1912 - Children Born in Jus Soli Countries

This rule is important to know for anyone with ancestors that arrived in America before 1912.

Before July 1, 1912, if a male Italian citizen naturalized in a foreign country, both spouses as listed on the naturalization document and all minor children also became US citizens. For minor children born in the US, the act of the father naturalizing was seen as also severing the connection to Italy for them too. After July 1, 1912, it was determined that all children born outside of Italy retained their right to Italian citizenship, as long as the foreign country’s citizenship was granted as a birthright via jus soli.

This meant that since the United States of America grants citizenship via Jus Soli, any children born in the United States to an Italian citizen who naturalized after July 1, 1912 kept their right to Italian Citizenship via Jure Sanguinis!

There is a major loophole regarding this 1912 rule. Since women were “assumed” to have naturalized with their husband, they never formally went through a naturalization process of their own. This means that she and all minor children born in the US who were originally assumed as severed from Italian citizenship by their father did not formally renounce their right to Italian citizenship. A pathway to citizenship as a “pre-1912” case is available to those who fall into this category, and requires legal representation.

1922 - The Cable Act

This law is important to know for anyone with both male and female Italian ancestors in the same family line.

This law is called the Cable Act of 1922, also known as the Married Woman’s Act.

Before September 22, 1922, if an Italian man naturalized in the US, the US considered his wife as naturalized at the same time.

After September 22, 1922, women no longer gained US citizenship by simply being married to an American. This means if you have an Italian male in your line who naturalized at the end of 1922 or later, your line might still qualify through the female spouse, as she would have needed to naturalize separately. There are many cases where an Italian wife did not naturalize until several years after her husband!

1948 - Women’s Right to Pass Citizenship

This rule is important to know for anyone with a female Italian ancestor in their direct line, and is commonly referred to as a “1948 Case.”

Before January 1, 1948, if a female Italian citizen gave birth and her husband was not Italian, the female Italian citizen could not pass her citizenship to the child. If a child was born to an Italian mother on or after January 1, 1948, the Italian citizenship via Jure Sanguinis was passed to the child! There are cases where a mother had multiple children, some born before 1948 while others were born after. The children born before 1948 would have to go through the Italian court system with a 1948 case in an attempt to claim Italian citizenship. For all the children born to that same mother after 1948, it is a simple and straightforward process for citizenship recognition through a Consulate or via an “Apply in Italy” program!

If you meet all other criteria for Italian citizenship, other than a female giving birth to your next line member before 1948, you are able to petition the Italian courts for recognition. If you have any other viable Italian lines in your direct family tree, it is always best to seek a straightforward Jure Sanguinis recognition instead of pursuing a 1948 case.

Difficulty locating ancestral documents does not constitute an Italian line being unviable.

In order to petition the Italian courts, you must hire an Italian citizenship attorney. It is important to interview several attorneys to select one who matches your expectations. This does come with considerable costs, and could exceed tens of thousands of dollars depending on the case. Every attorney will provide a vastly different quote to represent you.

With a 1948 case, there is a possibility of the citizenship application being rejected, as the fate of your case is in the judge’s hands. If your case is rejected, you will have the option to appeal or to petition to a different regional court system. It is also important to know that recently, judges have been rejecting 1948 cases if the mother naturalized while her child was still a minor. While this normally would not impact a male-line, for some reason Italian judges have created a new sexist barrier. As always, if a judge rejects your file based on this, consult with your attorney and consider petitioning in a different court.

With that being said, the “1948 Case” has an extremely high success rate. Almost everyone who would qualify if the line were male instead of female has a successful outcome!

2024 - The "Minor Issue”

On October 3, 2024, a significant amendment to the Italian citizenship regulation came into effect, altering the transmission of citizenship across generations. This change, often referred to as the "minor issue," ends a longstanding practice: for more than a century, children born in the United States or other "jus soli" countries to an Italian citizen were automatically granted Italian citizenship, even if the Italian parent later acquired US citizenship.

The new rules state that if an Italian parent became a US citizen while their US-born children were minors (typically under 21), these children would forfeit their Italian citizenship rights unless they had formally declared their intention to keep it. Given that such a declaration was almost non-existent in the early to mid-20th century, this change disrupts the Italian citizenship lineage for many who were previously considered eligible.

Furthermore, if an Italian male ancestor passed away before naturalizing, his widow could maintain the line's eligibility. However, she must not have naturalized while the subsequent family member in the lineage was a minor for the male line's eligibility to be passed to future generations.

There is an important exception: Children who were minors but married before their Italian parent naturalized as a US citizen are not affected. Under Italian law, marriage emancipated minors, meaning they were treated as adults and not subject to the same rules.