Over 25 million Italians have emigrated between 1861 and 1960 with a migration boom between 1871 and 1915 when over 13,5 million emigrants left the country for European and overseas destinations.
Slightly nerve-racked now. Called Consulate in Newark, and they scheduled me for a meeting on Jan 31st, 2011. I'm quite nervous, as I am confident that I can get all documents from my great grandfather's marriage down, but I still need his birth certificate from Catania and NARA records (i have meeting with NYC NARA on November 6).....do you think I cut this too close?
If I don't have all of the documents, I cannot imagine them being happy with me. What happens then?
Their next appointment they told me was May 2012, so I quickly grabbed this time to avoid the 1.5 yr wait.
I had a very good response time from Calabria in receiving a birth certificate. Have you talked to the Comune in Catania on the phone? If not, I would try to call somebody there and ask about your request. Usually someone will know some English if you don't speak Italian.
I'm jealous. I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to get an appt in Philly since June and they are telling me to try back in 2011 for an appt in 2012! You're lucky.
As for what happens, from what I understand, go in with what you got and if they need more, they'll schedule a second appt.
I guess I am lucky, but not if I cannot get all my paperwork in time! I'm very worried about this.
I'll try calling, despite my little to no Italian speaking skills. Hopefully they will have some english-speaking ability there. It's a real small province in Catania, so fingers crossed on this one then.
Its always a gamble with each comune. Some responded to me with in 3-4 weeks others didnt respond at all even after up to 6 requests over months I would definitely get moving though. Write a list of everything you need, including what needs a seal and translation and start crossing off so you stay organized. It can be done but you might have to work on a little every day and it depends on how many generations you need paperwork on
defilippis- I am confident that id be able to get all documents from my great grandparents marriage and down to me (cause everything is in NYC)...NARA is in NYC and Im like 5 minutes by train from all the offices. My biggest concern is the great gma and gpa's birth from Catania and Siracusa. I emailed both comunes approx 5 days ago with no response, and I mailed them regular mail as well. I can only hope it all works out.
No divorces in my family which is good and I have a friend (born and raised in sicily) to do all of my translations. I'm going to hit NARA, health dept, municipal archives, and sec state for apostilles all in one day, so I feel good about that. If anything, i think that ill get everything except for the births from italy.
All sounds well...but you have to get those birth certificates. Without those they wont accept anything. If its any consolation, when I emailed a comune they never replied back through email but did send the certificate. So just keep running to your mail box. Keep emailing and send formal letters. Some are picky and dont like email requests. They only respond to a formal letter. That happened to me too. Also, if your friend speaks Italian maybe he can call them directly for you.
yeah, good call. My buddy said he would call them for me, and I can just call from work. I figure I would give them 2 weeks, assuming it takes 1 week to get my mail, and a week to send back....then follow up with a call.
I hope all works out and if anything, I just hope the Newark consulate will be cool in case i cant get that document and will not just shut me down right asway and allow me to reschedule if needed.
The quickest ive ever received anything back was 3-4 weeks. So hang in there. There is a last resort for you though also. There is a lawyer that has been mentioned on this board and I spoke to a couple times. His name is Anthony Alioto. He is a property lawyer for Italy but he also helps with citizenship. You can call him and hire him to call these comunes on your behalf. He was telling me a story on the phone once of how some people never get the birth certificate and then they hire him, he calls and raises hell as your lawyer and they finally get the document.
thanks for the information. I will certainly keep this information and use as a last resort. I'm the worst with waiting, but Ill start thinking about calling or using somebody end of next month. Ill take your advice and wait it out 4 weeks or so. That would still give me plenty of time til the end of January to scramble.
Good luck with everything. Luckily you live near Manhattan and can walk right in. Your from JC right? Let us know how it all turns out. We love to hear all the gossip and the success stories! At least I do
Yeah I live in Jersey City, NJ....so a quick PATH stop over and i can hit all of the bldgs in NYC to get my docs. Hopefully this saves some time for me. I will certainly keep you and everybody else posted. I'm hoping I have really good news after January 31st.....
Im the first generation in my family NOT to live in JC. My parents moved out before I was born in the 70s. But they have been in that town since the 1890s!
oh wow, you have many generations in good ole JC! I assume somewhere around Paulus Hook? Im trying to think of the older area's in JC...thats really cool though. Its seen some major changes over the last few years, thats for sure.
An Italian novel for kids called "La Freccia Azzurra" (The Blue Arrow) says that all the children in the world wait for Christmas Eve to get presents from Santa Clause, but Italian kids are the luckiest in the world because they get presents again on the 6th of January by the Befana. Who is the Befa...
I would definitely get moving though. Write a list of everything you need, including what needs a seal and translation and start crossing off so you stay organized. It can be done but you might have to work on a little every day and it depends on how many generations you need paperwork on
