"no records" letter not sufficient?
"no records" letter not sufficient?
I recently went down to my consulate to make sure I was on the right track with all of my documents. After a long wait, I did finally get the "no records" letter from DHS. However, the woman at my consulate said that I need to get another letter from DHS because the one they sent me only gives the name of my relative and not his date and place of birth. However, when I contacted DHS, they told me that they do not do that and that their letter should be sufficient. Any advice? Has anyone else run into this problem?
Re: "no records" letter not sufficient?
Contact DHS and see if they can send you a letter of "nonexistence of naturalization". You get this through the Washington, DC office. My consulate requires this instead of no record. Specify the date your ancestor was born and where. That should be included on the certified letter you receive back from them.
Another option is to contact the dept. of state and request a certified copy of ancestor's US passport record. This will cost you. But there is a wealth of info contained within the record, including photos of your ancestor. If your ancestor never travelled outside US then there may not be a Passport Record. If he served in the US military there would definitely be a record.
Another option is to contact the dept. of state and request a certified copy of ancestor's US passport record. This will cost you. But there is a wealth of info contained within the record, including photos of your ancestor. If your ancestor never travelled outside US then there may not be a Passport Record. If he served in the US military there would definitely be a record.
Re: "no records" letter not sufficient?
Would you mind passing on the contact information to me? Thank you for the advice!
Re: "no records" letter not sufficient?
If the ancestor never naturalized in America, why would he have a US passport? Also US military service does not normally grant a person a US passport- one travels on military orders, not with a passport.Another option is to contact the dept. of state and request a certified copy of ancestor's US passport record. This will cost you. But there is a wealth of info contained within the record, including photos of your ancestor. If your ancestor never travelled outside US then there may not be a Passport Record. If he served in the US military there would definitely be a record.
Re: "no records" letter not sufficient?
Send letter for a Certification of Nonexistence of a Record for Naturalization to:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
ATTN: Records Services Branch
111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW 4th Floor
Washington, DC 20529
Include as much detail as possible about your relative.
Passport Records: (this will cost)
Department of State
Passport Services
Research and Liaison Section
Room 500
1111 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20524-1705
I have found that alot of Italians were traveling back and forth to Italy, even before air travel during the 1900's. After WWI, passports were required to enter the US for a number of years until finalized in the late forties.
If you need a Italian draft record or a Military Record you need to contact the Archivio di Stato of where your relative resided in Italy.
Sugo is right. An American soldier traveling overseas more than likely had a Military Order instead of a passport. If your relative served, there may be a draft record still surviving. In 1972, a fire destroyed most military records of servicemen of WWI, WWII, and Korea. Some of the records contained in the servicemen's file can be reconstructed by other sources such as medical records, disability claims, newspaper articles, etc. Alot of servicemen from these eras are forced to rely on eyewitnesses of their injuries to claim disability status.
How old was your relative when he left Italy? Strange question - But was he born in Italy? Did he have a Social Security Number? If he was working when it passed in 1936, he probably did. Otherwise, no.
You can check the Social Security Death Index online.
http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/
Note: Not all social security numbers are entered. If you don't find you're relative and you believe that he was working in 1936 than I would definitely write for his application.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
ATTN: Records Services Branch
111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW 4th Floor
Washington, DC 20529
Include as much detail as possible about your relative.
Passport Records: (this will cost)
Department of State
Passport Services
Research and Liaison Section
Room 500
1111 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20524-1705
I have found that alot of Italians were traveling back and forth to Italy, even before air travel during the 1900's. After WWI, passports were required to enter the US for a number of years until finalized in the late forties.
If you need a Italian draft record or a Military Record you need to contact the Archivio di Stato of where your relative resided in Italy.
Sugo is right. An American soldier traveling overseas more than likely had a Military Order instead of a passport. If your relative served, there may be a draft record still surviving. In 1972, a fire destroyed most military records of servicemen of WWI, WWII, and Korea. Some of the records contained in the servicemen's file can be reconstructed by other sources such as medical records, disability claims, newspaper articles, etc. Alot of servicemen from these eras are forced to rely on eyewitnesses of their injuries to claim disability status.
How old was your relative when he left Italy? Strange question - But was he born in Italy? Did he have a Social Security Number? If he was working when it passed in 1936, he probably did. Otherwise, no.
You can check the Social Security Death Index online.
http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/
Note: Not all social security numbers are entered. If you don't find you're relative and you believe that he was working in 1936 than I would definitely write for his application.
Re: "no records" letter not sufficient?
Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that SSN weren't mandatory until 1962..I can't remember where I read that now though.How old was your relative when he left Italy? Strange question - But was he born in Italy? Did he have a Social Security Number? If he was working when it passed in 1936, he probably did. Otherwise, no.
You are right about not all of them being entered though. My great grandfather wasn't entered and yet I was able to get my hands on his original Social Security Card.
