I never found my grandparents' marriage cert, I used uncertified, regular photocopies of census forms from ancestry.com as a way to support other documents (death certs, birth certs for father) showing they were indeed married. I don't know how seriously the photocopied census forms were taken ...

Hey, all,

My passport appointment went very smoothly. I showed up with the application filled out completely (except the signature, which I thought they might want to witness), my two passport style photos (taken at my local county courthouse), and the total fee in cash, which I *think* was $119 ...

Congratulations! That's a great turnaround time, one week. That's the best time I've read about thus far. I'm still a go for my appointment august 11, though I suppose I should confirm it before I show up in Houston.

I think the transition of this board to new software caused my original message to be corrupted. The last few paragraphs are missing. I'll summarize them here:

The only problem in my appointment was that I'd failed to have the "long form" birth certificate for MYSELF translated. I'd translated the ...

I'm curious if you had your passport appointment yet and what happened in Houston if you did.

I have a passport appointment in Houston scheduled for Aug 11 and would be very grateful for any advance scouting. Thanks!

-Amos Magliocco

Thanks, Carmine! I'm excited, and am printing out the passport application from the Houston Consulate website right now, and also trying to book my appointment via their online system.

The earliest appointment I can get, I'm there!

Today I received the Italian birth registration from Frosinone, after two letters (first sent in Nov 2010, second in Feb 2011). The birth registration is required by the Houston consulate in order to process a passport.

Now I begin what I hope will be the final step in acquiring a passport, but I ...

Okay, an update to my story: I sent a second letter to Frosinone in February of 2011, and included $20 USD for postage, and today I received the Italian birth registration the Houston consulate requires to process a passport. Frosinone returned my $20, too! Now I begin what I hope will be the final ...

Great news, John! Congrats on the good plan.

If you have time later on, will you let us know how the final step with Houston goes? I assume it will be smooth sailing now for the passport.

Uh-oh! I sent the letter off about an hour ago, with photo ID but not including an addressed envelope! Ann, I didn't see your reply in time.

I wonder if I should send another letter with all the same materials and include an addressed envelope this time.

I was recognized by the consulate last month, and they directed me to contact my home commune (Frosinone FR) to get a copy of my newly-registered Italian birth certificate. I need this in order to apply for a passport (not true for all consulates, don't know why Houston wants it).

So I'm preparing ...

Thanks! I have my fingers crossed that Frosinone is one of the "responsive" Communes. They're one of the two (out of ten) Communes which responded (by letter) to my request for information back about six months ago.

I plan to send my letter requesting the birth cert to the very same person whose ...

If I've learned anything from this site, it's that each Consulate and each Commune operates differently to some degree regarding this process.

Below I've attached JPGs of my letter from Houston, where it's explicit about the need to contact the Commune and obtain the birth certificate.

Other ...

The Houston Consulate requires you to contact the commune and acquire a copy of the new birth certificate before you apply for a passport.

To clarify, the wait time we're describing is the one between the time the consulate recognizes you as a citizen, meaning your documents are all approved, and the moment the "home commune" sends a copy of your Italian birth certificate (which they can't/won't do until they get materials from the ...