Italy bestows Italian citizenship jure sanguinis, by right of blood. So that means many Americans who have Italian blood can be dual citizens and hold citizenship in the U.S. and Italy, allowing them to live in Italy full-time and access many benefits - and even pass it on to their children.
Host Kathy McCabe welcomes Melanie Holtz of ItalyAncestry.com to discuss genealogy and how tracing your ancestry can lead to Italian citizenship and an EU passport. They discuss:
+ How Melanie's own ancestors were "on the run" - and that's sometimes a common story - when they emigrated to the U.S.
+ How Italian records can tell you so much of the story of your ancestors
+ Why so many Italian records are available in Salt Lake City, of all places
+ What are the advantages of claiming Italian citizenship
+ Why the wait at some U.S. consulates is up to eight years! to process citizenship paperwork, but there's a very fast way to get your citizenship granted - on the ground in Italy
+ What the cost is to go through the citizenship process and ways to save money
