[COBOL2Java]

When I was in the seminary (this was back in the early 70s) a classmate of mine got an official-looking letter from Italy. My friend was born in Queens New York and is an American citizen. His parents were naturalized Americans who had emigrated from Italy.

The letter was in Italian, and he only knew a bit of the language so he handed it to his father. It was a draft notice - he was being drafted into the Italian Army! The letter ordered him to report to such-and-such location in Caserta Province (where his parents were from) in a month, or face arrest.

Apparently, when they were naturalized, his parents (or someone in the US government) neglected to inform the Italian government of the family’s status. Thus, to Italy, everyone was still Italian citizens, and my friend was subject to the draft.

Several trips to the Italian Embassy eventually straightened things out (whether it helped that my friend was in the seminary, I don’t know).

[liberalh8ter]

It's my understanding that as far as Italy is concerned, if an Italian citizen under the age of 18 immigrated to the U.S, Italy considered that citizen unable to legally renounce their Italian citizenship. Thus, Italy considers them and their offspring to be of Italian citizenship. If the offspring wanted recognition of their Italian status, it's a trip to the consulate with some paperwork and cash to be recognized.