Back from Philly Appt

[ForzaItaliaPgh]

I just got back home from my trip to the Philadelphia Consulate and wanted to give a quick couple pointers to those applying through this consulate.

1) The woman (Lia) that will handle your case is incredibly nice and very helpful and professional.

2) Have all the necessary docs. You need only the DIRECT LINE through which you are applying, but you need all the docs in that line.

3) SURNAMES must be consistent throughout the documents. Any changes to surnames or misspellings will need corrected.

4) Get there a little before 9:00. On the day I was there there the waiting room was full and each appt takes some time, so you might have to wait awhile to get in, but they take everybody on the scheduled day, so no big worry there.

I still have some pieces I have to have corrected and try again, but overall I'd say it was a great appt and a positive overall!

[caridimondo]

Congrats! Sounds like it went pretty smooth. What changes do you need to make? How long are they giving you to have docs corrected?

Best,
Tom

[ForzaItaliaPgh]

I'm hoping to have everything corrected by the end of the month. The sooner the better I figure. They didn't specify a time frame. Overall, a great consulate to apply through (though they may all be, I've only experienced this one).

[Agrigentonio]

SURNAMES must be consistent throughout the documents. Any changes to surnames or misspellings will need corrected.

Congratulations on your successful appointment.

Are anglicized first names not an issue in Phila., or did you not have any of these in your documents?

I will be relying on Louisiana Catholic Church records to provide proof of birth and marriage for my grandparents, and they are handwritten and contain misspellings of surnames and first names. I'm not sure how I will have these ammended to satisfy the Phila. Consulate.

[ForzaItaliaPgh]

I, fortunately, did not have any anglicized first names in my documents. The woman I met with mentioned that surnames needed to be consistent throughout the docs. I can't speak exactly to how strict they are as I, again fortunately, did not have any discrepancies or misspellings in the family last name. Sorry I can't be more of a help.