B32: How do I obtain dual U.S.-Italian citizenship?

The following is a copy of a fact sheet obtained from the Italian Consulate in Los Angeles in August, 1994.

• Consolato Generale D'Italia
• 12400 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 300
• Los Angeles, CA 90025
• (310) 820-0622

INFORMATION ON ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP FOR U.S. CITIZENS OF ITALIAN DESCENT

If you were born in the United States you may also be considered an Italian citizen if any one of the situations listed below pertains to you:

• 1) your father was an Italian citizen at the time of your birth and you never renounced your right to Italian citizenship;
• 2) your mother was an Italian citizen at the time of your birth, you were born after January 1, 1948 (and before April 27, 1965) and you never renounced your Italian citizenship;
• 3) your paternal grandfather was an Italian citizen at the time of your father's birth and neither you nor your father ever renounced your Italian citizenship;
• 4) your maternal grandmother was an Italian citizen at the time of your mother's birth, you were born after January 1, 1948 and neither you nor your mother ever renounced your rights to Italian citizenship.

IF #1 APPLIES TO YOU, you must obtain the following documents:

• Your father's birth certificate (write to the comune where your father was born, enclose three or four dollars, and request his birth certificate);
• Your parent's marriage certificate (if the marriage took place in Italy follow the procedure described above for birth certificate; if it took place in the United States you must obtain a certified copy of the marriage certificate from city hall);
• If applicable, his death certificate;
• Your birth certificate (certified copy);
• Your father's naturalization certificate, or a statement from U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service stating that your father was never naturalized, or his current Italian passport and alien registration card. This serves to prove that if your father became a naturalized U.S. citizen this occurred after your birth (**if it occurred before your birth you are not entitled to Italian citizenship**).

IF #2 APPLIES TO YOU, you must do **all of the above**, but with regards to your MOTHER.

IF #3 APPLIES TO YOU, you must obtain your paternal grandfather's birth certificate from Italy, his marriage license, and all of the documents listed for #1, except for your father's naturalization certificate, because in this case you will need your paternal grandfather's naturalization papers.

IF #4 APPLIES TO YOU, you must obtain your maternal grandfather's birth certificate, his marriage certificate, and all the documents listed for #2, except for your mother's naturalization certificate, because in this case you will need your maternal grandfather's naturalization papers.

If you are a resident of the jurisdiction of this Consulate General (Arizona, New Mexico, California (counties of San Luis Obispo, Kern, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial Valley, and Orange), you should bring all the pertinent documentation to this Office between the hours of 8:30 and 12:00 noon, Monday through Friday. We will forward all the certificates issued in the United States to Italy to be recorded there. After we have been notified that the documents have been accepted and recorded, a process which generally takes four to six months, you may apply for an Italian passport.

If you are a male under the age of forty-five, once your documents are recorded, you will have military obligations to Italy, which can generally be fulfilled by completing the necessary paperwork. However, this means that if you are under the age of twenty-six you may not permanently reside in Italy for reasons other than study unless you wish to serve in the Italian armed forces.

PLEASE NOTE:

• If your parents became U.S. citizens when you were a minor, or if you were a minor on April 21, 1983, you will have to sign a statement with which you opt for the Italian citizenship.
• If you were a minor on April 21, 1983, and your father or mother (depending on whom you are tracing your citizenship through) became a naturalized U.S. citizen after that date, you have lost your right to Italian citizenship.

IF YOU ARE CONCERNED THAT ANY OF THE ABOVE PROCEDURES MAY AFFECT YOUR U.S. CITIZENSHIP YOU SHOULD CONTACT THE LOCAL U.S. AUTHORITIES.