Archive for August 1st, 2007

consulate visit last friday

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

Well, every time I go to the consulate it gets worse….. the first time, I was told it may take a while to get the adoption recognized, but they could probably do it. Then the lawyer told me that it would take 5-6 years and I would have to do some filing in Italy independently. This time the consulate told me that they would put me in touch with a lawyer here who specializes in these types of issues, but it may take 10 years and be very costly. Next time I go, my American citizenship may be in jeopardy and a second time after that, they may want to put me in jail! 

Well, it’s not that bad, of course, I’m just being ornery, but I put a call into the lawyer they recommended and haven’t heard from him yet. I’ll try again later today just to remind him that I am serious about this. I’ll have to weigh out options once I know what is realistically on the table, but there is simply no way I can afford to wage a protracted legal battle in Italy. I would maybe cough up a few thousand over time to see this through, but I can’t even think about 10’s of thousands to pursue it. So IF that is what it will take, then apparently, citizenship is out of the question at least through these means. We could always look at establishing some other sort of residence there and then applying after the requisite amount of years…. 5 right now. But the problem is HOW exactly we can get over there legally and establish residence. 

These are questions for the Lord right now. If he really means for this to happen, then he will have to make a way. If he doesn’t, then I will have to assume that we were mistaken about the call. It’s not of course at that point yet, but I thought I’d let everyone know how things stood right now. 

Pray for the lawyer meeting and that things would turn out. I have one other option: a lady I met online when I was asking questions about adoption. She is Italian and seems to have some ties with adoptions there in Italy. She told me to let her know when I have all the options on the table. Perhaps she would be able to do something. At any rate, I’m hoping to know within a short time whether the citizenship by blood will be pursuable or not. 

ciao, 

dave