ICA, Italian Citizenship Assistance, has been literally life changing for me and for my partner. I am from San Francisco, USA and back in 2017 I left for Europe to travel around the world with my girlfriend. The first couple of weeks in the United Kingdom, I was looking at Ancestry.com and discovered the actual place where my great grandfather (bisnonno) may have originated. I learned that my great grandfather was from Sicily. We decided to make an adventure to track down any information on my ancestors. We booked a long train-ride from Venice all the way to Sicily, stopping along the way to really feel into the country that I became more and more proud to have roots in. I read somewhere that it was possible to become an Italian citizen based on birth right (jure sanguinis) if you have an ancestor and can prove you are connected and that they never renounced their citizenship, because in those days many Italians migrated to the US and other places searching for a new life. We arrived in the little town in Sicily, almost nobody spoke English, and we walked into the “comune”, which is the administrative building where records are kept. And here’s the miracle. In just about twenty minutes from our arrival, the warm welcome and help from everyone there, we literally walked out the door with birth and marriage certificates. It already felt very familiar and that we were already being welcomed. We were very inexperienced and really didn’t know how or what to do in order to get Italian citizenship. It wasn’t until years later though, with the help of friends in New York, that I was able to gather up all documents of lineage. And also this was during the health emergency of 2020.
In researching how to get citizenship, I came across a YouTube channel on Italian citizenship with Rafael Di Furia and Marco, the founder of ICA. I thought Marco seemed like a genuine character and I liked that they felt organized and professional. My girlfriend said, just reach out to them and see. I spoke with them and decided to just do it. I have heard and read from many people’s experience that it can take a while to get your citizenship abroad and consulates’ waiting times are quite long. Once we decided to work with ICA to help me acquire my Italian citizenship, all of a sudden everything felt like there is order in the bureaucratic layers of an onion that is Italy. One thing that Marco said that still sticks with me is this: “you are already Italian, and this process is just to recognize that fact.” That mindset is wonderful to know, and just know that if you are thinking about this and have Italian ancestry, I would suggest doing this. I decided to get my Italian citizenship in Italy and ICA helped with every aspect and more, went above and beyond in every aspect, again this was during the pandemic, so it’s even more! There are many unknown areas that you can’t find online or anywhere to help you get it done and get it done fast. From the day I started with them, I had my Carta d’Identità and Passaporto in my hand in just over 3 months – which is INCREDIBLE! I lived in Italy during this time in Rovigo and found the small town charm to be lovely and it’s great that you are just 45 minutes from Venice. I mean what’s not to love, this is an experience that will stay with me for my entire life and I am forever grateful to ICA and especially Eleonora who was my handler and helped me along the way with everything. Thank you ICA!
Written by Conrad Schuman
