Tomorrow's the Day...

[VittorioE]

It's finally here! Tomorrow... 10:30AM... LA Consulate!

Grandfather - Mother - Me.

I'm as prepared as I can be - but still as nervous as all heck!

tick tock... tick tock... a little more than 12 hours from now.

I'll report when I'm done!

Please send me good thoughts!!

VE

[mike123]

Good luck! Be sure to post after!

[VittorioE]

Will do... having breakfast now!

Let me know if y'all can see the photos of my binder! I'm very proud of it!!


http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/4206/binder1.jpg


http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/5237/binder2.jpg

[ricbru]

I like the pic of you with your grandpa, wish you good luck for everything, where do you apply? bye Riccardo

[VittorioE]

Okay… well… it went well… until a final stumbling block (which I’ve read about on this forum before… and weill explain later!)

As you can see from the photos (in my last post) – I consider myself a pretty organized person – and I definitely subscribe to the school of thought that it is better to be OVER-prepared than not. So I had A LOT of documentation – especially since I needed to prove that my Grandfather had never naturalized.

I arrived a little early and was called back to the office by Raffaella at 10:30am. I have to say Raffaella is wonderful. Prompt, Professional, Helpful. After hearing the stories of other consulates – I am truly thankful I live in LA

In terms of paperwork:
We started with my Grandfather’s Birth Certificate from Italy.
Then, his Death Certificate – translated w/appositle.

Grandmother’s Birth Certificate – translated w/appostile.

Grandparent’s Marriage Certificate – translated w/appostile.

Mother’s Birth Certificate – translated w/appostile.

Father’s Birth Certificate – translated w/appostile.

Parent’s Marriage Certificate – translated w/appostile.

And finally My Birth Certificate – translated w/appostile.

In addition, because my mother is remarried; and has a different last name then mine, I had her complete an “affidavit before notaryâ€

[mike123]

I can not imagine a consulate being so harsh as to not register it because of the Jr. in your name. From what I have heard once they send your paper work away you are good. I would ask carmine

[mike123]

also what commune are you sending it to and did they tell you when you would hear a response?

[johnnyonthespot]

Congrats on what seems overall to have been a very positive meeting!

If worst comes to worst, you may be able to get the "Jr" removed from your US birth certificate. I think, even if your father is still living, there is no legal requirement for the Jr.

But, of course, then you would have the same name as your father and current Italian law doesn't permit that either...

Let's hope it is not really an issue. As you said, it wasn't for me (though I really have no idea if my ancestral comune has even registered my documents; I have never heard a single word from them and the NYC consulate did not require I wait before getting my passport as some other consulates do).

[VittorioE]

Oh - I forgot the last part...

To get aroung the "problem" all I need to do is change my name... drop the Jr. and even change just a leter of my middle name... and then no problem... it's just that that can take months and months.

So, in the end I don't want to appear ungreatful. Some people don't even qualify - or have to go back many many times... mine is a Bureaucratic problem... which is fixable... it's just more time an expense. Know what I mean?

[jennabet]

Italians do not name children after their fathers or mothers. The first born child in a family, be it male or female is often named for the paternal grand-father. For example, the paternal grand-father of my cousin in Italy was Octavio. My cousin, a girl, is named Octavia.

The second born child, be it male or female, is often named for the paternal grand-mother. No children are named for maternal grand-parents.

I understand completely your grand-father being annoyed that you were named after your father. It's a British custom. Italian boys are never called Junior or Sonny. To differentiate between a grand-father and grand-son with the same name, the ending meaning "little" is used. For example: Grandfather: Giuseppi, Grand-son: Peppino

Regarding Italy not recognizing initials. I was given at birth in the USA a first name, middle name and last name. Through the years, I completely dropped my middle name but replaced it with an initial for my signature. After my Italian citizenship was recognized, I moved to Italy where I was forced to take back and sign forever my entire given name (first, middle, last) because Italy recognizes only the entire given name at birth and doesn't recognize initials at all.

[Drew927]

Vittorio,
Thanks for posting your personal experience with the Consulate, it is very helpful for all of us waiting for our turn. I do hope your glitch is minor and they approve your application.

I have a question regarding the letter from the USCIS. Can you tell me what line 4 says? I have been reading other posts and i'm worried that my letter may have to be ammended.
Thanks,
Drew

[Gianna75010]

Vittorio,

Congrats on your appointment! It sounds like it went very well.

I have a couple questions. How did you get a copy of your grandfather's alien card? My GGF never naturalized. I have letters of non-existence and a certified copy of the 1920 census (after my GF was born) that lists him as an alien. I also have a certified copy of his alien file from the 1940s, but I am reluctant to use this because it states that he entered the US under a different name which I suppose could cause more problems. I would like to have as much documentation as possible so if there is a way to get a copy of his Alien card, I would like to do so.

Also, did you have your documents professionally translated or did you do the translations yourself?

Thanks for your help,
Gianna

[VittorioE]

Hey Drew... my line (4) of the USCIS / Homeland Security Letter says...

"...after a diligent search was performed in these database systems, no record was found to exist indicating that the subject listed below obtained naturalization as a citizen of the United States."

Which was fine for the Los Angeles consulate. (Which consulate are you going through?)

Gianna... I got my grandfather's Alien Registration Card from my initial USCIS Geneology search - the consulate didn't take it - but it was a nice piece to have. If there is a different name on yours however - I would not bring it with you or use it.

I had my documnents professionally translated here in LA by two different people from the LA Consulate's website. I was very happy with their work.

VE

[johnnyonthespot]

Vittorio, a question: it seems that the LA consulate took birth certificates for both sides of your lineage, in particular for your mother and grandmother. Did Raffaella mention that these were an absolute requirement? We know, for example, that NYC does not require birth or death certificates for non-direct line persons.

Also, you did not mention your grandmother's death certificate - not required, or she is still living and thus not applicable?

[VittorioE]

Hey Carmine!

My line was Grandfather - MOTHER - Me ... so my mom's birth certificate was essential. But they also took my fathers. (And, in theory, he isn't in my direct line.)

I think it was more the fact that I HAD all of the certificates.

I believe when asking for my grandmother's birth certificate Raffaella - might have said something along the lines of "Were you able to find it?" or "Do you have it?" I did - and handed it over - but, I got the feeling that if I DIDN'T have it - it would not have been a deal breaker.

I did also have my grandmother's death certificate - but I was not asked for it.

As I've mentioned - I am an uber type A personality... I definitely went in with more documentation than I think was strictly needed. For example, I had my mom's Form 2 not only notarized - but Apostilled as well.

I also had each County Clerk letter and my moms Affidavit before Notary Apostilled - not sure I needed to - but couldn't help it!