Miami Consulate question

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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reneek232000
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Miami Consulate question

Post by reneek232000 »

Hi Everyone,

I qualify for duel citizenship and I have all my documents except I have a question about one.

I have my great grandfathers original Naturalization paper from 1916 but it is so old and thin that it has become so delicate it is about to fall apart. I made a photo copy of it and I talked to a woman at the Miami consulate and she told me the photo copy would be okay to use. I find this hard to believe but I can not figure out how to get a certified copy of his paper just to be on the safe side. I called the city where he was naturalized and they weren't sure. The papers are on file at an archive building and they told me all I would get is a photo copy of the document which I already have.

I am asking if anyone knows what else I can do because I put a lot of time into this process and I do not want to show up for an appointment and get told I need something different. I do not want to give them the original because it will be ruined after being handled or mailed etc and it is all I have.
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jcat
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Re: Miami Consulate question

Post by jcat »

Hello and welcome,

You should be OK with the photocopy of the naturalization papers. Try the county clerks office in which he resided as they may have the naturalization papers on file there. If they do have it, they will stamp it with a multicolored seal from the county and that should be it. You probably spoke with Virginia at the Consulate in Miami and believe me, if she told you the photocopy is OK to submit then your good to go as she will be the person that you will be submitting your documents to. If you cannot get a copy at the county level, just prersent the photocopy and to be safe I would bring along the original just to show her and carefully put it away.I hjave a similar situation with my grandfathers birth certificate. I have a copy that was sent to me by a relative from years ago stating the correct birthdate for my grandfather and I also have a copy that I requested from his Comune that was sent to me in December of 08. The problem is the new birth certificate has his birthdate off by one day and doesn't match up with all of his other docs. After contacting the comune regarding the discrepancy and even sending the copy of his original I was unsucessful in getting the date of birth straightened out. The comune hasn't responded to my dilemma at all. I explained my situation to the Miami consulate and was directed to bring in the copies and they will see. All of this for an error of one day and it's on the Italian end.I'm sure all will work out and I'm not to worried about it, although it makes me think a little bit about wanting to be be recognized by the Comune of my family's roots who are unwilling to accomodate or acknowledge my contacts. I understand there are legal issues involved and I already have all of my docs,Apostilles, and translations finished. I will be applying in Miami in December of this year.

Sorry to ramble but you should be fine with what you have in hand, especially if you were told it will be OK to present and do try and check with the county clerks office as the City would not have this type of document. Usially the naturallizations were done in the Supreme court and thus may be found at the County level. Not all are found there but if not, just go with what you have. Good Luck.........
jamescatizoneitaliandualcitizenship.com
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reneek232000
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Re: Miami Consulate question

Post by reneek232000 »

jcat,

Thanks for the reply. I will bring the original with me just in case. I read on line some where to fill out form G-639 freedom of information act and send that in, and they will send me something. I don't know if that will work but I am willing to try it.

Do you already have your appointment for December? I still haven't made one because I didn't realize it took forever to get one. I looked on the consulate site and it says you have to call a number that costs 2.95 a minute to make an app. I live in Tampa and was planning on going to Miami for a vacation in July. I wonder if it would be better to walk in and make an appointment or call the number and pay the fees. I have plenty of time so the wait is no biggie but still I can't wait to get my citizenship. I don't want to jinx myself. Everything is going so perfect. All my documents are good and have no mistakes, I qualify so I'm not worried about that. I just can't think of anything that could happen. Can they refuse you just to refuse you? I don't speak Italian will that count against me???? So many worries because I want this so bad. Sorry to go on and on......

Anyways good luck to you. Thanks for the tip maybe I will contact the county as well like you suggested.
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Re: Miami Consulate question

Post by teddi »

I read on line some where to fill out form G-639 freedom of information act and send that in, and they will send me something.
G-639 FOIA is no longer used for naturalization records prior to 1956. Instead go to USCIS Genealogy
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jcat
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Re: Miami Consulate question

Post by jcat »

Yes my appointment is December 23rd @ 10:00 AM. I made the appointment in December of 2008. I'm not sure about the procedure regarding going in to make an appointment in person, I made my appointment through the abtram # and all in all it cost about $8-9 to make the appointment by phone. I doubt you would be refused citizenship just to be refused as it is a right by blood as long as that line isn't broken. Learning the language is not madnatory although it would be a good idea to learn the language especially if you're planning on going over there.
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reneek232000
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Re: Miami Consulate question

Post by reneek232000 »

Teddi,

Thanks for the tip. I already mailed out the FOIA but I guess it doesn't matter.

I am going to make an appointment by phone. My husband, two adult children and two minor grandchildren would also like to apply with me. When making my appointment can I include them or do they have to make their own appointments. I read on line when applying you can include your adult children and grandchildren because it is easier to use all the same documents.
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federici1999
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Re: Miami Consulate question

Post by federici1999 »

I am not an expert on this but I do know your husband can not apply till after you receive your letter and your papers are registered at the comune in Italy. Spouces have a whole different process to go through to get citizenship. My appointment was in Feb 2009 and my wifes appointment is May 2010. Her papers will be turned in to the Miami Consulate but the decision is made for her in Rome not by the consulate.The question about your adult children needs to be made to the Consulate. In there web site it states only minor children can be included. Again I could be wrong but someone the other day stated that the Miami Consulate told two brothers they needed there own appointments, applications and had to file seperatly.
Thanks Bob

Looking for Federici and Cavalli from Bedonia
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Re: Miami Consulate question

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Minors can be included with your application......
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teddi
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Re: Miami Consulate question

Post by teddi »

You can ask Miaimi if the 2 adult children can attend the appt with you. If not, they can make separate appts. When your adult children's Italian citizenship is recognized, their minor children's citizenship will also be recognized.
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JMFL
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Re: Miami Consulate question

Post by JMFL »

Hi, I live over in Pinellas County and I received my italian dual citizenship in July of '08 thru Miami. I few questions that I can answer for you:

Miami, as with pretty much all the other US consulates, does not keep the naturalization record. If you make a photo copy of the document you have PLUS bring the original along with you that should be just fine. I didn't have my GF's original documents but I was able to get his NARA papers and Miami was fine with them. (Virginia is the main person in Miami who does the applications).

If you and your husband were married prior to April 1983 then your husband can apply with you at the same time as he will be granted automatic citizenship when your citizenship is recognized. (Be sure to bring his birth and any divorce documents with you to the appointment if you were married prior to April 1983).

If you were not married prior to April 1983, your husband can not apply for his citizenship thru marriage until AFTER your citizneship has been recognized and the comune in Italy sends back your Italian marriage certificate. (Which is your American certificate infomation entered into their records and then they send an official record back to you that you must then present with your husbands jure matrimonis appointment.) It takes about 2 years after your husbands appointment for his citizenship to be recognized and it requires background checks and different info than what you needed.

I applied with my mom and I am an adult, most days anyway. When I emailed them for the appointment I said both my mom and I were applying together and asked that we have both appointments at the same time. They actually confirmed the one appointment for my dad, who has been deceased for several years. I didn't make a fuss about that though and when we went to our appointment, we just presented all my mom's documents and then I presented my documents. We both then sat in the office and filled out applications and paperwork.

There was an error in my birth certificate that had to be corrected. Once that was done my citizenship was recognized in about two weeks. My mom's papers were all perfect and her citizenship was recongnized in less than two weeks.

We only needed the direct line documents, Miami didn't want any death certificates, and you do not translate or apostille and US Federal documents, such as the naturalization papers.

They seemed very friendly at Miami so you may not have a problem just walking in and asking for an appointment. When I made my appointment, Miami was in the process of going to that phone number system, Abtran, but they hadn't done it yet so I was able to just email them for an appointment.

When you make the appointment, ask for everyone to go at the same time. They will all have show up at the appointment though, Miami didn't allow for absentee applications, although once recognized, you can apply for your first passport through the mail.

Good luck,
JMFL
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