# Documents required for citizenship by descent?



## vmoxa (Feb 8, 2020)

Hi everyone...

I have copies of Italian civil records of the births of my great-grandparents, and my grandparents. Can I use these as the basis to request original, certified copies from the small village where my family originated in Sicily? Or, do I request these from a government center in Agrigento Province?

All ancestors came directly from Sicily to the United States 1899-1906. The great-grandparents died in the U.S. in 1916, 1921.

Because of his age, the great-grandfather was apparently exempt from the World War I draft registration in 1917.

My grandfather, however, did register. And when requested on that form to provide citizenship information, 1. natural-born, 2. naturalized or, 3. alien… it states “alien.”

According to the 1920, 1930, and 1940 Census reports, my grandparents are indicated as “alien” under the citizenship column.

My father was born in Pennsylvania, 1923 while the grandparents are indicated as aliens on the census reports. My mother has no roots in Italy.

It is unlikely my grandmother ever obtained U.S. citizenship after 1940 as her english was still very limited up until her death, and she didn’t possess the mental fortitude to study and pass a citizenship test, as easy is that is.

All this to say: I could request a USCIS report and probably receive a negative confirmation of her obtaining U.S. citizenship.
.........
Other documents…

1. Father’s birth certificate. I would need a certified copy, with apostille?

2. My birth certificate. I have a state-issued document, would it need an apostille seal?

3. Divorce record. This occurred over twenty years ago, I never remarried, no civil arrangements, no children. Would I need to provide a certified copy of the divorce record, and with an apostille seal?

Apart from these documents, is there anything else I need to provide. Thank you.


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## MrNiceGuy (12 mo ago)

I am not a lawyer, but as far as I know the Italian authorities never request proof that a grandparent did not obtain a foreign citizenship from someone applying today. If the ancestor had Italian citizenship by birth and then left for a foreign country, that is fine and valid for the purposes of citizenship by descent.


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## vmoxa (Feb 8, 2020)

MrNiceGuy said:


> I am not a lawyer, but as far as I know the Italian authorities never request proof that a grandparent did not obtain a foreign citizenship from someone applying today. If the ancestor had Italian citizenship by birth and then left for a foreign country, that is fine and valid for the purposes of citizenship by descent.


I thought the Italian courts required confirmation that the descendants did not renounce their Italian citizenship when naturalizing to another country, or not until after children were born in the foreign country? Hence, the need for a USCIS report in the negative: they never became U.S. citizens. Thoughts?


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## Gioia F (6 mo ago)

Jure sanguinia - you must not only prove your blood tied to the Italian grandparent , ( meaning birth, marriage, death certificates for all relative between you and the Italian born relative) , and also show that they were still an Italian citizen at the time of your relatives birth ( meaning the naturalization papers came AFTER your blood relatives birth.) I would start with getting the naturalization paper. And compare that to the birth certificate of the US born parent.


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