Can I Claim Spanish Nationality?

Post by **Art** » Fri Jul 30, 2010 3:38 pm

Wow. That´s worse than I had imagined. It´s a good thing you were on top if it! Thanks again for the clarification.

MariaA · Post by **MariaA** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 9:52 pm

Manuel,

This "complaint department", is it part of the NYC Consulate ?

I am now in the process of getting a "corrected" birth certificate for myself in Cuba since the first one I got a year ago didn't detail my parents' city of birth. That's the excuse the Consulado Español in Cuba used for not approving my application. In October it's going to be a year I presented the documents in the CE in Puerto Rico but they didn't advise that there was something wrong with my file until late June.

Manuel A Gonzalez · Post by **Manuel A Gonzalez** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:18 am

All Consulados should have Departament that deals with complaints. You need to push and push!!

Charolette · Post by **Charolette** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:32 pm

Art, have you heard anything yet? We are at 10 months and I haven't heard a word! I have sent 2 emails, the first in February and another 2 weeks ago, and have not recieved any replies!
I was planning on going back to the consulate in June but its beginning to look like that won't happen since it takes awhile to get an appointment.

Post by **Art** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:39 pm

Yep, I've got exactly the same story here. I was looking for my paperwork last month so I could call them, but have been so busy I've not gotten back to that!

(By the way, several of the Padrón peppers have sprouted. I've put a heat pad under the tray in case that'll help.

You can follow the Pimientos de Padrón topic here:
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3885)

Manuel A Gonzalez · Post by **Manuel A Gonzalez** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 2:11 pm

If you the both of you do not start getting on their backs, they will not move on your case. I had to almost scream at them, and I filed a formal complaint after they lost my father's birth ceritficate. I e-mailed first every week for a month, then I called, and finally I just starting screaming. I finally spoke to the Vice-Consul and he helped us. We went back to do my nieces, and they started with the same nonsense. I demanded to speak to her supervisor, filed another complaint, and we finally received her paperwork also. There seems to be some problem....

Post by **Art** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 9:13 pm

Manuel, do you think the problem would be in the local consulate/embassy or back in Madrid?

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¿Manuel, piensas que el problema sería en el consulado/embajada o en Madrid?

Manuel A Gonzalez · Post by **Manuel A Gonzalez** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 3:17 pm

The local consulates!!

Suronda · Post by **Suronda** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 7:58 am

Hi Folks: My father and I are well on our way. Last document, naturalization papers, are on their way this week. Any advice for getting appointments, or getting a response after the appointment? I also wonder if you've heard anything.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:16 am

Hi Suronda,

I applied at the Spanish conculate in Manhattan on January 4. My documentation was acceptable. They forwarded the papers to the consulate in Loa Angeles (the closest one to where I was born. I have heard nothing since.

Bob

Suronda · Post by **Suronda** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 10:25 am

Hi Bob (GREAT!!! to see you here): Can you give me a rundown of the appointment with the NYC Consulate? Also, what documents did you have (and what originals did you really need?) Thanks! Un abrazo, primo!

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 2:20 pm

I had copies of my grandparents birth certificates, my father's birth certificate, my birth certificate, my grandparents naturalization certificates (they were both still Spanish citizens when my father was born - important), and various and sundry other documents such as my parents' wedding license. I hope this helps.

Bob

Post by **Art** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 12:16 am

Yes, it is very good to have Bob back on board!

When I visited the consulate in DC, the official indicated that I needed all of these documents:

a certified copy of my birth certificate with apostille (from the state that issued the birth certificate)
certified copies of both of my parents' birth certificates, without apostille
my grandfather's birth certificates, which has apostille but I don't know if it was needed
a certified copy of my parents' marriage certificate, without apostille
my grandfather's naturalization papers, not a copy but an "original" (I think that means a certified copy from the National Archives. I don't think it needs an apostille, but I'm not sure.)
an application form filled out in duplicate
my driver's license
my passport
my grandparents' marriage certificate (I'm not sure that's necessary, but I provided it.)

Bob seems to have gotten by with old (original) documents, which made his task a lot easier. In my case, at least some of them had to be less than one year old.

The main people they're interested in are you, your Asturian parent's father (one of your grandfathers) and your Asturian parent. (I don't think grandmothers are accepted under this law, but mothers are.)

I also needed to bring two photocopies of each document for the consulate to keep. I was given the originals to take home, except (as I recall) my US birth certificate.

There was no mention of translations. I'm not completely sure about the apostille, but I think I've listed what the DC consulate wanted.

If the names on documents don't match, I think you need more evidence that the documents are for the same person. This is a common problem. I've had to send forms petitioning for corrections on a number of the documents.

For the naturalization papers, you ask in the regional office of the National Archives that handles the state your grandfather was in when he got naturalized. If it was NY State, there's a National Archives in NYC:
http://www.archives.gov/northeast/nyc/
Here's NY's phones: 866-840-1752 or 212-401-1620

If it was WV, you'd ask the Philadelphia office, which I was able to call in order to place my order and pay by credit card.
http://www.archives.gov/midatlantic/public/
I think the phone number was: 215-606-0100

To request a naturalization document, you need to know the person's name at the time of naturalization, the approximate date of naturalization, and the location of where they were living. I had the petition number, which seemed to help.

Important: You need a *certified copy* of the naturalization documents. It'll come with a ribbon holding the several pages together.

Charolette · Post by **Charolette** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 12:55 am

I talked to the consulate in San Francisco today. They said that everything was okay with my file and that they were still waiting for it to come back.

The lady I talked to said that they had so many applications that it was just taking a long time. She said that it could actually take a couple more months!

I was hoping to go back to San Francisco in June to apply for my passport.

It would be great to have it all done before we go to Spain this fall.

Post by **Art** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 1:05 am

Thanks for the update, Charolette!

By the way, the Padrón peppers are doing great so far.

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