My Quest for Dual Citizenship :: Submitted by Michael Skroki
My own journey to dual citizenship began about 4 or 5 years ago also (and also isn't completed yet)...
I was searching genealogical sites on the web and came upon one that mentioned dual citizenship. I was intrigued and quickly worked out that I was eligible (my mother was born here in the U.S. BEFORE my grandfather became a naturalized citizen) and started assembling the required documents.
At the time I was living in Boston and with all of my documents in hand I headed to the Italian Consulate downtown. All of my documents were in order BUT I needed Apostilles on them. An Apostille is a certification from the Secretary of State (of each State) declaring that the document is authentic.
Getting Apostilles for the birth, marriage and death certificates was a breeze. Send the documents, with a check to the appropriate State Capitol and in a few weeks it comes back with another document stapled on top of it. For me the problem was the Naturalization documents. First I had to send it back to INS to have it certified there. By the way INS told me the local field office could do this and after wasting a day at INS in Boston was told they in fact couldn't do it. Once INS certified it then the State Department in Washington had to put the Apostille on it. I was feeling very protective of this document and like Mimi made a trip with the document to have it done in person. That process was very easy and over in about ten minutes then I had the most wonderful day in Washington.
By this time I had moved to Connecticut which is covered by the Italian Consulate in New York City. So a trip to NYC the woman assured me my documents were in order and in no time at all my case would be successfully concluded.....famous last words (this was Feb of 2000).
After waiting a few months I contacted the consulate. Oh, they were so glad I called. They needed another document and hadn't been able to reach me. Okay. A few more months and I'm told just to wait.
This past summer I called again. They needed a new copy of my birth certificate that listed the exact city I was born in (the cert. from Pennsylvania only listed the County). Got Harrisburg to make a special birth certificate for me and then got the Apostille. Sent it in.
Waited. Contacted the Consulate again. Okay, we're transferring the case to the Consulate in Philadelphia since most of the documents are from Pennsylvania. They will verify everything and then register you with the Comune in Italia. that was September of 2001. And that's where I stand at the moment. In a few weeks I'm visiting friends in PA and will visit the Consulate in Philadelphia.
My experience has been, keep checking on your case or it seems to get lost. Still looking forward to the day I get my dual citizenship though and have been thoroughly enjoying the adventure.