In my experience with American clients, the importance of vital documents in obtaining citizenship, residencies, and visas is chronically underestimated.

Unfortunately, their accessibility is simultaneously OVERESTIMATED, especially for citizenship by descent cases.

I tell them if freedom of movement (FOM) is a house, vital documents are the foundation.

If FOM is the dinner, vital documents are the ingredients. ✅

If FOM is the path, vital documents are the concrete. ✅

If FOM is the paint, vital documents are the primer. ✅

You get the idea.

I've seen when people (especially Americans), start realizing this, they decide they want their a) original social security card, b) certified birth and c) marriage certificate, and d) certified birth certificates of minor children.

Justifiably so.

Then many decide they want not just one certified copy of each...but 2-3 (which I recommend).

Then many decide it'd be a good idea to have a certified copy of their PARENTS' birth, marriage, death certificates. Immigration records too, if they came from another country.

Some keep going. Their grandparents or great-grandparents' ship manifest records, naturalization petitions, WWI draft cards, etc.

Eventually, many end up with what I call a "personal document archive."

The very few clients I come across who already have a fairly complete personal archive are immediately ready to be thoroughly screened for citizenship by descent eligibility. 🥂

They're also ready to hit the ground running for a foreign residency or citizenship by investment application.

They also inevitably almost all comment how satisfying it is to have these vital documents for themselves (and ancestors) in hand.

For people (especially Americans) who know they want to apply for a foreign residency or citizenship at some point, it's not a bad idea to start building your personal document archive now.

#dualcitizenship #vitaldocuments #freeedomofmovement