Smited by the Gods

{ Not even a glass...or a bottle...of wine helps  |  April 2013 }

So that whole rigamarole I went through to obtain alllll the fingerprinting, background checks, notarizations and apostilles for my Italian Citizenship Request?

I might as well have just spent that time banging my head against a wall while watching all the checks I sent burn.

Even though my appointment date was moved up, there's another big hurdle: When R called the Italian consulate to find out the process for starting citizenship proceedings for me, they told him to get my documents in order first before making an appointment (note: making an appointment means paying $15 to dial a number and be given a random time). They now deny this, saying, but why would we tell him that when sometimes it can take a year to get an appointment and your documents are only valid for 3 months?

Precisely.

I now have to REDO every single document. Last time it took about two full days for me to run around getting photographs and fingerprints taken, fill out forms, go to the bank and the post office,  etc.—I'm not counting waiting time, of course. And, I paid about $200 for duplicative documents (people: doesn't it make sense that if you have a free-and-clear document from the FBI you'll also be free-and-clear in every state?).

How fun that I get to do it all over again.