There is really no limit of the number of generations, provided your ancestor was born in Italy and emigrated after the beginning of the Kingdom of Italy, March 17th, 1861 and did not naturalize before July 1, 1912. If you are unsure or if you have questions, you can schedule a Free Telephone Consultation.
There may be a situation where an applicant knows that he or she qualifies for Italian Dual Citizenship but their living ancestor does not have a copy of their Naturalization Certificate or they are unsure as to the details of their naturalization. If you are faced with this challenge you need to be aware that only the living ancestor can request a replacement of their naturalization record.
If your Italian Ancestor naturalized before July 1, 1912, you do not qualify for Italian citizenship even if his or her child was born before this individual naturalized. Prior to that date, when a native-born Italian naturalized in another country, he gave up not only his own Italian citizenship but also that of all of his minor children, regardless of where they were born. Ancestors who naturalized before July 1, 1912 cannot pass on Italian citizenship under Italian Law No. 555 of July 23, 1912.
If your Italian-born Ancestor was a minor when he or she left Italy, you cannot use him or her as your proof of eligibility. Until 1976, the age of majority in Italy was 21. Minors who emigrated would naturalize concurrently with their parents. If your ancestor was a still a minor when his or her parent naturalized, it is likely that he/she also was naturalized at the same time. You will need to provide proof/appropriate documentation if this individual was naturalized at a later date. FOLLOW THIS LINK to learn how to determine if your ancestor became a naturalized citizen.
As a general rule, Naturalization was a two-step process that took a minimum of 5 years.
1. After residing in the United States for 2 years, an alien could file a "Declaration of Intention" (so-called "First Papers") to become a citizen.
2. After 3 additional years, the alien could "Petition for Naturalization". After the petition was granted, a Certificate of Citizenship was issued to the alien.
It is hard to say how long it may take to receive the document requested: usually it's about 6 to 8 weeks or more (*). Italian public sources will be solicited after 5 weeks, first by fax or email and then by telephone. Ultimately, you will either receive the record(s) requested or a notification of No Record Found.
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