Italy B. Certificates, Naturalization, & names OH MY

[MyNameHere]

Hey!

My family is looking at getting dual citizenship! (From what I can tell, we qualify! WOO! And thanks to the people on this forum that helped me find my families census records and ship manifests!) Well, we're in indianapolis which means we get to go through the detroit consulate! (Which is a good thing from what I've read!) So now we're working on getting all the documents together, and I had a few questions about that. (I've called the consulate a bunch.. but they have yet to answer)

First - I'm going through father-grandmother-great-grandfather. Do I need ALL the documents, or only documents for my great-grandfather, grandmother, and father? Do I need death certificates?

Next - I requested the naturalization record from the court my GGF was naturalized in - is that all I need? It's a copy of the oath, petition, and all that jazz.

Next - It's possible that on my GF birth certificate it says "Cargiolli" instead of "Cargioli" would that be a problem? Which is more likely to be correct? Was it originally with two L's and then one got dropped? Or what?

Almost there! - what's the best way to go about getting the birth certificate from italy? I tried sending an e-mail to the town, and haven't heard anything back. (I sent it in Spanish, english, and the spanish translated into italian) Anyone know the best way to do this? My GGF was from Sezze and born on 2 June 1888, but he may have been an orphan - would that cause problems?

Finally - there's an italian "Honorary vice consulate" in indianapolis about 15 minutes from my house. I called the consul, but she just sad I needed to go through the detroit consulate... what do Honorary Vice consulates do?

Thanks everyone!
Reese Cargioli

[mler]

1. I believe you only need documents from the Italian line in Detroit, but I ask that someone who has used that consulate confirm this.
2. The Oath should be sufficient.
3. The birth certificate is probably correct with the misspelling made when he arrived. No one can tell you whether the consulate would be willing to accept this discrepancy without an amendment. I would suggest that you prepare an affidavit stating that both names refer to the same person. Detroit may well be ok with that since it is an obvious error.
4. You are probably better off sending your request via snail mail.
5. The Italian Vice Consulates provide a number of minor services to citizens, but they do not handle major issues like citizenship. You may, however, want to contact them with your questions. They may be able to provide you with more definitive answers.

[MyNameHere]

Thanks mler!

I finally got through today! And they told me I needed to send my driver's liscence and a self addressed stamped envelope in order to get any information about dual citizenship.. does anyone know what that is for? It seemed like a strange request considering I only had a few quick questions (what documents are required, mostly).

[mler]

The copy of the driver's license is to determine if you are a resident of their jurisdiction. They won't answer any questions if you're not. I'm guessing that the self-addressed stamped envelope is to be used for a reply.

[MyNameHere]

OH! Okay that makes sense! Thanks!

There's another question I just thought of... Do you know what my mom would have to do? She's just married to an Italian, so does she have to wait until my dad is official?

Thanks mler... you're a great help.

[mler]

It depends. If your mom and dad married before 1983 (I think that was the year), she automatically became an Italian citizen. If that's the case, she should submit her application for recognition with his.

If they married after that year, she will have to wait until his citizenship is recognized. Then she will apply for citizenship through marriage, which is a naturalization. Instructions should be posted on the consulate's web page.