Dual Citizenship- do it yourself or hire someone to help?

[LPGiuliani]

Hello,
I am just investigating the possibility of obtaining dual citizenship based on my great-grandfather (born in Lucca in 1889, no known renouncing of citizenship) through my mother's father. I'd ideally like to get dual citizenship for my entire family (husband and 2 boys under 5) based on my ancestry.

I'm just getting started researching the process but wasn't sure how large of an undertaking this would be and whether it's something you could do by yourself, or if it's best (particularly as a mom of small kids with little time) to hire someone to assist with this.

If anyone used either 1) a particularly great resource on "how to" do this by yourself or 2) a company that did this for you, I'd be interested hearing about both.

Grazie!

[mler]

Keep in mind that appointments with most consulates involve waits of at least two years. This gives you a lot of time to obtain documents.

Once you have obtained your great grandfather's birth certificate, obtaining the US documents is a rather straightforward process, and all (including apostilles) can be obtained by mail.

I applied approximately ten years ago and did not use a service. The procedures for obtaining documents are available on the internet, and most documents can be obtained online.

I would not waste money on a service. There may be other expenses ahead if you run into discrepancies, so it seems best to keep costs to a minimum at least initially.

I will add that doing the minimal research required is also a satisfying way to connect with the ancestor's from whom you are obtaining citizenship.

[enzamatic]

Can you explain for me - doing the same and here is where I'm at.

1)Ordering great grandfather's birth certificate (from Capannori - should i have contacted the Comune or somewhere else?)

2)Have my parents docs, my docs
3)Have images of my grandparents docs.

Question:
1)When you order your grandparents docs, I'm very confused about apostilles. Do I have to first order the certificate, then mail the certificate back to wherever the state's website says along with money? Here's what Kentucky's apostille says - http://www.sos.ky.gov/bus/businessrecor ... tions.aspx
Notice it says docs have to be signed by the CURRENT state registrar? So confused - obviously my parents and grandparents' birth certificates, marriage certificates would not be by current registrar. Can you explain the order you would do this? Do I need to order a NEW copy and then mail it to the secretary of state's office?

2)How did you go about getting translated copies of these?

3)Two things a little weird - my mom has been going by Anne instead of Anna forever on her license etc...assuming since she did a social security name change getting married I don't need to produce anything for that?
Second - great grandfather's birth certificate says Giovanni Luigi Annibale Biagi. His US docs all say John Annibale Biagi or Annibale Biagi. Do you have any idea if that counts as a 'name discrepancy"?

[LPGiuliani]

Thanks so much, mler! I was thinking the "journey" through the whole process might be the best part, I just didn't know how long to expect. Do people make the appointments with the consulates first and then gather documents? Or should I secure the original birth certificate first and make the appointment (assuming I can pick up the US docs in the meantime?)

[AnnieB]

I'd say it took me a little over a year of consistent work to collect all the documents I needed and make amendments. USCIS takes the longest -- that can take 6 months or longer to get the certificate of naturalization if one exists for your ancestor. I'd say make the appointment now and then start collecting what you need, you can cancel it if you think you aren't ready.

In retrospect, I wish I'd hired a company to help. The document collection isn't so bad, but having advice with how to handle any errors correctly would have been really valuable. I had my first appointment in January, and if seems like if I had presented my documents a bit differently, I could have saved myself some time and extra cost. You can definitely handle this yourself though! There's a facebook group that I've found really helpful. It's called Dual U.S.-Italian Citizenship. Make sure you look at the guide that's on your consulate's website too. They all require slightly different things.

If you decide to hire someone, Peter Farina from ItalyMONDO has been recommended by lots of people. He gives free consultations too, so it may be worth a call just to get his advice.

[mler]

Given the wait times at most consulates, most people make appointments first and follow with the document search. You can always reschedule if necessary, but the odds are you will have your documents by appointment time.

[LPGiuliani]

Thanks, Mler that's really helpful!

[kmdefever]

I've been going through the process of getting my documents together for about two months now. I only have three more to go-- my GGP's marriage certificate, my GGF's naturalization certificate, my GGF's Italian birth certificate. My appointment at the SF consulate isn't until May 2019.

Two resources have been so very helpful that I haven't felt the need to hire anyone (except translators, of course): FamilySearch.org and this forum. Well, three. My mom-- keeper of the family photocopies.

Good luck to you, LPGiuliani!

[mler]

For Enzamatic

1. You order the certificate, and then you send the certificate with the appropriate fee to the office that handles apostilles. Even though a document was first issued many years ago, the certified copy you obtain is recertified by the current registrar.

2. Your consulate should have a listing of recommended translators.

3. The name discrepancies you note are minor especially your mother's use of the English translation of her name. I doubt they will cause difficulty.

[dfdemar]

It's pretty easy to do it yourself, especially if you live in a consular district like Miami that isn't very picky about name and date discrepancies. There's a few jurisdictions that make it hard to order vital records but in general the process is straightforward. I wouldn't hire a service unless you're in a hurry and willing to pay a lot of extra money to apply in Italy, or if you fall into a category like the 1948 rule.

[jennabet]

I worked on two cases -- my own which was a basic, straightforward Grand-father, Father, Me case, while I was living in Mexico and didn't have any problems securing the documents I needed from the Philadelphia region although I did go in person to my grand-father's commune in Italy to obtain a copy of his birth certificate.

The next case I worked on was for my companion. His case was a little more difficult in that it was not as straight forward as mine and I had to secure documents from many states as his family started out in Italy, then to East Coast, West Coast and even in the middle of the country. Still it was all doable without needing to hire any type of service other than a translation service.