Hi everyone,
I've been reaching out to several Italian citizenship lawyers over the past couple of months to get their perspective on our case.
I’ve included a response below from one such lawyer, Andrea Ubaldini. He believes we have a strong case through our great-great-grandmother, Filomena D'Amico, and that we have all the necessary documents. He mentioned that we should have filed this case through her from the beginning, which aligns with feedback from other lawyers and members of the Facebook citizenship community. This is disappointing and makes me feel dissatisfied with our current lawyer, Giovanni D'Ruggiero.
I am interested in continuing to pursue our case with Avv. Ubaldini, but I recognize that this would effectively double our costs so far. Andrea is quoting €9500 (about $10,000 at today's exchange rates) to file the case. This fee is more "all-inclusive" compared to our current lawyer; it covers any necessary translations or certifications in Italy. I will also ask about any additional fees after the court case.
(Our current lawyer is unwilling to continue without a document that I believe will be impossible to obtain from USCIS. I can provide more details on this if needed.)
Please review Andrea’s message below. Let me know your thoughts so we can decide how to proceed.
I've been reaching out to several Italian citizenship lawyers over the past couple of months to get their perspective on our case.
I’ve included a response below from one such lawyer, Andrea Ubaldini. He believes we have a strong case through our great-great-grandmother, Filomena D'Amico, and that we have all the necessary documents. He mentioned that we should have filed this case through her from the beginning, which aligns with feedback from other lawyers and members of the Facebook citizenship community. This is disappointing and makes me feel dissatisfied with our current lawyer, Giovanni D'Ruggiero.
I am interested in continuing to pursue our case with Avv. Ubaldini, but I recognize that this would effectively double our costs so far. Andrea is quoting €9500 (about $10,000 at today's exchange rates) to file the case. This fee is more "all-inclusive" compared to our current lawyer; it covers any necessary translations or certifications in Italy. I will also ask about any additional fees after the court case.
(Our current lawyer is unwilling to continue without a document that I believe will be impossible to obtain from USCIS. I can provide more details on this if needed.)
Please review Andrea’s message below. Let me know your thoughts so we can decide how to proceed.
Hello Noah,
Thank you for sharing all the documents.
I have focused on those of Arduino, Filomena, and Filomena/Florence and I can confirm that yours seems a solid case using Filomena D'Amico as the starting ancestor.
The letter from USCIS is perfect to show that she was automatically naturalized by marriage and never renounced her Italian nationality, as her name and date of birth reflect her birth certificate. The One and the Same Order looks also fine. However, please consider that our team will have to review all the names and dates in detail to officially confirm that everything is in perfect shape.
We have filed a lot of cases with naturalizations by marriage in the Court of Rome, and all were ruled in favor if there were no severe inconsistencies. Petitions like this are strong on legal grounds.
I can definitely provide you with a courtesy discount, including two of you for free and saving 1,000 euros. Our total fee would then be 6,000 euros + 3,500 euros for 9 extra petitioners (7 for 500 each). Below is the specific payment plan for your case with us:
upon signature: 2,000 euros;
after 4 months: 4,000 euros (1,500 as our fees + 2,500 for 5 applicants);
after 8 months: 2,500 euros (1,500 as our fees + 1,000 for 2 applicants);
after 12 months: 1,000 euros.
I am available to discuss the entire process in a free phone/video call, if you want, that can be scheduled at your convenience through this link.
Alternatively, I can elaborate on the next steps via email and send you a Letter of Engagement to formalize our agreement. This will not happen before Monday 24, though, since I will be out of the office from tomorrow to next Friday, the 21st.
Thanks,
Noah