<p>You are such a multi-talented group that I thought I would come here first, before heading off on a wild goose chase.</p>
<p>Here goes:</p>
<p>Does anyone know how one can go about finding records of a passport that was issued in 1950 to allow an Italian citizen to come into the United States? My father-in-law was born in Italy and came to the US in March 1950 because he married my mother-in-law, who grew up in Italy but was born in the US. My MIL obviously was a citizen (my dad-in-law became later.) </p>
<p>My FIL is quite elderly and is being cared for in a nursing home. For various insurance and financial reasons, the family has to compile certain paperwork to prove his eligibility for Medicare, etc. </p>
<p>We cannot find among his things the passport or records of the passport. Where to start? </p>
<p>I also am trying to figure out how to find the couple’s marriage license (or other proof of their marriage). They were married in Italy. </p>
<p>So you are looking for records of an Italian passport issued over 50 years ago?! You are asking a lot of the CC bunch! One would think that his naturalization papers would be plenty good enough to prove US citizenship.</p>
<p>Never throw out a passport! Not that you or any CC parents would. I had been out of country with my parents as a baby…at some point years later my mother, in cleaning, threw out our passports “because they expired”. It didn’t come up until the next time I traveled out of the country and I’ll never forget my Dad’s shock that she would do such a thing. I did get mine renewed with two trips downtown.</p>
<p>I think I now know (and have) the form that can ask for records of his naturalization, so that will prove he is a citizen of the US.</p>
<p>Now we have to have something to prove that FIL and MIL are legally married. They were married in Italy in Feb. 1950. But they have filed joint tax returns here in the US every year since they came, and have been treated by the IRS as married people. Doesn’t this imply that the US government recognizes them as married, in the same way that the US Postal Service recognized Kris Kringle as Santa Claus in A Miracle on 34th Street? :)</p>
<p>Notmamarose, go with caution. I have heard of families who go though this sort of search only to find out that their elderly relative is an illegal alien!</p>
<p>Step One: I would call the closest Italian consulate and ask how to find the passport and proof of marriage. You might get lucky and get someone who knows exactly how to do it. </p>
<p>Do you know the name of the town in Italy where they wed? Were they Catholic? Unless it’s a large town or city, there’s probably only a few Catholic Churches. You can write to them (you can get foreign phone books on line) and ask for proof of the marriage. Most US agencies will accept Church records in lieu of civil ones. If there were married in ANY religious service, you may find it easier to get that record than the state one. </p>
<p>If your FIL isn’t “with it” enough to name the town where they married, do you have a wedding photo? If so, turn it over and look on the back for the name of the photographer or an address. Go on to the Italian version of google–you’ll see a link at google if you look–and try it. It may give you the name of the town.</p>
<p>You can also go to many large libraries and sign onto the library version of ancestryDOTcom. You can check the immigration records and if you are lucky will find the record of your FIL’s trip to the US. It should give the name of the place he was from. (To find out if you will get any results, you can go to ancestryDOTcom on-line from home. It won’t show you any results, but it will show if there is anyone with your FIL’s name who came that year.) If you’re lucky, it will list the name of the relative in the US he is going to live with, which may be your MIL with the notation “wife.” Obviously, this isn’t as good as a marriage license, but it would be some proof of the marriage.</p>
<p>I have a membership to Ancestry, and would be happy to help you look if you PM’d me. Except that it mainly has records from before 1930 (1925 for most immigration records.) Just this week I found a passport application from a relative who’s parents were immigrants. The application was stamped with two different statements - one indicating that they had seen the parent’s naturalization record, and the other stating that they’d seen the parent’s marriage record.</p>
<p>What state did your relative arrive in? And what state has he lived since he’s been here? Some states have “common law” marriage recognition – if they lived together and represented themselves as a married couple for a certain number of years, then they would be recognized as married in those states.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of this help, everyone! You guys are terrific. </p>
<p>My in laws married in Sorrento in February 1950, for sure. I am sure they are legally married and I am sure that my FIL is not an illegal alien/undocumented resident. He has been paying taxes for years, has owned three homes, and so on. </p>
<p>Binx, thanks. I will be in touch. I have a feeling that finding his naturalization papers won’t be so bad (apparently, there is a form – which I now have in hand – through which one can have INS located these forms) but the marriage license or proof of marriage will be harder, I think, mainly because they were married there and I don’t speak Italian. However, my FIL and MIL still have living relatives in Italy, so we may have to enlist their help.</p>
<p>VERY likely they were married in the Catholic Church in Italy, and the church keeps pretty good records. I would start with the church. Someone must remember what church. It may cost a few euros, but they most likely could find it.</p>
<p>What I would do is contact a local Italian club, if not one in your town, than in a large city- NY, SF, Chicago, Miami and very likely they will have some experience. Also, many of those groups have contacts with immigration lawyers that would very likely answer a few questions gratis for you. It may be simpler than you think.</p>
<p>Here is the link to the web page for the diocese of Sorrento, Italy. It has phone numbers and an email address. I suspect that if you send an email in English someone will find someone who understands English to read it. It’s at least worth a try. </p>
<p>PS According to google, the translation of marriage record is matrimonio record. You might try putting the names in the re line with this, e.g. Rossi/Maggio matrimonio record 02/1950. Just a thought …</p>
<p>I’ve gotten naturalization records from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s from Ancestry.com. You could try a free trial there and see if anything helpful comes up.</p>
<p>I looked up some information about foreign language translators for a family member who wants to apply for Italian citizenship. In case you need to have a document or letter translated here is a link to the American Translators Association:</p>
<p>Also, I would be very surprised if your parents-in-law did not have a copy of their marriage certificate. Double check all the boxes containing paperwork (even those that might be in storage). And ask all other siblings if they happen to have it. If your husband and siblings cleaned out your in-laws home someone may have seen it; might know where it is; and might even have it in their possession.</p>
<p>As an aside if your father-in-law never gave up his Italian citizenship your husband might want to look into becoming a citizen of Italy. Your children would then be able to apply, also. In these days of globalization an EU passport might be very handy.</p>
<p>And as far as Ancestry.com goes - most public libraries have a subscription to this service. Librarians are also very helpful for newbies looking for specific information on this database.</p>
<p>Just an update: the reason we have to find these records is because my in-laws mislaid them. They are in their latter 80s and are having a lot of health problems, including some memory issues. (For instance, recently when we visited, my FIL introduced my husband and our daughter, who is 14, to the doctor as “his daughters.”)
My FIL no longer, for whatever reason, has his passport or naturalization records and my MIL seems unable to lay her hands on their marriage license/certificate, though she knows where she got married (Sorrento, Feb. 1950) and that her husband came over to US in March 1950. None of the four brothers (they had four boys) have copies and none of the other relatives seem to have any idea where the papers would be.
I like the idea of asking a librarian for help. I have had zero luck calling the consulate here and the embassy in DC. I am now going to call the Order of the Sons of Italy, where my in laws have been members foreveer, to see if someone there can help. Thanks, everyone.</p>