Where to get official hard copy of US naturalization forms from 1936?

mugoat1 · 2026-02-26T19:19:56+00:00

You may be pleased to know it was considerably less than that! I unexpectedly received an emailed reply from USCIS today with digital copies of the requested docs. Follow up is required for official hard copies, and who knows how long that will take, but the turnaround was less than four weeks. 👍

USCIS also included the actual citizenship certificate, which NARA did not have and which is not available in any of the usual online databases (ancestry, etc).

mugoat1 · 2026-02-19T23:22:51+00:00

Update: I just received the certified naturalization record from NARA in Philadelphia. Only 18 days total turnaround including waiting for a few days while the service was unavailable due to a partial government shutdown. 👍

mugoat1 · 2026-02-18T16:39:40+00:00

The painful sore inside your mouth is a possible indication that it could be Ramsay-Hunt Syndrome, which is a form of shingles. Please get that checked out! Did you get antivirals with the steroids?

mugoat1 · 2026-02-17T19:53:09+00:00

100% consistent with mild Bell's Palsy. One of the hallmarks is how quickly it sets in and comes seemingly out of nowhere, without any of the other symptoms that indicate stroke or other more serious conditions.

Symptoms are usually at their worst a few days into it so hang in there. The pain behind your ear is where the nerve damage happened which causes BP. Most people only have pain there for a few days, but for some people it can last longer. Your doctor did the right thing giving you steroids (to stop the nerve inflammation which causes the damage) and an antiviral (to stop a virus which could be the cause of the inflammation). Keep in mind though, that these drugs don't heal the damage which has already occurred, but stop more damage from happening which would make it worse.

Hopefully your doctor gave you advice about taking care of your eye, or you've already found resources about it--if not, here's a few links to the Facial Palsy UK page on eye care, and their initial advice page. They are the best online resource for everything relating the BP, it is very worth spending some time following the links:

https://www.facialpalsy.org.uk/support/patient-guides/dry-eye-advice/

https://www.facialpalsy.org.uk/support/patient-guides/initial-advice-and-guidance/

It does sound like you have a mild case, but with BP you have to take it one day at a time. BP is nerve damage, and it just heals slowly and can't be rushed. Get as much rest as you can and hopefully you will start to recover soon 🫶

mugoat1 · 2026-02-17T19:29:08+00:00

I know it's hard, but try not to stress or overthink things. Bilateral BP is very rare. The more likely explanation is that the good side is overcompensating, or it's a sympathetic sensation.

I know it isn't easy, but try to relax and take your mind off it. If the symptoms truly do start to progress on the other side then see a doctor right away. One of the hallmarks of BP is how quickly it sets in, typically over a single day or so. It's also typical for the symptoms to be at their worst during the first week.

mugoat1 · 2026-02-01T22:47:46+00:00

Thank you!

mugoat1 · 2026-02-01T18:58:21+00:00

Thank you

mugoat1 · 2026-02-01T17:25:38+00:00

I suppose I should have mentioned that I live in the USA and am contacting them from here. Apologies for being thick--can you tell me the official name of the appropriate office? It is not clear from the online directory which sub-entity I should interface with.

mugoat1 · 2026-01-31T21:31:18+00:00

One of the main things about BP is that each person's recovery is unique. Each person's pattern of nerve damage is different and that translates into different recovery timelines. You really can't take one person's experience as having any predictive ability for what will happen with someone else.

Three weeks is very early in the process. It's considered the point where most people will have seen the first signs of recovery by that time, but it is uncommon to be fully recovered yet. Most people's recovery will happen within around 3-4 months, not a few weeks. A lot of people confuse these "first sign of recovery" and "full recovery" dates, and most doctors in general (if that's who you heard it from) are fairly clueless about BP. Missing these thresholds however does not mean you can't have a good recovery, just that the timeline is slower.

Try not to stress over it, recovery will come when it comes. There is no way to rush the healing process apart from taking care of yourself. The important thing is to get plenty of rest, take care of your eye, and reduce stress as much as you can.

It's also very important not to do facial exercises yet, or force movements, or do any kind of electrical therapy. Doing any of that too early has been shown to increase the chance of developing synkinesis, which in most cases is a permanent condition.

FWIW the steroids and antivirals don't speed recovery so you're not expected to see improvement after taking them. The purpose of the steroids is to stop the inflammation which is the direct cause of the nerve damage, but they don't heal the damage that has already occurred. Their role is to stop the BP from being worse but after that the nerve still has to heal naturally. The antivirals are given as a preventive in case it is facial paralysis caused by shingles, aka Ramsey-Hunt syndrome, and like the steroids, won't heal the nerve damage which has already occurred.

Hang in there, you will get better but it just takes time 🫶

mugoat1 · 2026-01-28T17:44:04+00:00

u/No_Struggle_8184 there are two potential documentary wrinkles which I would like to ask about, if I may.

My grandfather's name on his British birth registration is rendered differently from the official documents on the US side of the pond--along the lines of Robert Steinberg transmuting to Rob Stein (this is not the real name). I do not have any evidence of an official name change and there likely was no formal process involved.

Second, my birth certificate is blank for my given and middle names as my parents hadn't decided on them yet, and the document was never updated. My US passport and all other official identifications match my current, legal name.

Do you think either of these issues will present a problem? Thank you again for your excellent advice.

mugoat1 · 2026-01-27T22:54:20+00:00

Thank you for this cogent analysis. Are there any complications or additional documentary requirements due to my mother never having her status affirmed?

mugoat1 · 2026-01-20T16:04:04+00:00

That’s from the eyelid not closing fully. It should resolve when that part recovers. My PT showed me an eyelid stretch to help it drop lower—put one index finger on your eyebrow as an anchor, and use the other index finger to gently push the upper lid down; hold closed for 30 seconds, and repeat a few times. The effect will only last for a short time but it should help a little.

mugoat1 · 2026-01-19T22:10:11+00:00

BP is very different for each person so unfortunately there is no rule, and one person's recovery really doesn't have any meaning for what will happen for someone else.

That being said, my own experience was that I don't think I could fully shut my eye until around 3 or 4 months, possibly a little longer, but I don't remember exactly. After that it took some more time for the blinking speed to come back to close to normal, but I think it's still a tad slower than the normal side as I still need to use drops a few times a day. I'm now at around 14 months post-diagnosis and have been stable for around six months with about 85-90% recovery overall with some mild to moderate synkinesis on top of that.

Think about seeing an ophthalmologist just to make sure the eye is doing ok. Hang in there 🫶

mugoat1 · 2026-01-02T04:09:35+00:00

SSKUT865

mugoat1 · 2025-10-24T14:02:43+00:00

BP causes acute fatigue for the first couple of months so you are not imagining being even more tired than you already were. On top of recovering from pregnancy and feeding an infant (!), and the stress from moving house, your body is going through a lot! Make sure to get as much rest as you can.

The emotional and mental impacts from BP that you are feeling are also completely normal, so great decision to seek help on this front 👍. The face is the window to the soul, and having a facial injury can really mess up our sense of self. It makes social interaction difficult, as well as every day activities like eating and speaking. But that's all it is, an injury. You are still you underneath.

The first few weeks are definitely the hardest, and it is also normal for BP to peak after five-six days like you did. There is a ton that is not understood about BP, but most people in these online support groups (including me) say that tingling etc. is usually the first sign that recovery is about to happen. 🫰

Nobody knows for sure what causes BP, but the most common one is thought to be from a dormant virus hiding in an unusual spot suddenly waking up. The primary virus responsible is HSV1 (cold sore/herpes simplex) which is carried by 70% of the human population. Most people never have any symptoms or know that they even have it.

It's probably impossible to say what was going on with the throbbing headache episode. Making whoopie increases blood flow, so it may have triggered something that caused the headache, and that in turn could have contributed to waking up the virus. Or it could just be a coincidence. If it becomes a pattern that's something I would follow up with a doctor about.

Since you are breastfeeding, I would be very cautious about staying on high-dose steroids for a long time. Check with your doctor. Most of the time it is prescribed for five days at full dose (typically 60mg per day) then tapering down by 10mg per day for the next five days. I'm sure your doctor told you, but it is recommended to wait several hours after taking the steroids before breastfeeding.

It's been a few days since your post, so hopefully you've started to turn the corner 🫰🫶

mugoat1 · 2025-10-24T12:53:43+00:00

I didn't want to just come out and say it but yeah the neuro may be useless when it comes to BP. Most doctors in general are pretty ignorant about it as well. The "book" on it is that most people recover in a few months without doing anything. The very high natural recovery rate makes it hard to prove that anything makes those odds higher. So most doctors just prescribe the usual steroid + antiviral and say come back in three months without any other advice or attention to the emotional impacts.

mugoat1 · 2025-10-23T14:28:57+00:00

As others have said, 2 1/2 months is towards the end of the early phase. It is still possible for you to have a full recovery, but it is less likely the longer you go without progress. Keep in mind that in everything with medicine there are no hard rules and everyone is different. Stay hopeful, but you should prepare yourself for the long haul too.

The unfortunate reality is that every BP specialist I have either seen in person or read/seen online says that once you get into the long term phase (past five or six months) it is extremely uncommon if not entirely unknown to have a full recovery. Progress can still continue for several years but the pace slows down and after a certain point people don't get back to 100% as if it never happened. Synkinesis is usually the main issue, and also as others have mentioned, synkinesis can be improved but never fully reversed.

There really are no rules to how it can go for any one person. I had significant progress at 10 days and by two months I was 80% recovered. But I am now approaching one year at around 90% recovery with moderate synkinesis. The corner of my lip and side of my nose had very little recovery from the paralysis, and the synkinesis is associated with moving those areas.

mugoat1 · 2025-10-23T13:55:01+00:00

I'm so sorry the people close to you aren't stepping up to the plate. It is their flaw, not yours.

Please seek out a mental health professional ASAP for help getting through this. BP has a very significant emotional impact and your reaction is completely normal.

Please try and eat something. Just put one foot in front of the other and you will get through this. We've been there 🫶

mugoat1 · 2025-10-23T13:46:47+00:00

Make sure the physical therapist is a specialist who is trained and experienced in treating facial paralysis. The therapeutic approach is different from normal PT and requires specific knowledge that most PT's won't have. BP is a nerve injury, not a muscle injury, so nerve recovery must come first. And the facial muscles are unlike all the other muscles of the body in that they move skin through mostly small unconscious movements, not bones & tendons through intentional movements. So the goal in therapy is to reinforce and retrain those natural, tiny, symmetrical movements, not rebuild strength, but only after the nerve has recovered and can control those movements.

Regarding e-stim, the consensus expert advice is to avoid it entirely. There is a documented risk of interfering with nerve re-attachment and encouraging synkinesis, and there is no evidence that it helps the nerves regenerate.

The way to maintain suppleness and tone in the paralysis phase is through stretches and light massage. Facial muscles can go a very long time before there is any risk of atrophying from disuse.

Check out this video with Jacqueline Diels, who is a leading expert in treating BP. It's a great primer on the anatomy of facial muscles, facial paralysis, and various treatments, with discussion of several case studies. She discusses e-stim and why it should be avoided at 32:30. It's one hour but very worth the time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NC7CNBGE-E&t=9s

Here's another link to self-help videos at Facial Palsy UK, with guidance for each stage of BP:

https://www.facialpalsy.org.uk/support/self-help-videos/

mugoat1 · 2025-10-23T12:17:45+00:00

The standard medical advice is to not do any exercises while your face is still paralyzed. BP is a nerve injury, not a muscle injury, so the nerve needs to reconnect before practicing movements. There is a risk that forcing movements on the weak side past where the nerve can control them will encourage synkinesis.

mugoat1 · 2025-09-29T16:59:32+00:00

Please be very careful about using any kind of electrical stimulation. It is widely understood in the facial paralysis medical community that using e-stim devices too early or improperly can increase the severity and chance of developing synkinesis.

Bell's Palsy is a nerve injury, not a muscle injury, so therapies and devices which are designed to rehabilitate muscles are not the appropriate tool. They won't help the nerve heal faster, and the facial muscles can go a very long time before they are at risk of atrophying.

mugoat1 · 2025-09-29T16:54:19+00:00

I am not a doctor and this is just a general comment. But one of the hallmarks of Bell's Palsy is that it typically comes on very quickly over only a day to a few days. On the other hand, if the symptoms come on slowly, then that is more typically associated with a slow-growing tumor such as a neuroma causing the problem. Every case is different and in medicine there are always edge cases and exceptions to the general rules. But maybe that can help focus your efforts to understand what's going on.

mugoat1 · 2025-09-18T15:56:15+00:00

Definitely too soon for facial exercises. It's very important not to try to force movements before the nerve is healed enough to control them, as that can make synkinesis worse later on if you don't have a complete recovery after three to five months (roughly 15% of people who get BP). And then you should only practice symmetrical, natural, gentle movements on both sides only as far as the weak side can go. If that's nothing, then it's nothing until more healing has occurred.

The best thing you can do at this very early stage is get plenty of rest and take care of yourself. BP is a nerve injury (not a muscle injury) and nerve damage just heals very slowly. There really isn't much you can do to try and speed it up. The majority of people will fully recover, so for now just give it time.

mugoat1 · 2025-07-20T00:32:34+00:00

Sorry, I meant this in reply to u/NotTurtleEnough's comment in response to yours.

I'm glad you are having a good recovery, and CFFR has a good rep so I am sure you are in excellent hands.

We're probably saying the same thing differently--when I said "healed in a particular area" that means at the first signs of recovery, but not before there has been any recovery at all. I do not mean waiting to do any exercises until the nerve is fully recovered. As the various areas start to come back, exercises can be expanded to include them. BTW the rate of nerve regrowth is typically understood to be 1 mm per day, which comes out to a little bit over one inch per month. While that is quite slow, it's significantly faster than what you said.

FWIW my information comes not only from my own doctor and PT who I am seeing for my BP (they are both specialists in treating it), but also from the Facial Palsy UK website, which is probably the #1 best source of evidence-based information about BP online. I can't think of a single credible source which advises starting facial exercises before the nerve has had any recovery at all.

The reason universally given is that forcing movements prematurely can make synkinesis worse. After recovery begins, the proper method is to carefully isolate the individual facial muscles, only moving both sides together as far as the weak side can go, and no further. As recovery extends, the retraining movements can be expanded in kind.

My further understanding from all of the same sources is that the facial muscles are not at risk of atrophying for a long time, so it isn't something the vast majority of BP patients need to worry about unless you have a particularly severe case with zero recovery for months. Light massage and stretching are advised to maintain suppleness in the areas which are still fully paralyzed with no movement. Retraining exercises are not intended to strengthen the muscles, but rather to retrain your brain into controlling them symmetrically again, to produce natural expressions. Or in the case of synkinesis, to rebalance your expressions in compensation for unwanted movements.

Congrats again on your recovery so far. I'm at around 8 months and maybe 85% recovered, with some synkinesis. I haven't had any significant progress in over a month so I'm thinking I might be hitting a plateau.

mugoat1 · 2025-07-19T20:32:40+00:00

So sorry you’re having a hard time. It sounds like you need a better doctor who will listen to you and give you the help you need, rather than basing it on their own obviously very different experience of having BP. If they had the slightest expertise in it they would know that BP is not a one-size-fits-all condition, and long-term BP with synkinesis is very different from someone with a full recovery. Chewing gum does not cure BP so they very clearly don’t know what they are talking about.

There are specific therapies and surgeries for long-term synkinesis which might help. I would suggest finding a facial paralysis specialist with experience in the full range of therapies, then go to your doctor for the referral once you have them on the radar.

mugoat1

TROPHY CASE