In Joe’s own words…
“Several years ago, I discovered that my ancestry automatically made me an Italian citizen. The fact both of my grandfathers and both of my grandmothers were born in Sicily offered several different avenues for confirming my citizenship. However, being an Italian citizen and having documentation of that citizenship are two very different things. And having official papers confirming citizenship and obtaining a passport requires completing several, very detailed, steps.
Here in San Diego, we have a solid Italian-American community. As a boy, I grew up in the part of San Diego known as Little Italy. I have remained close by for most of my life. Over the years, many of my friends obtained Italian citizenship and for years it was on my “to do” list. For quite some time, it was a fairly easy process. But the process became burdened with long delays when going through the Italian Consulate in Los Angeles. Was there anything else I could do? Move to Italy and apply there.
Being retired, that approach was an option. So, I began researching the process. Lots of online searches accompanied with a serious winnowing process led me to ICA. It was the most responsive organization of those I contacted; therefore, I retained ICA. Citizenship can be a tedious process. The Italian government insists on precise documentation of one’s family line. ICA was fastidious in ensuring that all the proper documentation was assembled and verified. There were glitches no one could have predicted. For example, one essential legal document filed forty years ago had a typographical error on my first name. The government required me to file a new pleading correcting the error. Ultimately, with ICA’s help we prepared and filed every document needed.
When I started, the process contemplated us residing in Italy for four to six months. Lodging there is reasonable. Doing everything necessary to set up residence was not an overwhelming expense. Moreover, my wife and I concluded that living in Italy for six months would be a delightful expenditure of our time. We went for it.
Extended living in Italy was not so difficult. Though we had residence in Italy, nothing prevented us from leaving our home in Italy for extended periods, and so we were able to comfortably maintain solid personal contact with our stateside friends and family, as well as enjoy the entirely different experiences that only residents of a small Italian community can enjoy.
We wound up maintaining our Italian residence for a little over a year, but it was not prohibitively expensive and it was kind of fun spending time on the continent through different seasons. One of the great things about Italy is how easy it is to get around the country by rail. Not only that, anyone who has spent any time in Italy soon learns that no two regions are alike and visits to different cities are like visits to different countries with wonderful and fascinating things to see and do. Not only that, rail service made it just as easy to visit different countries as well.
ICA was quite diligent in helping us beyond merely preparing the papers. ICA helped us find lodging and was always available to explain different local government requirements for handling utilities and trash collection.
As for the future, now that I am a citizen, I am looking forward to enjoying the benefits of being a member of the EU. My Italian citizenship benefits extend beyond Italy. My wife is diligently taking Italian language courses so that she too can become an Italian citizen. She has planted the seed to investigate the purchase of a place somewhere on Italy’s long and beautiful coast.
Joe Cordileone”
We are delighted for Joe and his wife and wish them all the best as they continue this exciting new journey. We hope they soon realize their next dream of living somewhere along Italy’s beautiful coast!
Joe granted ICA the right to use his name and image.
