Qualification Question

Over 25 million Italians have emigrated between 1861 and 1960 with a migration boom between 1871 and 1915 when over 13,5 million emigrants left the country for European and overseas destinations.
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celliobp
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Qualification Question

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So at first I thought I qualified but now I'm unsure. Grandfather was born in 1908 in Italy. Immigrated with my ggf and ggm in 1909. 1910 census indicates AL status for all of them, but the 1920 census indicates NA status for all of them...that's when my heart broke...assuming my grandfather was naturalized as a minor via my ggf there appears to be no shot. I went ahead and requested naturalization papers through NARA and USCIS and I would assume I'll get a no results from both sense my GF was naturalized as a minor, is this a correct assumption? Or when someone is naturalized as a minor they also get a certificate of naturalization? Its confusing....seems like i'm SOL :-(

Me 1979 US
Father born 1946 US
Grand Father Lewis William Cellio born 1908 italy
Great Grand Father is Feliciano (Felix) Cellio 1875 italy

I don't have access to ancestry.com anymore but it looks like GGF has WWI registration card and such....if anyone knows if I still have a shot, I'd appreciate knowing how...thanks in advance!
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mler
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Re: Qualification Question

Post by mler »

I wish I could say you did, but it seems that your grandfather clearly naturalized with his father. You will not find a certificate of naturalization for your grandfather because at that time, minors just "tagged along" with their father's.

However, his other documents will indicate that he is a U.S. citizen, and the consulate will want to know how he obtained that citizenship. In addition, consulates are now often asking for more than just a letter of no record--sometimes census data--likely for situations such as yours.

I'm sorry, but when your ggf naturalized with his son, he ended the Italian line. Any possibility on the maternal side?
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celliobp
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Re: Qualification Question

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I figured so much but actually it looks like I confused myself. The 1920s census indicates they are AL and the 1930s census indicates NA. So there is a slim possibility that my GF naturalized on his own and not by derivative. Either way though, I think it'll be nothing short of a complete miracle for me to qualify. Odd thing is, my GFs marriage certificate and death certificate do not indicate nationality, is this common? They were Ohio certificates...
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mler
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Re: Qualification Question

Post by mler »

No, this is common. His death certificate may indicate his nationality.

It still looks like you have a shot, though. Best of luck.
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celliobp
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Re: Qualification Question

Post by celliobp »

Thank you, something tells me it may come down to me being morally responsible or not though :) At the very least I'll be glad to have the full story on what happened through all this research.
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mler
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Re: Qualification Question

Post by mler »

I understand what you're suggesting, but be careful with this. The consulates look much more closely at applications in which the first person in the line never naturalized. Remember that if your GF is deceased, you will have to sign a declaration stating that he never lost his citizenship.
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