Jus Sanguinis / Sicilian great-grandfather

[bmohr]

Hello,

I've recently found out that I may have a claim to Italian citizenship through jus sanguinis, and while I'm looking into it, I have a couple questions:


I think I have the basic requirements, as I understand them, but do they sound consistent with Jus Sanguinis so far?

- My great-grandfather came from Italy to the US in 1906, married, and had my grandfather in 1919. In 1920 he became a US citizen.

- My grandfather married and then had my mother in 1946

- My mother married and had me in 1976

All births were in wedlock. My great-grandfather became a citizen after the birth of my grandfather. My mother gave birth to me (and, therefore, I think, passed on a claim to citizenship) after 1948.


My second question involves my great-grandfather's naturalization record, a copy of which was passed on to me.

It lists my great-grandfather as a "subject of Italy". In the document, "citizen" is crossed out and "subject" is circled. Is this due to Italy's political situation (i.e. Italians were at the time subjects and not citizens)? Or could it be with respect to some kind of inferior political status of my great-grandfather? He was from Sicily (born in 1887) - which I've always thought to be a legitimized part of Italy, but I suppose I'm not entirely certain - and a peasant.

Can I assume that "subject of Italy" was the typical status of Italian immigrants at the time and will not affect my claim to citizenship?


Sorry this is a little long. Thanks so much for help anyone can give me!

[pastasugo]

The citizen/subject thing is no problem. Italy was a kingdom at the time so its people were subjects of the king. Doesn't affect your jus sanguinis application at all.

think I have the basic requirements, as I understand them, but do they sound consistent with Jus Sanguinis so far?

You sound eligible. I would start gathering documents.

[suanj]

The citizen/subject thing is no problem. Italy was a kingdom at the time so its people were subjects of the king. Doesn't affect your jus sanguinis application at all.

think I have the basic requirements, as I understand them, but do they sound consistent with Jus Sanguinis so far?

You sound eligible. I would start gathering documents.

I agree... because when in 1919 born the grandfather , the ggfather was no naturalized...
suanj

[bmohr]

thanks for your input!

before i start gathering documents, would any of you suggest meeting with the italian consulate (i live in new york city, so it's just down the street) or a lawyer? or should i just jump in to paper-gathering?

i must say that i have no idea how i will gather my great-grandfather's 1887 birth certificate from a small village in sicily. or my grandmother's 1925 birth certificate from glasgow, scotland. with all of them being peasants, i also don't know how good their record-keeping might have been back then!

thank you for any and all suggestions!

[misbris]

If you have your ggrandfather's naturalization record, you are already ahead of the game. That gives you a lot of information. I would start collecting all the American documents you need first and work backwards.
This may take time, but it won't cost you much.

Also, don't assume that you will have great difficulty with Italian or Scottish records.

[mler]

You may live just down the street, but you won't be able to speak to a citizenship official w/o an appointment. Schedule an appointment now so that by the time you meet with them, you will have all (or most) of your documents in hand.

BTW, even if you did speak to someone at the consulate, they will tell you no more than what you've been told here. They will need to see the actual documents before they make a decision.

You can write directly to the comune for the Italian records or use a paid service. The more information you have regarding birth date and location, the easier it will be.

[bmohr]

again, thanks everyone.