Question about document translation please?

[giannattasio]

Can someone please tell me if every single document that is in English must be translated? I'm reading in other places that only the documents in the direct line have to be translated and only death certificates in the direct line. It is also a little confusing which death certs are required to be presented.
For the required death certificates the consulate website states:ANY PERTINENT DEATH CERTIFICATE/S RELATED TO ITALIAN ASCENDENTS.
So if I'm going through the direct line of my father born USA-grandfather in Italy. Do I need the death certs for my mother and grandmother? Thanks for your assistence.

[teddi]

Only your consulate can answer this definitively. Try to contact them for an answer. Many of us have gone ahead and gotten every possible document, translation, apostille, etc just in case. It's expensive, but if you can afford it, that's one option.

[giannattasio]

They don't answer the phone at the LA Consulate. When I email them they won't answer your question and just refer you back to the website.
It does become very expensive to translate all these documents but I guess that is the only route to talke since there are no straignt answers. It would be so much more efficient if they were more explicit about exactly what they want. Someone told me I need a certificate of no appeal for my 35 year old divorce. I don't have a clue how to get this or what it means. If the divorced was appealed it would never have been finalized. What is the point of this certificate and how and who do you get to write it and sign it? There is no mention of this document on the consulate website.

[johnnyonthespot]

In NYC in mid-2008, the only documents which required translations were the one's which applied to the persons actually obtaining citizenship - my birth certificate, my wife's birth certificate, and our marriage certificate. My lineage was myself -> my US-born father -> my Italy-born grandfather. Because we married before April 27, 1983, my wife was automatically granted citizenship when my own application was approved.

[johnnyonthespot]

...Someone told me I need a certificate of no appeal for my 35 year old divorce. I don't have a clue how to get this or what it means. If the divorced was appealed it would never have been finalized. What is the point of this certificate and how and who do you get to write it and sign it? There is no mention of this document on the consulate website.

See http://italiangenealogy.tardio.com/Foru ... 07400.html

Apparently the Certificate of No Appeal is a document issued by the court clerk which certifies that there are no outstanding issues relating to the divorce. Never having been divorced myself, I can only guess but I suppose there are a number of legal issues which can arise even after a divorce is finalized.

[giannattasio]

Thanks for the responses. In Pennsylvania where I was married they never heard of a certificate of no appeal. How do you get this certificate and get them to sign it when they never heard of it? A divorce can only be appealed in the case of a legal error. Once the divorce is finalized it is over.

[johnnyonthespot]

...A divorce can only be appealed in the case of a legal error.

Yes, and I think that is the point. In the thread I linked to in my previous post, there is a link to a suggested format for the Certificate of No Appeal. Perhaps you could send a copy to the court clerk and inquire as to whether this is something they could provide.