NY Consulate changed requirements?

[SChiarini]

Hi all,

I am applying for my dual citizenship through the NY consulate. I have read on a few different forums how difficult NY has been lately & sometimes they require more things than listed on the website. I just want to make sure I have everything in order before my appointment- but I'm sure even if I have everything they will find something wrong :-/

I am applying GGF--> GM--->F--->Me

I was told I need my GGF birth certificate (abstract) from Italy - however now i'm being told they want the a photocopy of the original. Not sure if they even issue these.

Still waiting on my GGM birth certificate from Italy.

GGF & GGM marriage cert
GM birth certificate
GF birth certificate
GM & GF marriage certificate
F Birth certificate
M Birth certificate
F & M marriage certificate (which I was told needs to be amended because my dad's legal name is Stephan and he listed it as Stephen)
My birth certificate

I have a letter of NO records from Nara -- I am waiting for something from USCIS-- which I will then have to send back to get an official NO records letter. ***Does anyone know if I can actually go down to DC and do this in person???***

Also, I'm not sure which documents need to be apostilled and translated. I was thinking of doing all of them to be safe- but I dont want to spend that much if I don't have to.

For which people do I need a death certificate for?? I was lead to believe it's just the people in the direct ancestry line.

Finally, I also read I need a copy of the 1930 census & the ships manifest that my GGF came over on.

This seems like alot more than I originally believed I needed.

Has anyone had an appointment in NYC recently? What exactly is required??

Thanks for your help!

[johnnyonthespot]

I was told I need my GGF birth certificate (abstract) from Italy - however now i'm being told they want the a photocopy of the original. Not sure if they even issue these.

It is never easy to be certain what exactly they are asking for; sometimes the different languages tend to confuse the issue further.

Birth/marriage/death computer-generated extracts are called: Estratto Per Riassunto Per Atto Di Nascita/Matrimonio/Morte

Birth/marriage/death photocopies of original registry pages are called: Copia integrale dell'atto di Nascita/Matrimonio/Morte

I would suggest that they meant that they only need a photocopy of the estratto; that you can keep the original. But I could easily be wrong.

Perhaps you should contact the consulate and ask them to confirm, "Must I obtain a Copia integrale dell'atto di Nascita or is the Estratto Per Riassunto Per Atto Di Nascita sufficient?"

[teakandreggie]

I am also applying in NY. Please let me know if the requirements changed.
I have the estratto dell'atto di nascita for both my grandparents.
Teak

[alberto22]

From the NY Consulate website:
"U.S. birth/marriage/death records must bear an Apostille [...] Petition for naturalization and/or “no recordâ€

[teakandreggie]

Thanks

[Donald66]

My appointment with the NY Consulate is set for July 2010, how much time is generally needed to translate the documents into Italian?

The Consulate website lists official translators. Any recommendations with regards to the Connecticut based translators?

[johnnyonthespot]

My appointment with the NY Consulate is set for July 2010, how much time is generally needed to translate the documents into Italian?

The Consulate website lists official translators. Any recommendations with regards to the Connecticut based translators?

Unless NYC changed the rules, these are not "official" translators but merely recommended translators known to the consulate. As of fairly recently, most documents for NYC can be translated by anyone (including the applicant), so long as they are done accurately. The only document which required professional translation is the text of a full divorce decree and certain other complex legal documents.

Also, there seems to be a lot of confusion lately as to exactly which documents actually require translation. I suggest you examine this carefully as there are potentially (many) hundreds of dollars at risk. When I submitted my NYC appliaction in mid-2008 (myself -> US born father -> Italy born grandfather), the only documents which required translations were my own birth and marriage certificate and my wife's birth certificate. I realize there has been much talk of "new rules" in NY, but since the only documents actually forwarded to the ancestral comune for registration (if the application is approved) are those of the applicant him/herself, it makes sense that these would be the only ones requiring translation.

Generally speaking, document translation turnaround times are a matter of several days at most.

[Donald66]

Thanks for the response.

Another issue, I've been waiting for a response from USICS since August 2009. If I dont have a response by my July 2010 appointment, should I still go ahead with the appointment?

[johnnyonthespot]

Thanks for the response.

Another issue, I've been waiting for a response from USICS since August 2009. If I dont have a response by my July 2010 appointment, should I still go ahead with the appointment?

For an Index Search or a Document Request? Do you know if and/or when naturalization occurred? Do you know where it may have occurred (where your ancestor was living at the most likely time)?

[taxi55]

Would you know what the required New York "long form" of the birth, death and marriage records are and who do you order them from? I suppose they are different from the birth/death/mariage records you get from the Municipal Archives for genealogy purposes? This is really time-consuming - isn't it... I still have a lot of documents to obtain...

[SChiarini]

It's ridiculously time consuming Taxi! It really depends on where everyone was born/married/died- if they happened within the 5 boroughs of NYC you may want to look at this site:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/vi ... home.shtml

Municipal archives only hold birth certificates prior to 1910, marriages before 1930 and deaths before 1949. Also, these certificates cannot be amended - so be sure to ask for a letter from them stating this - just in case there are errors on them. You can fill out a form online- and don't forget to ask for a letter of exemplification.

For documents after those dates - you would have to obtain them from the Vital records department & the city clerk- just follow the links on the site I provided.

I suggest you request these documents in person or by mail because if you order these online, they don't provide the "long forms" that you would need.

[SChiarini]

Donald- I thought I was waiting long! July?? Wow they must really be backed up!! I requested an Index Search back in Oct/Nov and I haven't heard anything yet.

I actually just sent out a letter to the Records Branch to see if I can get a certified letter regardless of USCIS answer to the Index Search yet.

I wonder if I could have surpassed the Index Search and sent a letter to the Records Branch 3 months ago since I know my GGF was never naturalized.

[johnnyonthespot]

Would you know what the required New York "long form" of the birth, death and marriage records are and who do you order them from? I suppose they are different from the birth/death/mariage records you get from the Municipal Archives for genealogy purposes? This is really time-consuming - isn't it... I still have a lot of documents to obtain...

See below for recent New York State "short form" and 1950's era "long form" birth certificate examples.

If you order through the VitalChek service, when you get to the "What will you be using this certificate for?" query, you select "Long Form" from the drop-down box.

[images removed to save space - johnny]

[johnnyonthespot]

I wonder if I could have surpassed the Index Search and sent a letter to the Records Branch 3 months ago since I know my GGF was never naturalized.

No, it is not a question of what you know, but of what USCIS knows. They must do an index search to determine if the person is in their records. If yes, then you get a letter telling you how to order copies of the documents. If no, then you get a letter stating no records were found.

I hestitate to point out two things:

a) Probably 50% of people who go into this absoultely certain beyond the shadow of a doubt that their ancester did not naturalize, find out that he in fact did. None of my living family, including my mother, were aware that both my paternal grandfather and maternal grandfather had become US citizens.

b) The consulates can get pretty sticky on this "No Records Found" issue. Sometimes it is not enough to have a letter which says "we could find no records for John Smith birthdate 1/15/1900 birthplace Castelbuono." Instead, what they want is "we could find no records of John Smith, Giovanni Smith, John Smyth, Giovanni Smyth, born in the month of January, 1900 birthplace Palermo province."

[taxi55]

Would you know what the required New York "long form" of the birth, death and marriage records are and who do you order them from? I suppose they are different from the birth/death/mariage records you get from the Municipal Archives for genealogy purposes? This is really time-consuming - isn't it... I still have a lot of documents to obtain...

See below for recent New York State "short form" and 1950's era "long form" birth certificate examples.

If you order through the VitalChek service, when you get to the "What will you be using this certificate for?" query, you select "Long Form" from the drop-down box.

Thanks! At least the forms I obtained from the Municipal Archives are in the correct "long" form. That's a start. Now for all those other forms I still need...

Forms I am trying to request through VitalCheck do not give me the option of "long" or "short". Only Medical, offiical government, etc. Perhaps because the year: 1983 - is only avaiable in the short form... And then some vital records can not be obtained on line - you have to mail or go in person??? This is exhausting....