r/GermanCitizenship • u/OnMyLaptopHere • 6h ago

§5 StAG Gender discrimination after 23 May 1949 Document Wait

Currently waiting for the Certificate of Non-Acquisition of US Citizenship from USCIS and the list showing my great great grandfather arriving at Ellis Island in 1906 from the NARA.

How long has it taken people to receive those documents after ordering them?

If I have an original letter from the year 1911 from the German Military to my great great grandmother saying her husband is serving, would those two other documents be needed?

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u/dentongentry §5 StAG Success 6h ago

If I have an original letter from the year 1911 from the German Military to my great great grandmother saying her husband is serving, would those two other documents be needed?

Most likely not, serving in the military doesn't prove he was a citizen. If you need to prove that he did not emigrate before 1/1/1904 and run afoul of the 10 year rule, that document would be useful.

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u/OnMyLaptopHere 6h ago

Would the Ellis Island arrival record be enough or should I wait for the Hamburg archive to come through with their departure records?

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u/dentongentry §5 StAG Success 6h ago

the list showing my great great grandfather arriving at Ellis Island in 1906 from the NARA.

Does this mean you have the manifest from ancestry or something, and you're waiting for the same document from NARA?

If so, I think I'd recommend to just submit with what you have to get in line. Once all remaining documents have arrived, you can send an update to add the additional evidence.

should I wait for the Hamburg archive to come through with their departure records?

You might be fine with just the Ellis Island arrival document, but the actual issue is whether they departed Germany before or after 1/1/1904. A 1906 arrival is close enough that the BVA may ask for the departure document to ensure they didn't stop somewhere else for a year or two before leaving for the US.

If the cost is bearable I think I'd recommend ordering the departure record. Stadtarchiv Hamburg is famously backed up, it is likely to take many months. If the BVA asks for it, it would be best for you to have it in hand (or send it along with the other documents mentioned above).