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Post by wolfy3000 on Dec 29, 2014 9:53:52 GMT -5
Hi Everyone,
I am excited to see the progress that other people have made. It has seemed like a lonely journey until now.
My Luxembourg immigration history is Lux -> USA -> Canada -> UK. Four ancestors alive in 1900. No naturalisation into the USA or Canada before 1900.
So things look quite positive.
I live in the UK and it is proving difficult to get quality vital records from the USA and Canada. In this era of ant-fraud, anti-terrorism, anti-identity theft, officially certified birth and death records are not easy to get in the USA and Canada. They are mainly available to the person listed in the record and their immediate spouse/children/parent.
Certified record requirements differ from state, province, country but what I am encountering is:
1. Notarized request (very expensive to do from Europe) (USA - Minnesota)
2. "Tangible Interest" - must be immediate family member, legal case, settlement of estate, etc. (USA - Minnesota)
3. Person must have been dead 75 years, 100 years, etc. (Canada - Saskatchewan)
I have easily received "non-certified" copies that are just simple photocopies (no government seal or stamp). I fear that these will not be good enough though.
Does anyone know what level of official copies need to be supplied to the Luxembourg government? Has anyone had luck with birth or death records that were issued as "non-certified", "For Genealogy Purposes only", "Informational Copy" from the USA or Canada?
Thank you very much for any help you can provide. I hope to contribute back to the forum as my application progresses.
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Post by wolfy3000 on Dec 30, 2014 5:35:38 GMT -5
Hi All,
I have received an e-mail response from one very helpful person who submitted successfully but they managed to get certified copies of every vital document.
For example, for two relatives I have, the state of Minnesota doesn't retain records that old. They are only available from the county historical society. So in no way an official, certified government source.
I noticed that Flavia had posted she went to old churches or local towns in Brazil to find documentation. How did she get that information up to certified, government standard?
Thank you all for your responses.
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Post by cmarx84 on Dec 30, 2014 21:09:42 GMT -5
Hi wolfy3000, Thanks for your response to my question- I'll take a look at my census records. If my great-great gran was a US citizen, her parents were still alive and living in Luxembourg in 1900 so that might work too. Records are very difficult to obtain here in the US, I imagine it's worse if you live abroad. My Luxembourg cousin was here earlier this year and I brought him to the county clerk's office to get a couple of death certificates for his research collection...lucky I was there because they required an Illinois ID to even request the print-outs. They were also stamped "for geneaology purposes only." As far as help in getting the correct documents in the US, I would suggest contacting the Luxembourg American Cultural Society .They offer assistance in obtaining dual citizenship and might be able to answer your questions. Good Luck! |
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ReLux
New Member
Posts: 14
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Post by ReLux on Jan 1, 2015 23:47:02 GMT -5
Hello, I'm from Minnesota and have gone to many of the counties so I might be able to help you. I had issues at first getting certified documents of my great grandparents from one of the counties, they said I didn't have tangible interest. I went home and found a powerpoint document online from the department of helth which explicitly stated that great-grandchildren can obtain the certified documents, I took this back and showed them and received the records. I unfortunately cannot find the link at the moment but I might have saved the file to my drive, there seems to be another document which gives a bit of info though: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/osr/localreg/presentation2014.pdfIt shouldn't be difficult to mail away for these documents using the forms provided by the specific county, just fill them out and sign in front of someone who can authorize documents. When I was in Australia they don't use notaries or even know what one is, so I asked who could do official witnessing and was told a police officer, pharmacist and a few others can perform this function. I suspect you have a similar process in the UK, just sign in front of someone who can authorize your signature and mail off the paper work. Let me know if you have any specific questions, I spent the entire summer digging in the old county records and at the MN Historical Society. |
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Post by kristin on Apr 5, 2015 21:03:17 GMT -5
Me again. I have Phase 1 mostly figured out. How long does it take to get the Certificate of Ancestry after you mail off the birth/death/marriage certificates? My siblings are applying with me, so do you know if we apply for the same Certificate of Ancestry or if there is a special one for siblings?
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Post by Mark Beck on Apr 6, 2015 10:58:02 GMT -5
Hello Fellow-Luxembourgers, I have made it through Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the recovery process. Now I am preparing for my trip to Luxembourg to present my documents.
For those of you who have gone there and completed the process I have a couple of questions: How long should I plan to stay in Luxembourg for Phase 3? A week? Three days?
Second, I phoned the Ministry of Justice to ask them the question above. I did not get an answer but the girl there did tell me I needed something from the U.S. saying that
obtaining dual citizenship was okay with them. Has anyone run into that before?
I spoke to someone at the State Dept. He indicated that the U.S. only tolerates dual citizenship and will not confirm that it is okay. Further, he told me that 'taking an oath' in
Lux may jeopardize my U.S. citizenship status as it could be interpreted as a de facto renunciation of my U.S. citizenship.
That seemed a bit extreme, so I asked a U.S. immigration lawyer. She told me that the U.S. would not give me any statement or support for my dual citizenship. But she did
suggest I take a legal opinion (that she would write) that would proffer that I am NOT excluded from obtaining dual citizenship. Are the waters that tricky with this? The Lux-American
Society in WI is advertising to assist in the whole process. Certainly they would not participate in this if there was a chance on someone losing U.S. citizenship.
Any enlightenment would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Mark Beck
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Post by moike92 on Apr 6, 2015 18:50:26 GMT -5
If your brothers and sisters are applying as well you will just need to include copies of their birth certificates in the envelope that you will mail to luxembourg. When you write the letter requesting for the certificate of ancestry be sure to include that you need one for each of the siblings.
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Post by heatherk on May 19, 2015 0:47:00 GMT -5
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Post by Noah on May 19, 2015 5:56:26 GMT -5
Hello Fellow-Luxembourgers, I have made it through Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the recovery process. Now I am preparing for my trip to Luxembourg to present my documents. How long should I plan to stay in Luxembourg for Phase 3? There is no Phase 3. Phase 1 is to apply for your certificat relatif à l’aïeul luxembourgeois. Phase 2 is to travel to Luxembourg and submit your final application materials along with your certificat relatif à l’aïeul luxembourgeois. The process is generally described as involving only 2 separate phases. |
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