Scheduling an appointment

[ericderrico]

I have my GGF's naturalisation record and am going about obtaining all the other records such as birth certs, death certs, etc... for everyone. I know the wait time for the Consulates are quite long depending on which one you use, but I was curious if it's necessary to have all your documents when you schedule your appointment? Can you not just schedule the appointment down the road figuring by then you'll have everything you need, or is it better to wait to schedule when you have all the necessary paperwork?

[johnnyonthespot]

When I scheduled with New York back in 2007 they went out of their way to ask if I had obtained all of the necessary documents. I admit it, I lied and said I had.

With most appointments coming six to 18 months out into the future, I see no reason why you can't make the appintment now and then continue collecting your materials.

[KarenChristino]

I have put off scheduling an appointment, too, because I'm afraid I won't have all the documents by then! What happens if you're missing something crucial? How much time do they give you to come up with it? And can you apply again if they toss you out?

At this point, I still don't have a birth record for my GF, and I'm really not sure how long it will take to find it.

Thanks!

[johnnyonthespot]

I have put off scheduling an appointment, too, because I'm afraid I won't have all the documents by then! What happens if you're missing something crucial? How much time do they give you to come up with it? And can you apply again if they toss you out?

At this point, I still don't have a birth record for my GF, and I'm really not sure how long it will take to find it.

Thanks!

The consulate will work with you for as long as it takes or until they have proven that no valid unbroken bloodline exists, so I would not worry too much about that. If you are missing a document, you can always reschedule your appointment, but I would suggest attending anyway so that the documents you do already have can get the once over in case you have other issues which had not caught your eye.


Regarding your grandfather's birth certificate, was he born in Italy? Shall I assume that you don't know exactly where and that is why you are, "really not sure how long it will take to find it"? If you would care to share what details you have on your GF, we may be able to help locate his place of birth.

[KarenChristino]

Thanks, Carmine! All of the Italian documents were very easy for me to find with the Family History Library, so I just have to write for the official copies. My grandfather was born in Manhattan in 1896 and there is no record on file for him. He always said he attended P.S. 1, so I wrote to two of the nearest Catholic Churches in Little Italy, but they did not have him (I also found my grandmother immediately, but I can't use her). I have not been able to find my GF on the Census online for 1900 or 1910. I went to the NYC directories and they moved around quite a bit when he was young and were not listed for all the years. I now have two queries out to other Churches near where they lived at later times. I asked them to look for birth, 1st Communion and Confirmation records as they would indicate the parents. Just don't know if any of these would be considerexd in lieu of the civil record.

Has anyone found NYC birth records when the archives says they're not available? It said online that up to 25% of births prior to 1910 were not reported to the city.

It is ironic that I easily found a number of documents for my GGF over here, but my GF is still proving to be the "missing link"!

[johnnyonthespot]

1) Please keep an open mind concerning where your grandfather was born. You can find many, many, people on this board who have found that facts they were absolutely certain of were proven to be wrong.

2) Nevertheless, New York State has a procedure for creating a delayed birth certificate; I presume that NYC has a procedure as well. I'm not sure what the documentation requirements are, but it is something you may want to look into. A thread on point: http://italiangenealogy.tardio.com/Foru ... c/t=17583/

3) If you can share your grandfather's name, we might find something you have missed.

[ericderrico]

Karen,

I too had a similar issue with my own Great Grandfather. I couldn't find him on the census anywhere whatsoever. His name was Pasquale D'Errico. But then I tried a search using misspellings of our last name, e.g. Dericco, and there he was, listed as "Patsy Dericco." I knew it was him by the dates given, his wife, and his children and their ages listed, plus where he lived. So maybe you can do a search that way.

Now I'm working on who his parents are.

[KarenChristino]

I appreciate all your help and thoughts. I knew I hadn’t exhausted everything yet, but I feel a lot more hopeful now! The link to the earlier thread was very helpful. I'm going to begin a new post with the additional info as it seems off-topic for this thread.

Karen