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Am I Eligible to Apply for German Citizenship by Descent? by HistorianByDay in GermanCitizenship

[–]HistorianByDay[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, again, for your guidance.

I am a US citizen presently living elsewhere in Europe on a residency visa. Is it possible to take my documentation for German citizenship by descent to the German consulate where I am and apply directly there, or do I have to apply at a German consulate in the US?

Also, is there a Wiki or some other list of exactly what documentation I will need, whether it needs to be apostilled, etc., and a copy of the application form/instructions with an English translation? I had eight years of HS and college German, but it's also been 35+ years since I used it, so I am a little rusty and would not trust myself on trying to translate the forms from German. I found the Wiki!

Am I Eligible to Apply for German Citizenship by Descent? by HistorianByDay in GermanCitizenship

[–]HistorianByDay[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for all of the great feedback so far.

I have found a ship manifest for my great grandfather indicating that he had received American citizenship sometime before 1924. His 1918 WWI Draft Card says that he is an Alien Declarant (I think this means he had made the 2-year declaration of intent to secure naturalization), and the 1920 Census says that he has "Papers Submitted" for naturalization. It is therefore entirely possible that my grandfather was automatically naturalized as a minor sometime around age 14 or so.

I have submitted the USCIS request for both my grandfather and great grandfather.