My path to Italian citizenship began many years ago as a child playing on the floor in my grandmother’s kitchen, listening to my grandparents bicker in Italian while she cooked and he read the newspaper. I didn’t know what they were saying but I remember their voices, their mannerisms, and the wonderful aroma of tomato sauce simmering on the stove. Like many Italian-American children, I grew up proud of my Italian heritage and with a strong sense of connection to Italy. That connection would eventually lead me to researching my family history, finding ICA, embarking on an international move in the chaos of a pandemic, and finally living in Italy!
At the turn of the 20th century my paternal grandparents’ families emigrated to the United States from different parts of southern Italy. My grandfather’s family came from Sciacca, a fishing village on the southwest coast of Sicily. They settled in Boston, Massachusetts but naturalized just before Italy enacted its first citizenship law in 1912. My grandmother’s family came from Mirabella Eclano, a small town in the hills of Avellino east of Naples in the Campania region. They also settled in Boston but naturalized much later. Luckily, my father was born after the 1948 rule that allowed women to pass citizenship on to their children. So my claim to Italian citizenship by descent was relatively straightforward.
I first discovered that I was eligible to apply for Italian citizenship jure sanguinis in 2019 while researching my family history. I had enjoyed traveling to Europe on vacation for several years and I became fascinated with the idea of being a resident, not just a tourist. I wanted to better understand my grandparents’ culture, learn their language, and experience living as an Italian. So, I began collecting the documents I would need and by early 2021 I was ready to apply. But there was an unexpected and discouraging problem.
In the years leading up to the health emergency, the Italian consulate in San Francisco had accrued an enormous backlog. Now with in-person applications suspended, the earliest appointments were several months away (if I could even manage to get one through the overloaded online appointment system). With great disappointment I learned my application would have to wait a very long time if I stayed in the US.
Undeterred, I decided to try applying in Italy. While researching and collecting documents, I had repeatedly come across Italian Citizenship Assistance online. The information they published was helpful and I had found answers to many of my questions in their articles. So I contacted ICA and after reviewing my documents they determined that applying in Rovigo would be feasible. I began working with Marco, Martina, and Giulia and I was immediately impressed with their expertise and professionalism. Martina handled my application and she was extremely organized, knowledgeable, and accommodating. She caught some discrepancies in my documents and helped me correct them, requested missing documents from my great-grandfather’s comune in Italy, and set an appointment for me at the comune in Rovigo. Martina and Giulia arranged an apartment lease in the historic center of the city and prepared everything for my arrival. The move went smoothly and by mid-November 2021 I was settled in.
The most harrowing experience of my application process was the day Martina and I presented my documents to the clerk at the comune in Rovigo. I was nervous because one of the documents in my USCIS packet, my great-grandfather’s US certificate of citizenship, was nearly illegible. We had tried to obtain a better copy but no clearer version had survived. When the clerk saw it, she shook her head and said no, it was not acceptable. My heart stopped! Was this the end of my dream to become an Italian citizen?
But while I was quietly panicking, Martina was perfectly calm. She had prepared detailed notes for this and over the next few minutes she carefully and confidently explained why the legible parts of the document were sufficient, connecting information in the other documents by document numbers until everything was accounted for. The clerk listened and asked more questions but was eventually satisfied. Thanks to Martina, my application was accepted. Success!
In the following weeks, ICA made the rest of the application process easy and Martina accompanied me through every step, making sure I had the documents, payment stamps, and appointments I needed. She and Giulia were extremely helpful in countless other ways as well. They helped me get a vaccination booster and a green pass during the pandemic, set up internet service, get an access card for the trash collection service, and they connected me with commercialistas (accountants) who could handle my Italian taxes. Once, when I caused a minor blackout by using too many appliances at the same time, Martina called my apartment owner and waited with me for hours while he drove in from out of town and sorted out some mislabeled power meters. Amazing and so much appreciated!
In October 2022 my Italian citizenship was officially recognized. I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to live and work in the EU and experience daily life as an Italian. I plan to stay nearby and enjoy many more years of Italian life and adventures around Europe.
With ICA’s help, applying for citizenship in Rovigo was a profoundly rewarding experience. I highly recommend working with them and I’m eternally grateful to Martina for her dedication, expertise, and patience.
Written by Philip Puleo
