$25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

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.
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caridimondo
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$25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

Post by caridimondo »

Buon giorno tutti,

After much research about dual citizenship through jure sanguinis, it appears I am eligible through my great grandfather. I decided to setup my appointment at the Italian Consulate in Philly to get the ball rolling. I had a phone call with someone there last week who took my information (email, telephone, credit card) and said my March 2012 appointment costs $25 and I should receive a confirmation email listing all the documents needed.

It has almost been a week and I haven't received the email and my credit card hasn't been charged. Is this normal? I left a message yesterday to see what the status is but haven't hear back yet. I just want to make sure the girl took my info down correctly so I am definitely on the books for March of next year.

Has anyone had this issue? It's a bummer I have to wait so long, so if I have enough money to handle it in Italy before then I might do that.
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ForzaItaliaPgh
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

Post by ForzaItaliaPgh »

Ciao,

I to am pursuing Jure Sanguinis citizenship through the Philadelphia consulate. I actually have been at this so long that when I started trying to schedule an appt, you used to be able to call the consulate and get one scheduled for FREE! Sadly, the Philly consulate is overwhelmed by citizenship requests and in an attempt to speed things along, they have contracted the scheduling of appts to IPS. IPS charges something like $3 a minute or $25 a call for scheduling an appt. I theoretically have an appt scheduled for Jan 2012 but I too have been waiting for about 2 1/2 weeks for the confirmation email. I guess IPS isn't speeding things up so much, yet. I'll email them today and see what the problem is, if I hear something I'll post it here. But I wouldn't worry.

Anyone out there actually schedule an appt and get a confirmation email??
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caridimondo
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

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Ok they must be as inefficient as the consulate then. Keep me posted on any responses and I'll do the same.

If I were to go to Italy to handle it, would I have to stay for the whole process or could I come back to the U.S. after presenting my documents to the comune?
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

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From what I understand you have to establish residency in Italy or you will still be in the Philly jurisdiction. Some members on this board have spoken about using an Italian citizenship attorney. Going this route requires only a couple trips to the boot. First, you go over to establish residency, then you sign over a power of attorney to the citizenship lawyer who represents you while you go back to the States. Luigi Paiano has been recommended on this board. I have no direct knowledge or experience with him, so I cannot vouch for him personally, but you can check into him if you want. I think I got his name from "screamingmonkey" on these boards.

http://www.luigipaiano.com/eng/
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caridimondo
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

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Yeah I saw some posts on Luigi the other day. It seems like that's an option (albeit more expensive) if I don't feel like waiting for my 2012 appointment. Thanks for the info!
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

Post by ForzaItaliaPgh »

Ciao caridimondo,

Just got the confirmation from IPS. Hopefully, yours will be coming soon. Maybe try emailing them and asking what the hold up is. Worked for me. Buona Fortuna
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caridimondo
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

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I just got mine too. They sent me a link to the visas page of the consulate, not citizenship. I guess I can find the correct page so I know exactly which documents to bring.

I'm also waiting to hear if I can bring my mother and siblings since we'd be using the same documents anyway. Do you know of anyone doing multiple applications in one appointment?
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corrado
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

Post by corrado »

Do you mean the phone system, if they do not answer immediatly you must hanve up, I think it is aoubt two dollars a minute, it you stay on the line for a number of minutes you can get a bill for $25. You can call the company if you did not get though they will reverse it.
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caridimondo
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

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No I already spoke with someone and set the appointment, but was waiting for the confirmation email. I got it today, but they didn't send me a link to the consulate's page listing all the documents needed. I'm also waiting to hear if my mother and siblings can come with me.
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

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caridimondo wrote:...but they didn't send me a link to the consulate's page listing all the documents needed.
What lineage will you be using?

Go to http://www.consfiladelfia.esteri.it/Con ... tadinanza/ and click the "Italian Citizenship through ancestors (iure sanguinis)" link to open a pdf document which lists the required materials.
caridimondo wrote:...I'm also waiting to hear if my mother and siblings can come with me.
Generally speaking, the consulates want each person to be listed in the appointment. More importantly, many consulates now insist that the eldest living person (your mother, in this case) should be the initial and only applicant. After her citizenship has been recognized, she can register the birth of her children (no matter how long ago that may have been) quickly and easily.

Of course, each consulate does things differently, so your mileage may vary.
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caridimondo
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

Post by caridimondo »

My lineage is great grandfather-grandmother-mother.

My grandmother is still alive, so should she attend the appointment or does she and my mother automatically become citizens because they are before me?

IPS confirmed that my mother and siblings can attend the appointment with me.
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

Post by ForzaItaliaPgh »

yeah, my wife is coming with me, but that is b/c she is applying with me via jure matrimonius. I didn't think that was allowed, but IPS confirmed that it is. Maybe they just want to cut down on the number of appts.
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

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BTW, they sent me the same link to the visa page. I've gathered my docs long ago based on a letter the consulate sent me back when they still scheduled everything themselves, so I'm not worrying about it, but I'm sure the info is online somewhere. Good Luck in 2012!!!
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caridimondo
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

Post by caridimondo »

ForzaItaliaPgh wrote:yeah, my wife is coming with me, but that is b/c she is applying with me via jure matrimonius. I didn't think that was allowed, but IPS confirmed that it is. Maybe they just want to cut down on the number of appts.
Sorry, yes to which question? That my grandmother MUST be there or it doesn't matter? Thanks!
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Re: $25 appointment charge for dual citizenship

Post by ForzaItaliaPgh »

As far as I know (and everything seems to be in a state of flux at the consulate these days) no one but you HAVE to be there. For example, my GF is not coming with me. My wife is only coming b/c she is also applying for citizenship (in her case through me by marriage).
Researching BARONTINI family from Tuscany
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