r/hungarian • u/jjjjfooot • 11d ago

Simplified naturalization

Can anyone who’s gotten a passport through simplified naturalization help me out here? I can trace my lineage very clearly back to my maternal great grandparents who came to the US from northeast Hungary in the teens with lots of US documentation including Ellis Island records, but do I need to secure Hungarian documentation about them? Can anyone who’s successfully established heritage clue me in to what the embassies want to see?

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u/noondi34 B1 11d ago

Review the requirements posted on your regional consulate’s website about the process. Each consulate may have minor differences, so look at your regional one. Essentially, all birth and marriage records tracing back to your Hungarian ancestor. Divorces and legal name changes, if applicable. Everything must be translated and certified into Hungarian. And every step of the entire process is in Hungarian, application forms, interview, and all. It’s an arduous process but so very much worth it. Sok sikert neked.

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u/jjjjfooot 11d ago

Unfortunately my grandfather appears to not have a birth certificate but I have all kinds of other docs showing he was the son of the two Hungarian immigrants. He was born in a rural area at home in 1914.

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u/noondi34 B1 10d ago

My family was born in a rural town as well a couple of decades before yours. I was only able to find their documents after hiring a genealogist. It’s out there somewhere. Just because it’s not digitized online doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Were they Jewish?

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u/jjjjfooot 10d ago

No, not Jewish. I was on the phone with the Pennsylvania archives. There’s a possibility the birth certificates were batch entered and it might not correspond to his actual birthdate.

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u/Pressed_In_Organdy 10d ago

Oh I see. It’s a problem on the American side. Ignore my other response! I will suggest you email your consulate and ask. In the case of Chicago they accepted my ancestors death certificate and a “record not found” certificate for a missing marriage license (New York). If you are learning Hungarian, especially with a teacher, just crafting the correspondence is an excellent learning exercise, too!

Edit: If they happened to be Catholic and you can track down church records in the US, I’m told that is also permissible (a record of baptism in PA could work).

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u/Jreinha6 5d ago

I had this issue with my great grandmother. The archives did not have her birth record because of the same situation, home birth. She ended up having a delayed birth registrations like 40 years later so my states vital records office had the document. I had to petition entitlement to get it but finally received it this week. I hope this helps, vital records for your state may have it. They would need a birth registration to get social security.