the date the petition was filed.

Thanks for the info on the apostilles. I'll kick into high gear with them depending on the results of my USCIS search.

[mler]

If you have the petition number, it is likely that NARA will be able to locate the additional documents (declaration/oath). Unfortunately, there is a good chance that your gf naturalized before 1946. All my grandparents naturalized within a year of the petition, my maternal grandparents during the 1940s. I think they were eager to become citizens because of the war. The time lag is with the declaration of intent.