Last week, Carlo, Valentina & I took the train and headed to Milan.  This visit wasn’t for pleasure.. it was more for business.  The business of making my VJ legal… that is.

Contrary to popular beliefs….. just because your parent is American and your born outside of the U.S. doesn’t automatically make you a citizen.  Just like marrying a foreigner doesn’t make them a U.S. Citizen either!  Lucky for us, not only does the U.S. have a way to make things work, but I’ve also been given a talent for taking care of this sort of business. (at least, I think so!)

After Carlo and I got married, I petitioned for him to become a Permanent Resident.  It wasn’t hard to do but, it was very time consuming and meticulous work.  Thankfully, every time I called USCIS with a question, they were able to help me out.

This time, I had to get VJ registered which (thankfully) was much easier than Carlo’s paperwork.  After getting all of her forms ready, we headed to Milan.  The night before, I made sure all of my stuff was in order and had all the necessary documents & evidence ready.  I also checked the weather to get everything we needed.  I woke up at 4AM… to take a shower, get dressed and have breakfast before Valentina woke up for her feeding.  At 6am, we were already out the door and making our way to the bus to take us to the train station.  We got the 7:18am train and by 9, we were already in Milan.  As soon as we made our way to the metro, I overheard someone say….. RAIN!  I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR RAIN!  The forecast said SUNNY!!! Even though the metro stop was just a few feet from the U.S. Consulate, we still had to cover Valentina with a blanket and make a mad dash to the covered entrance.

Once we got into the building, we made our way to the appropriate locations and handed over our forms.. along with our money to pay for her registration and passport.  Since the Consulate website said they “photo booth pictures are generally not accepted” we didn’t take any and opted to have them done at the Consulate.  So, you can imagine my surprise when there was a photo booth in the waiting room for pictures.  It was a bit difficult to get a 3 month old in the right position for a photo but we did it!

Everyone was really nice and even gave us some information regarding Carlo’s status. (which is a whole other story that I’ll have post another day)

So, exactly ONE WEEK from our appointment, I received a letter in the mail.  Actually, it was a certificate…… which officially states that Valentina Jade Piacente has been registered at the Consulate.  Her certificate serves (and is) her proof of U.S. Citizenship by Naturalization!