Mother's birth cert issues

[matei]

Hi all - posting more frequently than I thought I would be!

I got a cert copy of my mother's PA birth certificate today. The first problem I noticed is that her surname is spelled wrong. Instead of "De Palma" or "Depalma" it is "Depalmo".

As she is deceased, PA Vital Records informed me that the only way that I can change this is via a court order. I don't know how I'll do that - as I live in the UK. I guess I'll have to hire a lawyer over the phone/internet! If anyone can recommend a good lawyer in Westmoreland county who does this type of thing I'd appreciate it.

I don't know if this minor discrepancy would be an issue with the consulate. On all her other docs (marriage cert, death cert, my birth cert) her surname is spelled correctly, i.e. "Depalma".

The second issue I have is the cert itself... I requested the long form, however the cert that I received shows only my mother's DOB, county of birth, file number, date filed, gender and her mispelled name. It doesn't show her parent's names whatsoever

I specifically requested a long form birth cert. Does Pennsylvania not issue them?

[ianiro]

I can tell you from my experience at the Houston Consulate in Texas that my records had several minor spelling errors on them, and they had no issue with it. Also, I assume you are going to have to turn in her marriage and death record, how is her name spelled on those? If both of those are correct then I can't imaging them making a big deal out of the birth cert being off by one letter. They can tell that Depalmo is suppose to be De Palma, and also her death cert has her date of birth on it and other info which will prove that it is the same person even if they are spelled a little differently.

[matei]

Hi - the death cert and marriage record are both spelled Depalma.

Just to complicate issues, I double-checked the birth cert for my GGF from the comune in Italy... it is spelled "Di Palma", however no one ever used this spelling. GGF, GF, mother - they all only ever used Depalma/De Palma. Jeez.

I'm going to the consulate in London, so I hope they are a bit more forgiving than their LA/NY counterparts!

[johnnyonthespot]

I think you should be prepared for possible problems. In the past, the New York consulate was much tougher on mis-spellings which resulted in a valid Italian name; since both De Palma and De Palmo exist in Italy, you may have an issue. Making matters worse, Di Palma nad Di Palmo both exist in substantioal numbers as well. Not to mention Depalma, Depalmo, Dipalma, and Dipalmo. See http://www.paginebianche.it/execute.cgi ... +palmo&dv=

The consulate's view of all this will be, how do we know one of these documents is not for a different person?

I know it is time-consuming and potentially expensive, but I personally would make every effort to amend all necessary documents so that the spelling is the same across the entire group.

By the way, I think it likely that the correct form is the De/Di is a prefix with a space after, thus De Palma, De Palmo, Di Palma, Di Palmo.

[matei]

I think you should be prepared for possible problems. In the past, the New York consulate was much tougher on mis-spellings which resulted in a valid Italian name; since both De Palma and De Palmo exist in Italy, you may have an issue. Making matters worse, Di Palma nad Di Palmo both exist in substantioal numbers as well. Not to mention Depalma, Depalmo, Dipalma, and Dipalmo. See http://www.paginebianche.it/execute.cgi ... +palmo&dv=

Indeed, you're right. I'll see if I can do everything possible ahead of my meeting.

NARA is sending me a cert. copy of my GGF's oath, on which his name is spelled Depalemo. The woman with whom corresponded via e-mail confirmed that this cannot be changed.

I read that USCIS will sometimes supply a letter from the regional director stating that this type of historical document cannot be changed, would NARA also provide such a letter? The woman with whom I spoke didn't know what I was talking about.

[ianiro]

I have been thinking about this and if I were you I'd email the person that handles citizenship at your consulate, and tell them about your issue/concern and ask then if your current records will be a problem, in which case you know you have to get the records amended, and if they say it is not an issue, you won't have to waste your time trying to get them fixed if it doesn't matter.

Also, whatever their answer, save the email, print it out, and take it with you to your appointment so if they decide to change their mind on the spot you have proof that you tried to resolve this before hand.

[matei]

Good idea re. the e-mail. They've been helpful and communicative (for a gov't office) so far.

[ianiro]

I had good luck with my consulate answering my questions before my appointment too. They will probably appreciate you dealing with it now rather than during your appointment.

[johnnyonthespot]

I don't think it will apply in this case, but I wanted to point out an example of a consulate using "innocent question" emails as evidence to deny a visa application. See http://expatsinitaly.com/phpbbforum/vie ... =6&t=14379

This person was seeking a Study visa which was ultimately denied on the basis of earlier emails seeking information on the various visas (work, study, etc) available. The consulate's view, in the applicant's own words, was that, "Because of those emails I sent between September and November, they came to the conclusion that I just wanted to live in Italy and that a Study Visa was just a way to get there."

[ianiro]

That is very unfortunate, I've never seen or heard of that happening before. I can tell you from my own experience that I emailed my consulate once before my appointment with a question/issue, which was to verify that the letters I had from USCIS and NARA were what the consulate needed as proof my ggf never naturalized. They responded quickly and had no problem. They also welcomed any future questions I had.

[matei]

Wow - that is indeed shocking.

Having worked at an embassy abroad, I can understand to a point the interviewing officer's suspicions, but still it seemed a bit heavy handed.

In my case... I don't plan on living in Italy, so I don't think it would be an issue to contact them ahead of time. Thanks however for the heads up - it can't hurt to be careful! I would'nt want to make the wrong impression.

However even if I did I'd be able to w/o the Italian passport, as I'm an Irish passport holder. With some exceptions, EEA citizens are allowed to live/work in other EEA countries.

I explained in a previous e-mail to the consulate that I'm an Irish citizen, resident in England, with ancestral documentation from Italy and the US. A modern global citizen.