Looking for help for steps for citizenship

[lorene]

I am in the process of beginning to apply for my Italian citizenship.
However, I am unclear as to the first step. I have been directed to acquire the birth certificates of my grandparents. Who, what, when, where?

[rgaetano]

Hi Lorene, you'll need to give us more information. What is your bloodline? Where will you be applying? Do you know if your ascendant naturalized?

But first, have you made yourself familiar with the laws to know for sure that you meet the requirements?

If you are sure that you qualify, then the first step doesn't really matter. You'll need to get all vital records from your bloodline all the way back to your Italian ascendant's birth certificate. Because this whole process takes time, you're best bet is to start getting everything because it is not a linear process by any means (although, for some it may be).

[lorene]

My bloodline: Maternal grandparents born in Butera, Sicily .
Got he info for that but not the birth certificates. Just found out grandmother was born before parents were married 8 years later, does that matter?
Tryinggot get more info on paternal grandparents now, born in Naples, Italy somewhere.
Appling in : Miami, Fl
No knowledge of naturalization. My parents on both sides were born here i the USA, New Jersey.
Does this qualify for citizenship?
Thanks

[johnnyonthespot]

Since are going the maternal side, the first question is, were you born on or after January 1, 1948? If you were born before that date, then you could not have inherited Italian citizenship from your mother; prior to then, citizenship was passed only by the father.

Many people have been surprised to learn that their ancestors became naturalized US citizens; for example, none of my living relatives seemed to be aware that both of my grandfathers naturalized - in both cases, it was notations on their death certificates which gave me the first hint.

If you would care to share your grandparent's names, year or date of birth (estimate if necessary), and approximate year of immigration, I am sure we can help you find where exactly they came from and possibly information regarding naturalization.

[lorene]

Thanks.
I was born in USA in 1956. Maternal grandparents: Cono Valentino Bunetta was born in Butera, Sicily 02/04/1883; son of Pasquale Bunetta and Santa Scuvera. Have copy Of Cono's manifest.
Grandmother: Concetta Federico born June 3, 1891, presented June 6th.
Born from a natural union from Domenico Federico and Francesca Patti.( always thought it was Di Patti)
Parents married later in 1898. ( news to us and probably a long kept secret!) Paternal: Working on this with some help from Tessa last night
Anthony Bariso born about 1871/1872, married Theresa Carraciocola (spelling?). Immigrated 1899 according to 1930 consensus to Garfield New Jersey. They were from Naples...somewhere.
I am not sure what naturalization really means. ( so embarassed). Can u educate me on that and it's relevance?
Grazie!

[Rodio]

Hi Lorene--

I saw your other post looking for your GF's birth cert. So I think I have a good idea of what you need to do to apply for Italian citizenship. It's an overwhelming and confusing process at times, and it appears you are getting a lot of info about your ancestors in a short time. Naturalization is the process when a person becomes a citizen of another country. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but here is my best guess:

1) All 4 of your grandparents were born in Italy and were Italian citizens who immigrated to the USA
2) Your father was born in the US in 1921. Where was your mother born?
3) You were born in 1956; you could potentially use your mother's line.
4) You need to prove your GF did not naturalize as a US citizen before your parent's birth. Looking at the census records provided in your other post for your paternal GF, both the 1910 and 1930 censuses list your GF as an alien. That's a good start, but you will also need official documentation from USCIS and NARA and local courts where your GF lived attesting to the fact he did not naturalize. Census records aren't always accurate.
5) If you can show your paternal GF did not naturalize or naturalized after your father was born, then you qualify. We need to know more about your maternal side, such as where (country) your mother was born, and when/if your maternal GF naturalized, to see if you also qualify on your maternal side.

If you do qualify on one or both sides, the documentation you would need is listed on the Miami consulate website: http://www.consmiami.esteri.it/Consolat ... tadinanza/

Hope this helps!

[johnnyonthespot]

I am not sure what naturalization really means. ( so embarassed). Can u educate me on that and it's relevance?
Grazie!

For our purposes, naturalization was the process through which (many of) our Italian ancestors became United States citizens. If your ancestor became a US citizen, he simultaneously renounced, gave up, lost, his Italian citizenship. If your grandparents (note: both) did this before your mother was born, then they could not have passed Italian citizenship to her because they themselves were no longer Italian.

One of two things must be done:

1) You must prove that at least one of your grandparents never naturalized. This can be somewhat difficult to do.

2) You must prove that at least one of your grandparents naturalized after your mother's birth in 1956.

Your lineage is relatively recent compared to much of what is discussed on this board; this gives you the option of using either of two lineages: yourself -> mother -> grandfather or yourself -> mother -> grandmother.

In the early years before 1920-something, when a man became a US citizen, his wife automatically did so as well. Later, this changed, and the wife maintained her native citizenship unless she specifically naturalized on her own. This was rarely done, but still meaningless because until 1948 Italian citizenship could not be claimed through a female ancestor anyway.

In your case, so long as either of your mother's parents was still an Italian citizen at the time of her birth, your mother would have inherited Italian citizenship and thus you did as well.

Are either of your grandparents still living? If so, ask them about their naturalization status. If not, you will need to research this matter as it is at the crux of whether or not you can apply for Italian citizenship jure sanguinis.

If it turns out that you are blocked from jure sanguinis (citizenship by blood right) because both grandparents naturalized prior to your mother's birth, you would still have the option of obtaining Italian citizenship through an expedited naturalization process which would require that you reside legally in Italy for a period of three years, after which citizenship would be granted automatically because you have an Italian ancestor up to the 2nd degree (grandparent).

[lorene]

So far I am looking into naturalization on the maternal and paternal side.
It looks like perhaps my paternal grandfather may not have naturalized, according to a Census that Tessa has provided me.
Unfortunatley, all grandparents are deceased as well as both my parents. Both my parents were born here in the USA, father1921, mother 1923, in New Jersey. , me 1956 in Miami, Fl.
2 maternal aunts left, one whose on her way to the heavens, the other will not dig out the papers she does possess. Plus their info may be inaccurate.
I like the last sentence. Maybe I should go live in Italy for three years. How difficult could that be?
I relize that this is not a site to post personal remarks, but I am so thankful for all the help you all areproving me. i am in awe,astonished and so touched. I cried when I read the manifest for my fathers parents, especially reading that they could not read or write and the journey they must have taken to get here, and now I want to leave here.
So, first steps, apply for birth certicates on both sides and locating info on whether they naturalized, then book a ticket to Italy!

[johnnyonthespot]

So far I am looking into naturalization on the maternal and paternal side.
It looks like perhaps my paternal grandfather may not have naturalized, according to a Census that Tessa has provided me.
Unfortunatley, all grandparents are deceased as well as both my parents. Both my parents were born here in the USA, father1921, mother 1923, in New Jersey. , me 1956 in Miami, Fl.

I'm sorry, I got off track here somehow.

Since your mother was born in 1923, your only path to citizenship is through her father: yourself -> mother -> grandfather. If your father's parents were also Italian, then you have the additional option of yourself -> father -> grandfather.

Many Italians naturalized during the 1930's, presumably to separate themselves from Mussolini's fascist government. During this time, employment for Italians in the US was easier if they could show their desire to be good Americans.

If either grandfather arrived in the US after 1906 and naturalized after 1912, you would expect to see handwritten notations on his manifest of the "Certificate of Arrival" number (not naturalization certificate) and date of issue. These usually appear just above the entry and to the right of the name and first few columns of age, sex, etc. (see example in this thread: http://www.italiangenealogy.com/forum/topic22141.html). The notations were in accordance with procedures implemented effective 1912 which required a petitioner for naturalization to prove that he entered the US legally.

I suggest you begin by placing an order with the National Archives using the information you have available and see what turns up. NARA responds quickly, often within a week, and will not charge you if they do not locate a record. The only downside to NARA is that, for most of the US, they only hold naturalization records from the federal courts and not from state or county courts. Still, it is definitely worth a shot.

To place a document order, start here https://eservices.archives.gov/orderonl ... chives.gov and go ahead and create an account on the right. Next, click "Order Reproductions" and then "Immigration & Naturalization Records"

When completing the order form, you may encounter fields which demand you enter something even though you don't have the information available; just put X's or 9's in those fields and continue.

Note: if they do have the records, you are going to want to request the "Certified Paper Copy" which will cost you a total of $22.50 (assuming this is about jus sanguinis citizenship). There is no charge if they do not locate records.

For all naturalizations after September 27, 1906, the most reliable sorce of records - no matter what level court may have been involved - is the United States Citizenship & Immigration Service ("USCIS"). The negative factor is USCIS is more costly and orders of magnitude slower to respond than other sources. Start here and request an "Index Search" (http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/ ... 18190aRCRD). If the Index Search turns up a citizenship file ("C" File), then you would follow up with a "Records Request" to obtain the actual documents.

[lorene]

wow! ok, looks like I have some work to do do to get started.
Are there people one can hire to help with the process?