An Italian Journey...

It's a new day..

2011-02-24T22:43:00.000+00:00

On February 22, 2011, I received my Italian certificate recognizing me as an Italian citizen!!

The overall process did not take a long time. Taking into consideration the delays in Argentina and the fact that it took the Italian consulate in Miami to hear back from the Italian consulate in Buenos Aires 4 months.

Apparently that consulate in Miami needed to information from the consulate in Argentina. Virginia said it was consulate-to-consulate information-.

Finally on November the 20h, she wrote me back letting me know she had received response from them.

Again..overall..not bad..not bad at all!

To everyone out there don't lose hope..good things come to those who wait.

Arrivederci e buona notte

Finally...

2010-07-29T03:48:00.001+01:00

I finally received my GGF's document from Argentina on Friday which I mailed to Virginia on Saturday morning. I also received my parents' no appeal translation on Tuesday which was sent out that same day. So far so good, I haven't heard from Virginia which is good news!

I have been reading the forums and apparently the process through the Miami consulate is taking 4 to 5 months. Now let's not forget, this also depends on how fast the pertinent comune works.

I also read that once a person becomes recognized as an Italian citizen, the comune will mail a letter to the newly recognized Italian, but they will not mail the birth certificate unless it is requested.

But, I'll cross that bridge when I get there!

In the meantime I'll just keep waiting for my letter...

Buona notte

Another stepping stone.....

2010-07-10T05:02:00.000+01:00

So, to catch up a bit. Right after my appointment we moved the family to Illinois. Not knowing what the next 2 months would bring us. But, I'll tell you... despite our happiness towards an exciting Italian Citizenship (almost) end, life brought us another challenge, a challenge that would put our love as a family to the test. We mooved from Florida to a small town in Illinois, my husband lost his job, the home we were going to rent was a wreck and it's landlord told us we could fix it up bit by bit as out of pocket (I'm NOT kidding!!), and we had NO money left. The moving costs were $3000 alone and we did it ourselves of course.
But at least I still had my job, on a part-time basis now, which I did from home, let me rephrase that, my mom's basement is more like it. Yes, right after finding out we were homeless, my mom offered us her basement, and so we took it. Now, most people would say, a basement is not bad, and believe me it's not when there's NO mold growing from the walls, carpet, bathroom and doors.
But, it's safe to say that 3 weeks ago we made a 3 hour 25 minutes trip to Chicago and its suburbs to find a new place to call home. We found a great place just 30 minutes away from Chicago, but it's on the suburbs. We are far away from the craziness but close enough to it's entertainment. My husband was able to find work, and I am happy to report that we are SETTLED again!!!

Now back to the process....
Right after my appointment my aunt was able to send me the NO citizen document from Argentina, which upon arrival, I forwarded to Virginia.
Also 3 weeks after the appointment, I called the clerk of courts in Miami for the 18th time, but this time around I was helped by someone who knew exactly what I needed. She said they had a form called "Statement of NO Appeal", and all I needed to do in order to obtain it was to:
1. Request it in writing,
2. Send a $7 money order, and
3. Include a self stamped envelope.
All of which I did, and 2 weeks later I had the document in my hands which I made a copy of and then rushed to the post office to mail it.
Now, with all this craziness happening, I also had Virginia calling me. She said 2 things,
1. The Statement of NO Appeal had to be translated and
2.   The certificate of NO citizen had to be stamped by the Italian consulate in Argentina.
She then sent me back such certificate so that it could be forwarded to Argentina one more time to be stamped by the consulate over there.
And that's exactly what was done. Now I am awaiting for my aunt to get that document stamped and sent back to me in order for me to send it to Virginia.
In the meantime, my mom's certificate/Statement of NO appeal is being translated as we speak. I will then forward that to Virginia as well.

I think that's it for now, it took me an hour to catch up on 2 1/2 months of living history.
Well, hopefully on the next update I'll be able to write: Just waiting for the certificate............

Arrivederci e buona notte

At last....

2010-04-24T16:06:00.000+01:00

After a not so long journey, but full of obstacles in its way, I managed to come afloat.
As I have mentioned in my previous post, all DC, along with MC and BC where in Argentina and needed to get to me before April 14th at 9:00.
My dear aunt ended up mailing all the documents by UPS since they had a guaranteed delivery by 8:30 in the morning that April 14th, and at this point it was a chance we needed to take.
That morning I took the children to school and came back home in a hurry awaiting these long awaited documents and finally at 8:15 my door bell rings and here they were!

I checked all the documents, made copies of some of them and off I was along with my mother, who I had previously added to my appointment.
We arrived at the consulate at 9:30, a half hour earlier, which is not a big deal since if you are more than 10 minutes late, they automatically drop your appointment!

I soon as we entered the consulate we notified a very nice gentleman at he information window, that we had an appointment at the citizenship window at 10:00 and we were told to wait.
We waited no more then 10 minutes when Virginia, this very nice and polite short brownish/reddish short hair and petite lady called my name. We came to the window and she asked us who our lineage was, "my great-grandfather", I answered.
She then started requesting the documents in order, she asked for:

*--My great-grandfather's BC
*--My great-grandfather's certificate of Naturalization or Not Naturalization, to which I said my aunt was picking it up in Argentina the following day, since it had gotten lost in the Argentinian mail, I showed her the order proof they Camara Electoral had given my aunt to pick up this document, where it said "Certificate of Non-Argentinian", meaning had never become an Argentinian citizen. She read it and said to mail it to her when it became ready, and she kept this document I showed her.
*--Next she asked for my great-grandfather's marriage certificate
*--My great-grandfather's death certificate
*--And then she started asking me for my grandmother's BC
Please Note: She never asked me for my great-grandmother's information at all, since I was doing this process through my great-grandfather, she said they were not necessary.
*--Then she asked me for my grandmother's marriage certificate
Please Note: My grandmother divorced almost 50 years ago, but since my mother was born during that marriage the certificate was not necessary.
*--Then she asked for my mother's BC
*--My mother's marriage certificate
*--My mother's divorce certificate, since my mother was applying for the citizenship as well. Virginia told my mom at this point that she needed to get the "Statement of NO appeal", or certificate of no appeal, and that she could mail it once she received it and had it appostilled.
*--Then she asked for my BC
*--My marriage certificate, I gave her my husband's birth certificate at this point, which she kept.
*--And BC for all three children
Now, my first child was born before my husband and I got married, therefore, Virginia said my husband would have to go to the consulate to have our child recognized. I told her that we were moving in 2 days and she said to come back next day and just ask for her, and so we did.
*--She then asked for all 4 forms filled out that are on their website, which we had, including form 3 filled out by my grandmother and certified in Argentina, along with a copy of her Identification.
After we gave her all the documents, she made us sign the A.I.R.E. while she was assigning us case numbers, and she had my mother fill out an additional form to have her divorce recognized in Italy.
When she came back to the window, she gave me her business card to have the 2 missing documents mailed to her attention, along with their respective case numbers which she added in the back of her card. She did say that there are hundreds of applications to go through and that it may take some time to hear back from them.
The next morning I went back with my husband, Virginia had written a letter of recognition, which the both of us signed and that was it!

Now, I am waiting for the certificate to arrive from Argentina and I'm in a quest trying to locate the certificate of no appeal that the court where my parents' divorced has no idea what I'm talking about But I'll just keep trying!!

I'll post an update soon!!!!

Almost there.....

2010-04-11T17:19:00.000+01:00

Today is Sunday and my appointment is this coming Wednesday at 10:00 in the morning!!

My heart is pounding at light speed since I have yet to receive the documents from Argentina.

There was an issue with the Apostille, and therefore the Italian consulate in Buenos Aires did not legalized them.

My aunt will be picking up the now corrected documents (hopefully), Monday morning and will be going to the Italian consulate (again), to get them legalized.

And with A LOT of luck I will be able to pick them up at the Fedex location in my area on Wednesday morning right before my appointment.

I'll keep you posted...whoever you are...and where ever you are....IF you ARE out there reading this post.

Sample Birth Certificate Letter

2009-12-16T04:12:00.006+00:00

Your Name
Address, State, ZipCode
US

__________________________________________________________________

Ufficio dello Stato Civile

Comune di [comune name]

[5-digit Cap code] [comune name] [2-letter province]

Egregi Signori,

Il mio nome e’ Your Name. Sono una cittadina americana discendente da Italiani e sto cercando di ottenere anche la cittadinanza italiana.

Per questo richiedo, cortesemente, il Vostro aiuto, poiche’ mi necessita l'estratto dell'atto di nascita, in formato internazionale, della mia relation RELATIVE NAME. Ellgi/Ella nacque il day/month/year in City da Relative Father Name e da Relative Mother Name.

Poiche’ io necessito di questo documento per formalizzare la mia richiesta di cittadinanza italiana, e’ molto importante che il suddetto certificato riporti i nomi di entrambi i genitori.

I documenti andranno inviati al seguente indirizzo:

Your Name

Your Address

La mia e-mail: Your Email

Se ci saranno spese da sostenere Vi prego di comunicarmelo e sarà mia cura inviarvi quanto dovuto a stretto giro di posta.

Molte grazie in anticipo per la Vostra cortesia ed il Vostro aiuto.

Cordiali Saluti,

Your Name

12/13/2009- Documentation Checklist

2009-12-14T02:30:00.017+00:00

Documents that I have received-

Your paternal/maternal great-grandfather's birth certificate from Italy
Your paternal/maternal great-grandfather's certificate of Italian citizenship from Italy, also known as a certificato di cittadinanza italiana.
Your paternal/maternal great-grandmother's birth certificate.

Documents that I have in transit-

Your great-grandparent's marriage certificate
Your paternal/maternal grandmother's birth certificate
Your grandparents' marriage certificate
Your mother's birth certificate
Your father's birth certificate
Your parents' marriage certificate
Your birth certificate
Your spouse's birth certificate

Documents that I must obtain-

Declaration that your grandmother never renounced her Italian citizenship.
Your paternal/maternal grandfather's birth certificate
Declaration that your mother never renounced her Italian citizenship.
Your parents' divorce certificate
Declaration that you never renounced her citizenship.
Your marriage certificate
Birth certificates for all your children under the age of eighteen
Documents issued in countries other than the U.S. must comply with the local regulations on the legalization of documents.

Headache...

2009-12-12T16:45:00.006+00:00

Here I was three days ago, thinking everything was going to be allright, but then, it happened.

I should have known, nothing runs smoothly in my life for such a long period of time.

When reading the process at the Italian consulate's site for the 80th time, I noticed this section, "Documents issued in countries other than the U.S. must comply with the local regulations on the legalization of documents and they must be translated into Italian. Such documents and their translations must be submitted to THE ITALIAN CONSULATE/EMBASSY IN THE COUNTRY WHERE THE DOCUMENTS WERE ISSUED PRIOR TO BEING BROUGHT TO THIS CONSULATE."

The problem- I phoned the Italian consulate in Buenos Aires, a very polite signora explained that the documents must be presented to them in person by me or an appointed person by me. This person would then need to provide to them:

* A letter from me sealed by the Italian consulate in Miami, appointing such person as my representative.

* This person's DNI, or international document of identity, given in Argentina, this document is an ID.

* The documents to be sealed by the consulate

* A letter of residence from me and sealed by the Italian consulate in Miami.

* My mom's unexpired DNI

* My mom's letter appointing such person as her representative

* My mom's letter of residence

* My GM's DNI

* My GM's letter appointing such person as her representative

* My own unexpired DNI, one problem, my DNI is infact expired. I renewed this document at the Argentinian consulate in Miami 2 months ago, but all I received was a receipt that shows that I renewed it. The actual DNI takes anywhere from 8 to 18 months to arrive.

Possible Solutions-

* Send all requested documents along with my expired DNI and receipt, given by the Argentinian consulate, which shows the new DNI being processed.

or...

* Try to obtain such DNI in Argentina. On the day of my renewal appointment in Miami, the consulate, gathered my fingerprints, along with signature, and photos. I, once again, required the help from my BF the www. I searched online for the Registro Civil, where these DNI are given, and obtained their phone number as well as their address. All I want to know is if my appointed representative can gather such document directly from th Registro Civil in Argentina. I will be calling first thing on Monday morning.

or...
* Call back Abtran, and add my mom to my appointment date, at the Italian consulate in Miami, so that if I don't get my BC sealed by the Italian consulate in Argentina, at least she can do her application and I'll apply apply directly through her once I received such document.

or...

* Just do all three. My head is spinning rapidly!

All I can do today is wait, wait for a brighter new tomorrow, that will hopefully come.

Gathering all documents

2009-12-09T03:57:00.006+00:00

A Big plus that I have when it comes to gathering the documents required for the Italian citizenship, is that my Grandmother, as well as my aunt, Tata, and my Mom, have either copies or the original Birth Certificates, as well as, the Marriage and Death Certificates, pertaining to my bisnonnos.

Nevertheless, I wasn't aware of my family having such documents, therefore, I went ahead with my first instinct: WWW. I researched how to get my bisnonnos' BC, Marriage and Death Certificates, and I was able to find a company that will do it for you, called MyItalianCitizenship, they are able to obtain BCs, Marriage and Death Certificates, as well as, Italian Citizenship Certificates; they also have a Forum where its people are very helpful!

Each certificate cost is $55, so I went ahead and gave them all the information I had about my bisnonnos, their DOB, parents names, as well as, their place of birth, Novara and Genova. The entire package was $125 ($55 x2 BC, plus $15 for Shipping). They sent out two letters to the comunes in Italia and they make one phone call with their service.

I sent in my request on October 25th, and I have yet to receive anything although I contacted them by email and they assured me that the request letters had been sent out.

So, there I was again! I went back to the WWW and searched how to get the documents by myself...and then, just then, I found this Great Forum, they are called ItalianGenealogy.com.

I found out that I could obtain the BCs all by myself directly from the correspondent comunes. So, I went to the Italian Comunes page, Comuni.it, and searched for Novara and Genova. I sent them an email request in Italiano, as well as, a formal letter, also in Italiano. Here's the format that I used:

Your Name
Address, State, ZipCode
US

____________________________________________________________________________

Ufficio dello Stato Civile

Comune di [comune name]

[5-digit Cap code] [comune name] [2-letter province]

Egregi Signori,

Il mio nome e’ Your Name. Sono una cittadina americana discendente da Italiani e sto cercando di ottenere anche la cittadinanza italiana.

Poiche’ io necessito di questo documento per formalizzare la mia richiesta di cittadinanza italiana, e’ molto importante che il suddetto certificato riporti i nomi di entrambi i genitori.

I documenti andranno inviati al seguente indirizzo:

Your Name

Your Address

La mia e-mail: Your Email

Se ci saranno spese da sostenere Vi prego di comunicarmelo e sarà mia cura inviarvi quanto dovuto a stretto giro di posta.

Molte grazie in anticipo per la Vostra cortesia ed il Vostro aiuto.

Cordiali Saluti,

Your Name

You can also call them directly, but that is...if you can speak Italiano! I stuck to the emails and letters, since it seems it's what I do best!

At the Italian Citizenship Message Board, I was told that it may take some time to answer any correspondence received from outside of Italia, since this process is done in person, and usually, they have loads of people to help each day.

I kept my optimism and send the emails and letters anyways.

Exactly a week after my requests had gone out, I receive a letter from the Novara Comune with my bisnonno's brother's BC instead, apparently they confused the BCs. I emailed them and I sent another letter of these occurrence, and I thank them for their prompt response. Two weeks later I received my bisnonno's BC in the mail, with a letter attached, that recognizes him as an Italian citizen, descendant of Italian family.

For those of you who don't know this process and how Italian citizenship is obtained, read carefully...

A person born in Italia doesn't mean is Italian, Italian citizenship is acquired by blood, only those born in Italia or abroad from Italian descendants are Italian.

A few days later I was contacted by email by the Comune in Genova, they couldn't find my bisnonna's BC. As my blood pressure was rising rather quickly, I turned to my friends at Italian Genealogy Message Board, and I was told that Genova is a big city, I needed to find out in which town my bisnonna was born. I quickly turned to my bisnonna's passport scanned copy that my mom had sent me, and found out that she was born in Isola del Cantore. With that information at hand, I turned back to my friends who gave me its Comune's address.

The next day I mailed the letter to them.

Three weeks past and today I received a letter from the Isola del Cantore's Comune with....my bisnonna's BC!

Success!!

The Process

2009-12-08T04:40:00.002+00:00

In order to start the Italian recognition process, also known as, "Jure Sanguinis", or Right of Blood, one must first find out if one qualifies. After going through pretty much all Italian consulate and embassies available and known to human kind, I came to find out, that I qualify under my GGF or Great-grandfather, GM or Grandmother, M or Mother, and Me.

Up until that point I had everything figured out, except that I was born in Argentina, but now I was living in the US, the country where I held residence for the past 13 years, since I was 15 years old.

Therefore, a new questions arises, should I start the process in my native country?, or should I start the process where I hold residence?

Of course I opted to request help from my very best friend...the World Wide Web! aka Internet.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted! I kept searching all over the www for a straight answer, and all I had were yes, no, yes, no, yes, and perhaps!

And so, since that didn't go as expected, I contacted both the Italian consulates in Miami as well as the one in Buenos Aires. And after 2 long and dreadful days they replied back withe the news..."You must apply in the country where you hold permanet residence."

Aghhh...I was relieved!

That week I waisted no time and went back to the www to research the steps and process that needed to be followed.

I found out all the documentation that needed to be presented:

Your paternal/maternal great-grandfather's birth certificate from Italy, also known as an estratto dell'atto di nascita.
Your paternal/maternal great-grandfather's certificate of Italian citizenship from Italy, also known as a certificato di cittadinanza italiana. (Note: Most Italian embassies and consulates do NOT require this. The only ones that do are the Italian consulates in Miami and Chicago) (see category 1 D/A/B/C)
Your paternal/maternal great-grandmother's birth certificate.
Your great-grandparent's marriage certificate (If married outside of Italy, you will need an apostille and a translation into Italian.)
Your paternal/maternal grandmother's birth certificate (with apostille and translation)
DECLARATION THAT YOUR GRANDFATHER/GRANDMOTHER NEVER RENOUNCED ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BEFORE ANY ITALIAN AUTHORITY, listing all his places of residence (if he is alive, ask him to sign his own declaration. The signature must be notarized if not signed before us. Copy of his passport and I.D. card are requested. Use FORM 3 if he is alive or FORM 4 if he is deceased)
Your paternal/maternal grandfather's birth certificate.
Your grandparents' marriage certificate (with apostille and translation)
Your mother's birth certificate (with apostille and translation)
DECLARATION THAT YOUR FATHER/MOTHER NEVER RENOUNCED ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BEFORE ANY ITALIAN AUTHORITY, LISTING ALL HER PLACES OF THEIR FORMER RESIDENCE (if he/she is alive, ask him/her to sign his/ her own declaration. Signature must be notarized if not signed before us. Copy of his/her passport and driver license are requested. Use FORM 3)
Your father's birth certificate
Your parents' marriage certificate (with apostille and translation)
Your birth certificate (with apostille and translation)
YOUR DECLARATION THAT YOU NEVER RENOUNCED ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BEFORE ANY ITALIAN AUTHORITY, LISTING ALL PLACES OF YOUR FORMER RESIDENCE (Form 2)
Your marriage certificate, if applicable (with apostille and translation)
Your spouse's birth certificate, if applicable
Birth certificates for all your children under the age of eighteen, if applicable (with apostille and translation)
Any applicable divorce decrees/certificates (with apostille and translation)
Death certificates related to the Italian ascendants. (with apostille and translation, if for your mother, grandmother or great grandfather)
Certificates: all certificates must be in "certified copy" a.k.a. "long form" or "full form" or “book copy” ("certification" or "abstract" will not be accepted). Such forms can be obtained at the Vital Statistics Office of the State in which the birth/marriage/death took place. Certificates reporting only the "Country" of birth cannot be accepted. You must request the Office of Vital Statistics to indicate the city of birth.
Apostille: U.S. birth / marriage / death records related to the Italian side must bear the Apostille of the Secretary of State of the State where the document was issued (except for the certificate of naturalization and/or similar documentation).
The “Apostille” is an international legalization. It is not a stamp on the certificate. It is a physical document stapled to the birth/marriage/death certificate.
Please note that the “Apostille” does not require translation.

IMPORTANT - Additional requirements for all categories:

1) If you are married, you must also submit your marriage certificate along with a copy of your spouse's birth certificate.
2) If you have children of minor age (under 18) you must also submit certified copy of their birth certificates.
3) Certificates relating to the applicant’s family (his or her birth certificate, marriage certificate, birth certificates of minor children) in languages other than Italian must be translated into Italian. Documents that do not need to be translated and do not need an Apostille are: - U.S. Certificates of Naturalization and the letter of no records issued by Immigration and Naturalization Services. Statements regarding the naturalization status of the interested party, ancestors’ certificates and certificates related to the "not Italian side" of your family tree need an Apostille, but no traslation.

• For all certificates issued from New York City and New York State, please check the web site of the Consulate General of Italy in New York (www.consnewyork.esteri.it).

• Documents issued in countries other than the U.S. must comply with the local regulations on the legalization of documents and they must be translated into Italian. Such documents and their translations must be submitted to THE ITALIAN CONSULATE/EMBASSY IN THE COUNTRY WHERE THE DOCUMENTS WERE ISSUED PRIOR TO BEING BROUGHT TO THIS CONSULATE.
A list of all the Italian Embassies and Consulates can be found at www.esteri.it

It was a long list, but it could be done one at a time!

The Goal

2009-12-08T04:07:00.002+00:00

Freedom of speech, freedom to work, freedom to travel, freedom to come and go a we please... a place that holds no boundaries, a place where the sky is the limit!

Where, you may ask, this place is? Europe!

We are going to the UK, period.

Once I get my Italian citizenship recognized, once I am able to smell the new pages of that dear and long awaited Italian passport and hold it in my hands for the very first time, we'll relocate to the UK, in a quest to find what we haven't had in this country....Freedom!

This will be a journey....it is not going to be an easy one, but, with a detailed plan and the strengths of our hearts...anything will be possible.

The Plan

2009-12-06T23:02:00.001+00:00

There's no more reasons for me to stay in a place that doesn't welcome me, a place that is a prison to me, a place where I can't be who I want to be, because of its laws and bureaucracy amongst others, therefore, lesson Learned and Move on.

Since some of my grandparents are of Italian ancestry, I decided to get recognized as an Italian descendent.

I decided to do it through my maternal grandmother, Baba, who is the daughter of my Italian Great-grandparents.

My bisnonno, Pietro and my bisnonna, Carolina, left Italy when WWI was over and my bisnonno returned home. They migrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1926, where they met and married. Two years later, they gave birth to a son and two years after that, they gave birth to a daughter, my grandmother, Baba.

My great-grandparents never renunced to their Italian citizenship by becoming Argentine citizens, they lived and died Italian. My grandmother on the other hand, never becaome an Italian citizen, even though she is one by birth. Most of the times when we speak on the phone I ask her, but she never gives me an answer, she would say..."I don't want it", or "Why do I need it?", what is strange is that I know for a fact that she always wanted to visit Italy, and never could.

I know that in order to visit Italy a citizenship is not required, but it doesn't hurt having it, specially if you want to travel freely through out the European Union.

But I guess she might have her reasons, although, I don't think I will ever know them.

A new day...

2009-12-06T18:34:00.001+00:00

Sometimes I find myself questioning in which direction my life is headed, but the truth is, a couple of months ago, I couldn't have answered that myself!

Just a few months ago, I found myself living a life in a place where survival is a virtue. A place where only those who are wealthy, well mannered, well educated, and have the knowledge and expertise of making mad profits from sweaty, hard working, non-ignorant, gently, low-income workers, just like myself come on top. I looked at my life as if it were on a quest game, as if I was one of the players, standing in the middle of a world map with a compass that pointed the direction I was to head, but its needle kept spinning around and gave no signs of stopping. I felt confused. My life had no direction. It was suffocating me! I felt as if I were a joystick and someone was moving it with its thumb. I had no voice. I could not be heard, no matter how hard I tried to let the only one word out of my chest...HELP!

One day at work, one of my dear co-workers, Kathie, mentioned that her son, a well educated boy, was headed to Cambridge, England, for a semester as an exchange student. I was so excited for him, he had a plan, he had a goal, he had a vision; and he knew what was needed to do and went after it to get it.

That one episode made me think...in high school I was always an A+ student, I was well organized in every sense, when the professor was explaining what the next research paper was going to be about, I was already planning the way it was going to be written, which words I was to be using, where I was to get the material from, and how I would manage to find the time to get it done, between school, night school, in which I was taking extra subjects for extra credits just as I did in summer; and weekend part-time work...but, I always managed to hand my research paper, in three days time.

The only difference from that time to now, is that now I have a family, a wonderful man which I admire and adore, and three beautiful children ages 7, 5, and 1, to whom I would give my life in a heartbeat.

Now, I have people that depend on me, as opposed to before, when I only depended upon my own actions.

So I started to look back at my family history, just as the saying..."You don't know who you are, if you do not know where you come from." I always looked at that saying as a fortifying and reassuring way of overcoming obstacles.

I was sure of one thing...I had found myself in a loop hole, but I was certain that at some point in their lives, some of my ancestors had found themselves in that very particular place, and somehow they managed to overcome it, and so was I.

I gather what I already knew, my dear paternal grandfather, who past when I was 9 years old, was the son of a Spaniard, his wife, my dear paternal grandmother, who past, just a few months ago, was the daughter of an Italian. On the other hand, my dear maternal grandfather, who past a few year ago, was a Paraguayan, and my most dear maternal grandmother, is the daughter of an Italian as well, and with all these information I was to make a plan...

Finally, after 9 years, I was planning, organizing, and making goals, but this time, not only for me but for the people who I love the most, my Family!

An Italian Journey...

It's a new day..

Finally...

Another stepping stone.....

At last....

Almost there.....

Sample Birth Certificate Letter

12/13/2009- Documentation Checklist

Headache...

More documentation

Gathering all documents

The Process

The Goal

The Plan

A new day...