Oct 302011
 

Poking around Italian Citizenship Message Board today and saw this: "They were both married in Pennsylvania, which does not record marriages at the state level. When we originally requested these certificates from the county courthouse, the county clerk ASSURED us that the marriage certificates provided to us were the only official record of marriage. As my husband feared, the certificates lacked certain information. The consular officer nearly laughed out loud when he saw how short they were. Specifically, he said that the certificates needed to show parent's names and information of any previous marriages (or a statement that there were none)."

I now realize that our marriage certificate is a "short form" from the City of Tonawanda. I need to apply for a long-form from NY State. Another $30.

Oct 282011
 

A couple weeks ago, we learned that the birth certificates we used our entire life … to get a driver's license, to get a passport, for everything … were not "real" birth certificates. They were simply "Certificates of Birth Registration". 

To get dual citizenship, I needed real birth certificates for Amy and I that showed all the detail information, including a signature from the physician.

They arrived today.