I know, I know. It's a long, time-consuming, nerve-wrecking process.
But getting your Italian citizenship is so worth it.
Let's see the main benefits of becoming an Italian citizen together:

1) full right to healthcare
2) possibility to work and live freely in any other EU member State (as from 2021, British people will no longer be considered European citizens)
3) you keep your passport and nationality

Sounds good! Can I apply then?
If you want to know if you're eligible, check out this posts.

Basically, you need to prove that you have an Italian ancestor and that no one, in the lin up to you, renounced their Italian citizenship (more info here, here and here).

Another option is applying for Italian citizenship through marriage: you must have been living in Italy for 2 years. If ou have children, it's 1 year. See here for a longer blog post on precisely this topic.

The last option is naturalization.
This is for people who have lived in Italy continuously for at least 3 to 10 years, depending on several factors. If you're a EU national, for example, it's 4 years. If you're not, it's 10.

Of course, in all these cases you'll need your documents to be translated and certified in court. If you need help with this, just reach out!

Are you living in the UK and married to an Italian citizen? Then this post is for you.

The spouse of an Italian citizen living outside of Italy can apply for Italian citizenship 3 years after the date of the marriage or after 18 months if the couple has children. Provided there is no separation or divorce, citizenship will be granted if the marriage lasts until the signing of the Decree.

Applicants who have their main residence in the United Kingdom must have a valid residence permit issued by the UK Home Office, and their Italian spouses must be registered as resident in this Consular district (AIRE) and state in their application clearly that the foreign spouse is living in the UK, specifying the address for both spouses.
​
You can submit an application for Italian citizenship even if you are in a civil union!

Fees: There is a fee of € 250 for each application or declaration of intent, acquiring, reacquiring or renouncing Italian citizenship.

Time:  48 months from the date of application. 

How to apply:  ONLY ONLINE by applicants legally registered as resident in the UK, whose Italian spouse is registered with AIRE in this Consular area through a dedicated web portal managed by Ministero dell’Interno https://cittadinanza.dlci.interno.it
Please note: the website is in Italian. 
The applicant’s details FAMILY NAME – NAME - DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH need to be consistent with the details on the birth certificate. Women must enter the maiden name.


When the application is submitted, the system will create two items:
1) Application summary
2) Application submission id number
Once the application is checked by this Consulate, it will be either:
1) Accettata  - Accepted
2) Rifiutata – Rejected

Due to the number of applications received by this office, delays in the application’s check are possible. Please bear in mind that the expiration date of the criminal records will be based on the actual date of the upload of the document online. 

SUCCESS! NOW WHAT?
Once the application is checked, the applicant will receive feedback via email through the ALI website. If the application is accepted the system will generate a K10/C reference number.

Accepted applications will receive an invitation via email to contact the Consulate via email to agree on a date in which to deliver the originals of the application documents. On the day of the appointment, the applicant must bring all the originals as uploaded on the website. The documents will be checked during the appointment and will not be returned, except for the Passports and residence permit. The applicant will have to pay following fees (by cash or British Debit Card only) in British Pounds Sterling only:
Euro  14.00    art. 24 - Legalisation of the applicant’s signature on the application
Euro  10.00   art. 71 – Certification copy of the applicant’s passport
Euro  13.00   art. 72A  Confirmation that a translation into Italian complies with its English original.
Following the original documents submission the citizenship process will be managed by Ministero dell’Interno. The applicant will be able to check the progress of the application directly through the Ministero dell’Interno website.

REJECTION!!!! NOW WHAT?

Rejected applications will receive a detailed feedback, please avoid asking for further information via the email address of this office. All communication must be through the website of Ministero dell’Interno.
PLEASE NOTE only accepted applications will receive an invitation to attend the Consulate.
​
There must be no discrepancies in the certificates submitted, in particular in relation to name, surname, date and place of birth of the applicant and the Italian spouse, that have to coincide in all the documentation.
DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO APPLY IN THIS CONSULAR DISTRICT TO BE UPLOADED ON THE ALI WEBSITE
1) QUALIFICATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF ITALIAN LANGUAGE AT B1 LEVEL OF THE CEFR as specified in the following page in the paragraph REQUIREMENTS;
The following certificates must be issued within six months of the application:
2) ESTRATTO PER RIASSUNTO DELL’ATTO DI MATRIMONIO which must only be issued by the Italian Municipality where the Italian citizen is registered or by the Italian Municipality where it took place (the marriage certificate issued abroad on the day of the marriage ceremony is not acceptable). Please note that all marriages even those that took place abroad must be registered with an Italian Municipality (link with Stato Civile). Please make sure your marriage is registered before you make an application for Italian citizenship. This certificate must be issued within six months of the application.
3) FULL BIRTH CERTIFICATE of the applicant with annotations, if any, legalised and translated into Italian. For the translation and legalisation please see the website of the relevant Italian consulate in the Country of issue of the certificate. The legalisation is by means of an Apostille, if the Country signed the Hague Convention of 5th October 1961, if not it must be legalized by the Italian Embassy/Consulate in the country of issue. The translation into Italian, carried out by a translator, must be certified by the Italian Consulate/Embassy in the country where the certificate was issued or legalised by means of an Apostille (for the Italian Consulates and Embassies visit http://www.esteri.it/).This certificate must be issued within six months of the application.
4) CERTIFICATE OF NO CRIMINAL RECORDS FROM THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN/BIRTH AND ANY COUNTRY OTHER THAN ITALY where the applicant may have lived before moving to the U.K., starting from the age of 14. For the translation and legalisation rules please see the website of the relevant Italian Consulate in the Country of issue of the certificate. For all the Federal States the certificate of no criminal records must be issued by the Federal Police. In particular, for the United States, the “Police clearance” or the “Certificate of Criminal records” or “Certificate of good conduct” issued by the central authority of each State (not the county) and legalised by means of an apostille is required, as well as the F.B.I. clearance with the fingerprints, accompanied by a translation into Italian, and legalised by means of an apostille.
For Brazilian Nationals ask for “CERTIDAO DE ANTECEDENTES CRIMINAIS” issued by Policia Federal.
Indian Nationals can obtain this certificate from the High Commission of India in U.K. and obtain apostille from India.
For the translation and legalisation please see the website of the relevant Italian consulate in the Country of issue of the certificate. The legalisation is by means of an apostille, if the Country signed the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 if not it must be legalised by the Italian Embassy/Consulate in the country of issue. The translation into Italian, carried out by a translator, must be certified by the Italian Consulate/Embassy in the country where they were issued or legalised by means of an apostille.
These certificates are valid for six months and they have to be issued by the relevant foreign authority within 6 months of the application.
5) UK CRIMINAL RECORDS CERTIFICATE apostilled and translated into Italian (“Police certificate for immigration purposes” only) which you may obtain from acro.policecertificates@acro.pnn.police.uk. If this document has not been signed, ask for the signature of an ACRO official, that must be legalised by means of an apostille by The Legalisation Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, PO Box 6255, Milton Keynes MK10 1XX, Tel. 03700002244, e-mail: LegalisationEnquiries@fco.gov.uk  web-site: www.fco.gov.uk/legalisation. This service is only by post. Please have the certificate translated into Italian by an official translator (check list of translators: https://conslondra.esteri.it/consolato_londra/it/in_linea_con_utente/info_utili/info-utili.html) and bring the translation (already uploaded in the online application) with you the day of the appointment, it will be certified by this citizenship office. You can pay the fee for the certification with cash or UK debit card (for Consular fees see LINK with consular fees)*.
This certificate is valid for six months and must be issued within six months of the application.
6) RECEIPT OF PAYMENT OF 250 EURO FEE. THE FEE CANNOT BE PAID AT  THE CONSULATE BUT MUST BE PAID BY BANK TRANSFER
The bank transfer receipt must list:
Beneficiary Account Name: “MINISTERO DELL’INTERNO D.L.C.I. – CITTADINANZA”; address: Via Cavour 6, 00184 ROMA
- Reason for payment: Citizenship Application name and surname of the applicant;
- International Bank Account Number (IBAN code): IT54D0760103200000000809020;
- Receiving Bank Name: POSTE ITALIANE S.P.A.
- Receiving Bank BIC/SWIFT code: BPPIITRRXXX.
7) VALID APPLICANT’S UK RESIDENT PERMIT issued by the UK Home Office.
8) VALID ITALIAN SPOUSE’S PASSPORT - only the pages showing the photograph and signature.
9) VALID APPLICANT’S PASSPORT - only the pages showing the photograph and signature.

Just a short infographic today, by Audra de Falco, explaining how the Jure Sanguinis process works. Plus the full list of all.the.things. you need to do to get your Italian citizenship!

• 1. Determine if you qualify. (Sometimes you will not be able to do this step until after steps 5b or 2 are completed.)
  2. Determine the consulate at which you must (or can) apply.
  3. Make an appointment at that consulate. (Depending on the consulate, this step may be postponed until later in the process.)
  4. Determine which documents you will need to submit to the consulate.
  5. Obtain those documents.
  • a. Obtain documents (generally, vital records) from Italy for your ancestor(s) (or yourself, if applicable) who were born there.
    b. Obtain naturalization-related documents for your ancestors who emigrated from Italy.
    c. Obtain vital records from outside Italy for your ancestors and yourself.
    d. Obtain the full set of documents required for divorces, such as a certificate of no appeal.
    e. Obtain no records letters, court orders to release records, or alternative records in the case where vital records don't exist or can't be found.

6. Treat discrepancies on your documents.

• a. Determine which discrepancies require amendment.
  b. Amend documents.
  c. Write affidavits for minor discrepancies.
  d. Obtain letters from Italy (such as a "positivo/negativo") to resolve discrepancies.
  e. Obtain letters from vital record officers concerning discrepancies that cannot be amended.
  f. Obtain court orders to amend discrepancies or declare that a person named on one document is the same as that named on another (a "finding of one and the same," a.k.a. a "declaratory judgment").

7. Have documents translated into Italian.
8. Have documents issued from outside Italy apostilled. (This step can often be done concurrently with or before step 7, but sometimes a translation or its certification will require an apostille.)
9. Have documents issued outside the area that is covered by the consulate at which you are applying authenticated by the consulate(s) that does cover the area where they were issued. Consulates vary in the degree to which this is necessary.
10. Fill out forms for you and your ancestors indicating that you have never renounced your Italian citizenship. This step may often be done at the consulate. Such forms for your living Italian ancestors may need to be filled out (and had notarized) by your ancestors themselves.
11. Go to your appointment and apply for citizenship recognition. This step may be done earlier in the process, before all the previous steps are completed, but in that case you'll probably need to have a follow-up appointment.
12. If your application is not accepted, repeat the steps 3 through 11 until your application is accepted. Even if your application is accepted, there may still be missing documents or discrepancies requiring amendment. In that case also, repeat steps 3 through 11. In some cases you may be able to submit new documents without having to do so at a follow-up appointment.
13. When your application has been accepted and is deemed complete, wait for acknowledgment, from either the consulate or comune, depending on the consulate, that your birth has been registered in Italy and you may apply for a passport. This acknowledgment may come in form of a letter, an email, or a phone call, or be told to you in person.
14. Apply for your passport. Some consulates require you to obtain your own birth certificate from the comune where your birth has been registered in order for you to be able to apply for a passport, others merely require confirmation from the comune that your birth has been registered, and some allow you to apply for a passport as soon as they accept your application. Strictly speaking, this step is optional.

After months spent collecting your documents, having them apostilled, translated etc...you are ready to apply for your Italian passport. How do you do it? Read on! (And thank the Tapatalk forum)!

Go to your appointment and apply for citizenship recognition.

There will be an application fee of 300 euro per adult. Bring enough local currency (in cash, in a variety of denominations) to pay the application fee unless your consulate describes another form of payment on their Web site.

When your application has been accepted and is deemed complete, wait for acknowledgment, from either the consulate or comune, depending on the consulate, that your birth has been registered in Italy and you may apply for a passport.

Apply for your passport.

For more information about Italian passports, please read Your Italian Passport: An Operator's Guide.

One way that an Italian citizen could lose that citizenship, as provided for in Law 555 of 1912, was by renouncing that citizenship at an Italian consulate while residing abroad or alternatively by formally stating the intention to renounce that citizenship while residing in Italy and then moving abroad within a year. This was distinct from losing citizenship via a foreign naturalization, as this renunciation was required to have taken place in front of an Italian governmental official, not a foreign one.

Thus if a person claims to have Italian citizenship by birth, or that an ancestor had been an Italian citizen, the consulate at which that person is applying will want to contact other consulates covering the areas where that claimant and his or her ancestors resided to verify that none of these people every formally renounced Italian citizenship.

This is generally a formality, as cases of Italians actually renouncing their citizenship this way were very rare.

To facilitate this verification, some consulates require that jure sanguinis applicants fill out declaration forms that state that the applicant and his or her ancestors in the applicant's direct line never renounced Italian citizenship and furthermore list all the places where those ancestors lived as an adult. (Since minors could not renounce, it doesn't matter where such people resided as children.) Whether consulates really contact all the other consulates that cover the places on these lists is unknown, although in a few cases at least it seems that the consulate did so.

Need help with translations for Dual citizenship in-italy applications? I'm here ;)

Click here to edit.

An apostille is an authentication of an official document that allows it to be used in a different country, provided both countries have signed the Hague convention on apostilles (technically, the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents).

Any document that will be submitted to Italy during the jure sanguinis application process that comes from a Hague convention signatory will generally need an apostille. What is actually being authenticated by the apostille is the signature of the official who signed the underlying document.

The apostille is a separate piece of paper that is added to the document, usually with staples. On this piece of paper is written the country for which the document will be used (Italy) and the name of the person whose signature is being verified. The signatures of local officials are kept on file at the department that issues the apostille.

In the US, each state issues its own apostilles for documents from that state, the apostilles being issued by the Secretary of State's office for that state. The US Department of State issues apostilles for federal documents. At the state level, the signatures of only some public officials, such as county clerks, the state registrar, or Superior Court judges, and public notaries are kept on file by the Secretary of State, so a document issued by a municipality would need to first be certified by a county clerk or state registrar (depending on the state) before it could then be apostilled.

Look at this topic for more detailed information about apostilles and how to obtain them in the US: requesting-apostilles-for-u-s-documents-t267.html

Apostilles are required for vital records issued by Hague convention countries (such as the US, but not Canada), except for some documents from select European countries that have an agreement with Italy obviating apostilles. Exactly which submitted documents will require an apostille varies from consulate to consulate, but as a rule of thumb birth, marriage, and death certificates for anyone in your line with require them and sometimes such documents for people not in your line as well. Court records, including official name changes, divorce decrees, certificates of no appeal for divorces, and declaratory judgments, all usually require apostilles. A church-issued marriage or baptismal certificate, when used as a substitute for a missing government-issued vital record, sometimes requires an apostille, and if this is the case, one would first have the document notarized, by the diocese or a public notary, and then have that notary's signature authenticated with an apostille. Sometimes a translator's certification of accuracy is required to be apostilled, especially if it is for a translation of a court record (the NY consulate is known to ask for this). (Note that for a single divorce often 2 or more documents will have to be apostilled - the divorce decree or judgment and the certificate of no appeal, and sometimes the translator's certification as well.) Naturalization-related documents from the US are not required to be apostilled if they are being submitted to a consulate in the US, but consulates in other countries, as well as comuni in Italy, may ask for them for US-issued documents and conversely consulates in the US require apostilles on naturalization documents from outside the US. If necessary, just about any document can be apostilled by having it notarized first, which is sometimes necessary when using older copies of documents that were issued long ago. However, no records letters and the like don't require apostilles.

For a compilation of what was and was not required to be apostilled at various consulates, look at this topic:
what-docs-did-you-need-to-apostille-t1401.html

Apostilles can be obtained for documents by walking them into the proper office, without an appointment, and getting them back the same day or by mailing them to the proper office and having them mailed back, generally in a few weeks. The costs is typically several dollars per document. The topic linked to above as well as the following one (particular to NY State) have more information on how and where to obtain them:
obtaining-documents-apostilles-from-new-york-city-state-t312.html

Be careful not to remove the staples that attach an apostille to the underlying document. If you have a document amended, you should obtain a new apostille for it, so it is probably a good idea to make sure all corrections are completed before obtaining apostilles. When a document has to be authenticated by a consulate, the apostille will have to be done beforehand, since one of the things they will be verifying is the apostille.

Since an apostille is an authentication of a signature, some offices will not apostille documents more than a few years old, or those signed by someone no longer in office. Exactly where the cut-off is varies by state or country, but if you have a very old copy of a document, it is usually necessary to order a new one. Also keep in mind that since it is the county clerk's signature that in most cases (in the US) is being authenticated, even an older document that was issued locally could theoretically be certified now by a county clerk and then apostilled with no difficulty.

If a country, such as Canada, Brazil, or most African countries, does not issue apostilles, there still may be some sort of governmental legalization process required for a document in order for it to be used in another country. The topic linked to above on documents that require apostille also discusses these sort of legalizations when they have arisen. In general, when using a document from a foreign country (other than Italy of course) for your application, ask the consulate in the issuing country, which will have to authenticate the document, what sort of legalization will be required from that country's government.

Want to read more about this topic?
Check out these blog posts as well:

• What's an apostille and how to get it.html
• legalized-and-apostilled-translations.html

Need help? Just write me an email!

So, you collected your ancestors' documents, treated any discrepancies, got them apostilled. Now it's time to have them translated into Italian. This post is partly taken from the Tapatalk forum, partly from my own 10 year experience doing this job. Requirements for applicants in Italy vary, so I wrote what works specifically for in-Italy applications. 

Which documents?

Documents to be submitted for the application process that are not in Italian and will be transcribed in the records of the comune must be translated into Italian. In particular, this includes applicants' birth, marriage certs, and, when applicable, divorce records, as well as any birth certificates for applicants' children. Some other documents used in the application also need to be translated, but exactly which ones depends on the consulate or comune at which ones is applying.

Generally, vital records for direct line ancestors, even if they are not applying for citizenship recognition, must also be translated. Sometimes documents (i.e., birth and death certificates) for the spouses of these direct line ancestors are required to be translated as well. Naturalization-related documents, including no-records letters and census records, from the US do not have to be translated if they are being used at a consulate in the US, but may be required to translate if they are being used at a consulate outside the US. As a general rule, all non-Italian documents used when applying at a comune in Italy must be translated. Furthermore, non-Italian documents from one country must always be translated when used at another country outside of Italy.


Translated by whom?

Some consulates, such as that in Boston, will translate documents for you, at least if they are issued in the area covered by the consulate. Some countries, such as Germany, have officially certified translators, which are required to be used for translations of documents from that country (the consulates in these countries should have a list of such translators, since they are obligated to verify their signatures). In the US and Canada there are no such certified translators, but some consulates maintain lists of translators they have approved for translations and it is advisable to use someone on their list, although it isn't always required.

Many consulates in the US will accept translations done by the applicant ("self-translations"), so long as they are of good quality. They don't actually verify that you are the one that did the translations, so you could, for example, have a friend do them. Using Google Translate or similar applications/websites is not prohibited, but not recommended either, because consulates will often reject translations that are obviously written by someone not that fluent in Italian, even when the important information is clear.

For some special documents, such as court orders or divorce-related documents, some consulates (NY comes to mind) will insist that these be professionally translated even as they accept other documents, from the same applicant, that are translated by someone who is not a professional translator.


Which parts of the documents need to be translated?

If you submit your documents in Italy, the general rule is that EVERYTHING needs to be translated (yes, that includes apostilles and legalese).

Translator's certificate of translations

In Italy, translators need to go to court to certify translations. So, the certificate is issued by the court. Any certificate issued by the translator has no legal value.

If you want to read more on this topic, check out these other blog posts I wrote:

• how-to-get-your-documents-officially-translated-in-italy.html
• how-to-choose-the-right-italian-official-translator.html
• official-translations-for-citizenship-when-its-best-to-have-them-done-in-italy-and-when-its-not.html
• sworn-official-certified-translations.html

Need help with official translations? Just hit reply, I'll be happy to help!

This week's post is short and sweet. Just a checklist of how to treat discrepancies in Italian dual citizenship documents. Because they happen a lot! As usual, thanks to the Tapatalk Forum.

​So, how do you go about treating discrepancies on your documents?
​
a. Determine which discrepancies require amendment.
b. Amend documents.
c. Write affidavits for minor discrepancies.
d. Obtain letters from Italy (such as a "positivo/negativo") to resolve discrepancies.
e. Obtain letters from vital record officers concerning discrepancies that cannot be amended.
f. Obtain court orders to amend discrepancies or declare that a person named on one document is the same as that named on another (a "finding of one and the same," a.k.a. a "declaratory judgment").

Need help with document translations? Just shoot me an email, I'll get right back to you!

Pandemic or not, you can still pursue your dream of becoming an Italian citizen. So, after a pause, I'm resuming this series about getting Italian citizenship. As usual, this info is taken from the Tapatalk Forum.

For proving that someone naturalized in the US:

1. There are 3 sources of naturalization records in the US: (a) NARA, which has only naturalizations from federal courts, mainly between 1906 and sometimes in the 1950s. (b) USCIS, which is part of Homeland Security, used to be called INS, and was establish in 1906. They have records of most naturalizations after 1905 including recent ones. (c) County courts and local archives of records from county courts, scattered throughout the county, which have records from before 1906 and include naturalizations from after then that did not take place in federal court. One can also use an original certificate of naturalization that was issued to a relative who naturalized.

2. You definitely need either a certificate of naturalization (sometimes called a certificate of citizenship) or an oath of allegiance. These are the only official docs that actually state that someone has naturalized.

3. The oath does not contain enough info to be used by itself, so it always must be accompanied by either a petition for naturalization (sometimes called a petition for citizenship) or a declaration of intent. We've actually only seen one case where someone used a declaration and oath without the petition, a long time ago, so I can't promise that this will work now.

4. The certificate of naturalization is usually acceptable by itself, but not always. This is because it often lacks identifying information such as an exact date of birth (instead of just an age). For this reason, if you present only a certificate of naturalization, you may get asked to submit a petition as well. And if you get asked for the petition, then you may get asked for the oath, too, which is usually on the back of the petition, because if they're not sure that the certificate is really for your ancestor then they'll also need proof of naturalization and a petition without an oath does not constitute such proof. Of course, if you already have the petition and oath then you didn't need the certificate in the first place.

5. An original certificate of naturalization is much more likely to be accepted by itself than a certificate of naturalization from some other source, such as USCIS or a county court. This is because if someone has an original certificate, then in all likelihood it belonged to a relative. OTOH, anyone can obtain docs from USCIS, so a certificate from them is more likely to be for a person who just happens to have a name that is similar to your relative's. NY and Chicago are the only consulates that we have ever seen ask for a petition when presented with an original certificate of naturalization; they don't do this consistently.

6. When one submits docs from a source (USCIS, NARA, etc.), you will often be asked to submit all docs from them, even though all of them wouldn't have been necessary if they weren't available. For uncertified docs you are more likely to be asked for a cover letter or the envelope they came in, too.

7. Consulates generally like to see certified docs. Those from NARA are certified, and often county court ones are, too, although recently we've seen more local archives refusing to certify docs. USCIS docs were certified a long time ago, but now are not, although it is still possible to get a special certification for them, which is necessary if you want to use them overseas. Consulates differ in their requirements for certification. For example, Boston (and only Boston) requires an additional extra certification from a courthouse in Boston for NARA docs from Massachusetts. (They seem to have a harder time dealing with NARA docs from other regions which lack this extra certification.) San Francisco insists that, unless you submit the original certificate of naturalization, then you must submit some sort of certified naturalization doc, although all of them do not have to be certified.

8. NARA docs, so long as they include the petition and oath, are properly certified (which has a different meaning in Boston), and do not contain "major" discrepancies, have always been accepted as sufficient by themselves, at all consulates in the US, even though NARA rarely, if ever, has the certificate of naturalization.

9. County court documents are often the best - they tend to include both the certificate of naturalization and the petition/oath, as well as other docs such as a certificate of arrival; they usually can be certified; they tend to be better quality copies than those from USCIS; and they usually contain a cover letter. The problem with these docs are that they can be hard to find, since there is no centralized source for them, and it may be hard to get the archives/county to certify them. Still, especially for naturalizations before 1906, they may be your only source for the naturalization docs.

10. Note that the sources mentioned in the last 2 items (NARA and county courts) do not overlap. You will be able to find docs at one or the other but not both. And sometimes neither, since some docs that were held at county courts have been transferred to USCIS and now can only be found there.

11. Some naturalization records, including those for more recent naturalizations, are only available from USCIS. USCIS records are uncertified (although with some difficulty can be), so they are not accepted by themselves at some consulates, such as SF. Even some consulates, namely, NY and Chicago, that will usually accept USCIS records by themselves will sometimes ask to see other records, too, because the USCIS records are uncertified, often of poor quality, and have some identifying info blacked out.

Look here for examples of acceptable and unacceptable US naturalization documentation.

 Stay tuned for the rest of the series!

​And if you need help, just shoot me an email!