[Heidi Smith]

Like many others, I’m working on my Hungarian citizenship. I am a direct descendent, but started with no documentation. My dad’s family left in ’56 during the revolution with only the clothes they were wearing. To date, I have managed to find and get a hold of birth certificates for both of my grandparents, but my dad’s is still missing. I’m not sure if this is a deal breaker, since my dad’s name and his parents’ Americanized names are on his marriage certificate. His death certificate was printed without his parents’ names, but maybe I can have that updates?!

I’m also curious with next steps! I believe I don’t have to speak Hungarian to move forward, though I am learning because I want to, but I don’t have any idea about what the oath ceremony looks like.

Please share your own experience and wisdom! I think all of it is helpful for all of us!

🙂 Heidi

Topic

[Anne Littlewood]

HI

I am in a similar position. My father left in ’56 but I can not source a birth certificate for him! I have a baptism record, my parents’ marriage certificates and many other pieces of paperwork but not that. I have submitted every document I had for my application for Citizenship by Verification, and have since had a further request from the Consulate in Budapest requesting my paternal grandparents’ marriage certificate. It’s hard to find all this information as there aren’t many family members still around who know all the details.

I do have someone on the case, so hopefully he’ll be able to find what I need to be successful in my application.

[Heidi Smith]

Hi Rhonda, how do you find a hospital record? I don’t know which hospital he would have been born in. Is there a way to find this info?

Thanks!
Heidi

[Sarah Frankie Linder]

Hi Heidi,

I’m in the middle of gearing up for my Simplified Naturalization interview. My family is also jewish, so there aren’t baptism records. What I have found is the references to births in the Anyakönyvek. Kind of like the equivalent to the baptismal record. I’ve had luck finding images of those through FamilySearch.org. I’d also recommend joining the Facebook group “Immigration Journey in Hungary”. There are a lot of people in there with a ton of resources who are in the process of/completed Simplified Naturalization and Verification by Descent (which sounds like what you’re doing). If you need someone to acquire those certified documents for you in Hungary, there are several vetted people in that group that can obtain those records if you hire them. Hope that’s helpful!

[Steven Bondor]

Rhonda and Heidi,
I went through the process too, but with the Consulate in Chicago. I need my parent birth certificate, marriage certificate, my birth certificate and marriage license, we filed the applications and now awaiting for the paperwork and approval. To me it was a long process.

[Heidi Smith]

I don’t know that he was baptized. My grandfather was jewish and my grandmother was catholic though I believe that neither of them were practicing any religion. How could I find out?

[Heidi Smith]

Hi Rhonda,

Btw, I think Rhonda is a beautiful name :). Yes, my first attempt was through the Konzuli in D.C. during my first citizenship appointment. I filled out the application and all the other forms and brought them with me that day. I also made a ton of mistakes! At the time my uncle (the only surviving member of my dad’s immediate family), couldn’t remember how his birth last name was spelled. We have all been Loewys since they emmigrated in ’56. Neither my dad nor my uncle ever even knew their paternal grandparents’ names. They were 7 and 9 years, respectively, in ’56. My dad’s dad passed 10 years before I was born. Through a ton of online genealogy research and the help of a stranger at a family search center, I found out that my great grandparents were Lővy Markus and Strasszman Hermina.

I have provided my parents marriage certificate, my dad’s death certificate (printed without the names of his parents…), my grandparents’ death certificates, my birth cert., and my marriage cert. I’ve also sent them photos of all of the documents I have found online that have anything to do with their journey from Budapest to the states with their misspelled hungarian names on them. I’m not sure if the absence of my dad’s birth certificate is a deal breaker or not, but I am sending in an new request form with all of the newest information that I have. Hopefully that is all that is needed.

We’ve already done the biometrics, had my signature recorded, and I have already paid the passport fee. They had me do this during that first appointment. I was kind of surprised, but I just went with it. Eszter said it would take about a year. That was in April.

[Rhonda M. Copher]

Heidi, have you searched for his baptism record or hospital record to confirm his birth?

[Rhonda M. Copher]

Heidi, can you share the steps taken to locate your father’s birth record? What state is his death certificate registered in? With the Americanized name change, to what did the surname change? In your search for his birth record, did you try variant spellings – Lovy / Lovi / Lövy / Lővy / Löwy / Lőwy / Loewy / Lowy / Levy/ Levi? If you can’t locate his birth record, will the consulate accept a substitute certified document, such as a marriage record with his name, which often includes his parents’ names?

Regarding the oath ceremony, I’m not certain if you are required to participate with a “verification application.” I read about a direct descendant who had an appointment with the consulate to submit his documentation and undergo biometric screening. Then, a few months later, his passport arrived in the mail. But one thing I’ve learned living in Hungary and visiting the Budapest immigration office is that no two cases are alike. If you are invited to take the oath in D.C., it’s a grand experience. The ceremony is performed in Hungarian, paperwork is signed, photos are taken, and champagne is shared, then the passport application is completed and mailed to Budapest. Two weeks later, the passport arrives by certified mail. For my ceremony, I was one of two who attended.

• This reply was modified 1 month, 1 week ago by Rhonda M. Copher.

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