Hi all, looking for anyone either Italian-American or that can answer my query as this has only recently become an issue. I have a character who I can't work out whether she's Italian, American or Italian-American and the research I've done so far comes up with every scenario but the one I have. The character - Born in Italy to Italian parents. The family then moved to the USA after 1984. I'm presuming that the parents both swore allegiance to the United States but will have done this before their children reached adulthood. So, would my character have to swear her own allegiance after reaching adulthood,OR, would she automatically become an American citizen because her parents became American citizens while she was a child, OR does she have dual nationality? OR, something else? Thanks, guys x
This should help: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/pressrelease/ChildCitizenshipAct_120100.pdf If the child is 18 when the parents become citizens different rules apply. See the link.
So, If I've read that right, She came with her parents between '84 and '94, when the law changed in feb 2001, she would have been 16 (turning 17 that July) and on that date, would have automatically become an American citizen. Thanks, GingerCoffee x
the parents wouldn't have done any swearing of allegiance, unless they'd become naturalized citizens... dual nationality is only for those who are born abroad to US citizens...
There are also some circumstances where dual citizenship can be obtained by an American citizen. For example, I was entitled to apply for Irish citizenship because my grandmother was born in Ireland (there were some other specifics I can't remember), and since it would not have required me to be a naturalized Irish citizen, I would not have had to renounce my American citizenship.
I'm presuming the parents would *have* to become naturalized citizens in order to stay in the US and run a business there after they arrived from Italy. So if that's the case, then the daughter automatically becomes a US citizen as from 2001
no, they wouldn't... many didn't... as far as i know, there was no law requiring people to be citizens in order to run a business and immigrants entering the US back then weren't required to apply for citizenship... i'm not sure my sicilian and calabrese maternal grandparents ever became citizens...
She'd automatically be an American citizen, and possibly an Itialian one as well (an expert might know if this is true), but she'd still Be Italian American as that's a term that refers to descent rather than citizenship. As for what the character refers to itself as is a moot point; it could be any number of things. A person doesn't decide what he or she is, only what they choose to say they are, and of course in certain circumstances they might not even know the full story themselves.
The reason I'm asking, is because the character changes one of their names and therefore needs certain documents (bank accounts, driving license, passport) changing into their new name. Depending whether she is indeed classed as an Italian or US citizen, would therefore impact on how she goes about legally making the name change.
This is all fine, but is it really that exciting to read about how a character legally goes about changing their name? Couldn't you just mention it in passing and go on with the story? Or, to put it from the opposite perspective, is it really worth centring this "plot point" (if you will) around something that so depends on something as out of your control as a legal procedure that you didn't even know how worked when you came up with the idea?
It's not going to be explained in the book - I am pre-empting the inevitable questions that I will ask myself as the story continues. There are things that happen further in the story that *may* have an impact on why/how she did what she did and I want to be able to answer those questions in a believable matter. It's part of my research, I tend to research all that I can as these questions arise so that if I need and answer, I have it and, having the answer frees up space in my head for another question.
The part about changing her name could be more exciting if there was some controversy involved. Maybe she tries to change it to something funny?
I would be, but that bit's done, the name has been changed! It's only later (in her life and in terms of books that I'm writing) that the question of how she did it comes up. The why and who helped have already been dealt with.
