Citizenship status

[andyp75]

Hi there, I am close to pulling the trigger on hiring a firm to handle my 1948 case. The issue is that it all hinges on when or if my great great grandfather, Lorenzo Lauro born either 1868 or 1867 from Sciacca, became an American citizen while living in New Orleans. The 1910 census listed him as ann “alien”. Any ideas as to how I can find this information? Your help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Andy Sheehy

[afecad]

I'm using ICA for my 1948 case and had a similar issue. You will have to search for his naturalization documents to see if they exist to prove his status, best place to start is the courthouse your ancestor lived. Based on the date you listed, those records would not be at NARA, but I'd pull a request from them as well. You will also need to determine the status of the female ancestor in question (1948 case). Same process.

My GGF did naturalize before my GF was born, but my GGM did not so that's the 1948 law in action.

I started the entire process in late 2020, almost 3 years ago. Due to covid it has taken forever, but all of my documents have been found and/or corrected, now everything is off to be translated and filed with the court in Cantanzaro.

Highly recommend ICA!

[CaputoBruno]

In some cases, it is better that your ancestor has no record of naturalization. I would order a certified copy of the census record that shows he is an an alien https://www.archives.gov/research/census. Additionally, you will want to do a USCIS search for a record of naturalization. If none is found, get a certified document stating they have no record that he ever naturalized. That will serve as your official document that can be presented during your hearing. They normally only want Birth, Death, Marriage and Naturalization, but when it comes to marriages or naturalizations, there simply may not be a document. This means you will have to prepare a letter stating the situation and have it notarized, and provide a backup from USCIS that no naturalization record can be located. You can start here with USCIS and do an index search. Provide as much information that you have, including that census record https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy