I’ve been collecting paperwork now for almost 3 years to apply for Italian citizenship. I have most of what I need. The person responsible for citizenship applications at the San Francisco consulate has been on leave for something like 9 months. The queue before she left was already nine months so when […]

Identity CrisisWhat’s in a name?I received a great email on Thursday; my cousin outside of Milan sent me scans of my great-grandfather and great-grandmother’s birth, death and marriage certificates. The physical documents establish the link that enables me to obtain Italian citizenship.
The problem is that my great grandfather, known as Dante Ghidinelli to everyone […]

Having received my grandmother’s birth certificate after a single email to a public official (gratis, no less), now I need to certify it with an official apostille. Here, you might get the document from the county recorder and the apostille from the Secretary of State. I sent an email to the original Standesamt […]

Part 2 today - apostilles:
In 1961 many nations joined together to create a simplified method of “legalizing” documents for universal recognition. Members of the conference, referred to as the Hague Convention, adopted a document referred to as an Apostille that would be recognized by all member nations.
Documents sent to member nations, completed with an Apostille […]

A couple of years ago, before I went to Europe, I found out that I am entitled to obtain a Italian citizenship through my great-grandfather:
You qualify if your paternal or maternal grandfather was born in the United States, your paternal great grandfather was an Italian citizen at the time of his birth, neither you nor […]