I’ve had my dual Italian citizenship now for almost two years now. Unfortunately at the time of our appointment, my brother lived in Florida. He flew out for the meeting only to be told he couldn’t apply with us since he was a resident in another consulate’s jurisdiction. 
Fast forward a bit and he once again lives in California. Waiting over a year, his appointment finally came last week and we found a little bit of information I wanted to pass along. First, if an ancestor has already obtained citizenship “jure sanguinis” then the descendant’s requirements change slightly. In his case for the San Francisco consulate, he may not have needed to make an appointment at all!
Here’s what was required:
- His birth certificate, apostille, translation
- Application with details all the way up to the original citizen (great grandfather in this case)
- Form 2A, with a list of his residences
- Form 2B is NOT required since our father’s document is already on file
- Copy of US Passport
- Certified copy of his marriage license, apostille, translation
- Simple photocopy of his wife’s birth certificate
My brother was married last year so his wife is not eligible to apply for another two years. When she does, I think she’ll need to submit the equivalent of the first 5 items in the above list for herself since everything else will be on file.
The key thing he learned is “if one of your parents is currently Italian and registered in our anagrafe, you can contact the office of vital statistics directly“. No appointment, no waiting 1+ years, no going to the consulate! Instead, you can simply piggy back on the work of your Italian ancestor (in this case our father who applied with me a couple of years ago) and bypass the queue. If you have a parent or sibling who has already done the work, this is a huge short cut for you.
Also, in other news, the primary citizenship person at the San Francisco consulate, Anna Marie Stone, is apparently leaving after 25 years. No news on a replacement but her knowledge and expertise will certainly be missed by those applying. Buona fortuna!
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Mike said:
on August 17, 2010 at 10:17 am
Hi Brian,
Unrelated to this post but did you ever get a % of how many users are not browsing using JavaScript?
Thanks,
Mike
gina said:
on December 19, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Hi Brian!
Your blog is enormously helpful! I am in the process of applying for Italian citizenship in San Francisco. I have a couple questions I was hoping you could help me with:
(1) It seems from your blog that you obtained citizenship through your great-grandfather, is that correct? I am just wondering if your application was made easier b/c your father was present (thereby applying through his grandfather). I am concerned I may be rejected since I am applying through my great-grandfather. My mother lives in NY so it seems easier if I just apply out here.
(2) There appears to be name and date discrepancies on my great-grandfather’s birth certificate (from Italy) and death certificate (in NY). My readings indicate this will be a problem, any idea on how to fix these discrepancies?
(3) When your brother applies through citizenship, was he required to present any original documents other than his birth certificate? My sister lives in Texas and wants to apply as well.
(4) When is Anna Marie Stone retiring!?
Brian said:
on December 20, 2010 at 10:29 am
@Gina, glad it helps! You are correct on #1; it didn’t make a difference however if my dad was present or not as I had to submit all of the same paperwork. If your mother lives in NY, she won’t be able to apply here and, vice versa, you won’t be able to apply there. However, either one of you can apply and then use the other to get your citizenship with the approach used by my brother above.
For #2, discrepancies and the tolerance for them vary by consulate according to the Internet. We had minor issues with my GGFs documents but I suspect that *most* people have some issues given the age and literary skills back in those days. You need to be able to prove reasonably that who you claim is an ancestor was really an Italian. In my case, my GGFs name was Prospero but he went by Dante and in fact even registered for the military here as Dante. We were able to demonstrate by identical birthdates that it was the same person so we were OK.
#3 – no original documents other than his own. Everything else “above him” is on file already.
#4 – no idea; call the consulate and ask?
susan said:
on January 5, 2011 at 9:00 am
Hi Brian,
Thanks so much for posting this! My aunt and cousin recently obtained citizenship through jure sanguinis. I just booked my appt with the NY consulate for 10/31/11. Do you know if I would have to re-obtain all of my ancestors docs, or just my own birth certificate? Not sure how it works, since they are my cousin and aunt (our ancestors are the same though).
I tried contacting the NY consulate to ask, but the phone just keeps ringing. Any info you have would be much appreciated.
Thanks again!
Brian said:
on January 5, 2011 at 9:31 am
@Susan – see the above comments. Generally speaking you only need to get the documents between you and the ancestor on file. If your aunt is your father’s sister, for example, then you would need your details and your father’s details (linking him to the same parents as your aunt).
Amy said:
on January 31, 2011 at 8:12 am
Hi Brian,
Thanks for this info, it is incredibly helpful as I am halfway through my document hunting, and have an appointment in April along with my Mother and Brother… like you they get to benefit from my hard work!! But I am really excited to do it together. Can you provide any insight about your interview? What did they ask? Is there anything (aside from having all our documents in order) that we should prepare for? I have heard they can be not so friendly, so I am curious about your experience. Also, becuase my dad was German, I have a very German last name and I am wondering if that influences their behavior towards applicants. Thanks in advance for any info!
Amy
Brian said:
on January 31, 2011 at 9:57 am
Amy, I don’t think you’ll find any institutional discrimination against a Germany last name. The woman we worked with at San Francisco was very terse over email/phone but was pleasant in person. They just have an overwhelming among of work so I would think they are trying to be expedient rather than rude. To that end, coming prepared is good. You can read more about our interview here: http://www.ghidinelli.com/2008/08/19/buon-giorno-italia
patricia said:
on February 8, 2011 at 8:25 am
I am at the passport stage. What forms are needed? Would you please describe that part of the process in more detail. thank you.
susan said:
on February 8, 2011 at 8:56 am
Thanks Brian- really appreciate your feedback. I was able to get in touch with the consulate and they confirmed that I would onyl need copies of my ancestor’s original docs and original of my own (and my fathers).
I just hope they don’t change their mind when I actually show up for the appointment in October! I’m thinking about obtaining originals of my ancestors just in case (even though it’s so much time and money) just to be safe. Not sure what I’ll do though :/
Brian said:
on February 8, 2011 at 10:11 am
@Patricia – if you have your proof of citizenship that they sent, getting a passport is just filling out the form, providing a passport photo and paying a fee. IIRC, it was about 80 euros in SF. No different than applying for a US passport.
@Susan – good news and congrats! I thought about getting second copies of my ancestor’s paperwork but in the end I decided I only needed a copy for my personal records. The originals are really only necessary for legal work like citizenships/etc… not sure how a second copy would come in handy unless the consulate burns to the ground the day you submit.
Gina said:
on February 8, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Hi Patricia! What number did you use to get in touch with the consulate? I have been calling them for days and submitted my citizenship appointment request over a month ago, but can’t seem to get in touch with anyone.
Thanks!