1948 Rule eligibility question and fees

[jaepiare]

Ciao!
Id like to request the opinion of the group as to whether or not I am eligible for dual citizenship. My details are as follows:

Paternal Grandma born 1909 Sicily
Paternal Grandpa born 1904 Sicily
They Married in NYC 1932
My father was born in NYC in 1938.
1940 Census Grandpa listed as NA; Grandma listed as AI
Assuming AI means my grandma was not a citizen and remained an Alien, can I use her to apply for dual citizenship?

If so, and I have to contest the 1948 rule, anyone have an estimate what the lawyers fees will be to try the case, obtain birth certificates from Sicily and translate the US documentation (I will get them on my own).

Thanks for your attention.
Juliane

[mler]

If your grandmother was still an Italian citizen when your father was born in 1938, I believe you have a 1948 case. Check that thread for specifics.

[OpusReticulatum]

1940 Census Grandpa listed as NA; Grandma listed as AI
Assuming AI means my grandma was not a citizen and remained an Alien, can I use her to apply for dual citizenship?

Yes.

However, in order to file a 1948 case, you will still need to obtain your grandfather's naturalization information to prove that he naturalized. And you will also have to provide proof that your grandmother did not naturalize before your father's birth (obviously).

The Courts have, for the past three years, been very strict about taking 1948 cases when there is a paternal ancestor in the line who was born Italian. A few years ago there were a number of 1948 cases filed by people who could have applied at their consulates, but opted to go the 1948 case route instead because their consulates had extremely long wait times for appointments. Consequently, the Courts began to require proof, in 1948 cases, that the paternal route was not viable for the applicant.

In your case, while your grandfather was listed as a US citizen in the 1940 census, your father was born in 1938. So, while the odds are that your grandfather became a citizen prior to your father's birth, he might not have. The census record doesn't prove this. It's possible that your grandfather became a US citizen at any point between your father's birth up to the day he answered the census question. Also, some people, either through misunderstanding/language barriers or fear of (further) discrimination, ended up listed as citizens on the census when they weren't. (My paternal great-grandmother is incorrectly listed on a census as NA when she should have been AL.)

And if it does turn out that your grandfather naturalized in 1939 or 1940 or the day after your father was born . . . congratulations, you don't have to file a court case!

[jaepiare]

Wow thank you so much OpusReticulatum for you answer! I appreciate all the details you gave. I am going to get started on my grandpas naturalization documents next paycheck. These forms get expensive I really appreciate your answer
- Juliane.