By Lucrecia Cucchiaro, Argentine lawyer specializing in Italian citizenship law. Associate of Kairós LBC, an Italian law firm with offices in Milan and Rome, where she heads the Department of Italian Citizenship and Immigration.
Short answer: it depends on one date. If your Italian ancestor became a U.S. citizen after the next person in your line was born in the United States, the line was not broken. Italy’s highest court confirmed this in 2026.
The date that decides everything
Compare two dates: the date your Italian ancestor naturalized as a U.S. citizen, and the date of birth of their child in your line. Everything else follows from that comparison.
| Situation | What it means | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Your ancestor naturalized after the next person in your line was born in the U.S. | The child was Italian and American from birth. The naturalization does not break the line. | Protected by the Joint Sections of the Court of Cassation (2026) |
| Your ancestor naturalized before the next person in your line was born | The child was not born to an Italian citizen. There was nothing to pass on. | The line is broken |
| The child was born in Italy, only Italian, and was a minor living with the parent who naturalized | The child may have lost Italian citizenship along with the parent. | Usually broken (art. 12, Law 555/1912), unless reacquired |
The “minor issue” and what the Court of Cassation decided
For years, many families were told that if the Italian ancestor naturalized while the child was still a minor, the child lost Italian citizenship too. Some Italian courts applied that reading in 2023 and 2024 (Cass. 17161/2023, 454/2024 and 3564/2024), and many applications were rejected.
In 2026, the Joint Civil Sections of the Court of Cassation settled the question (judgment no. 125/2026, published on 26 July 2026). The key points:
- A child born abroad, in a country that grants citizenship by birth on its soil, is a dual citizen from birth: Italian by blood and, in this case, American by birth.
- That child keeps Italian citizenship even if the Italian parent later naturalizes. It can only be lost by an express, voluntary renunciation once the child is an adult.
- The rule that made minors lose citizenship with their parent applies only to a child who was exclusively Italian, typically one born in Italy, who acquired the foreign citizenship through the parent.
- The same applies when the Italian ancestor is the mother.
The United States grants citizenship to everyone born on its soil. So for most Italian-American families, the child in the line was American from birth, and the Court’s ruling applies.
Because it comes from the Joint Sections, this ruling resolves the conflict between the earlier decisions and guides all courts.
How this fits with the 2025 reform
The Court’s ruling is about whether the line was broken. The 2025 reform (Law 74/2025, Article 3-bis) is about who can still apply. They are two different questions, and both apply to your case:
- If a lawsuit was filed before 27 March 2025, the old law applies, with no generational limit, and this ruling protects the line.
- If you are applying now, the reform limits administrative recognition to children and grandchildren of Italians, with conditions. Great-grandchildren and later generations need to go to court. Read Italian citizenship for great-grandchildren after the 2025 reform.
Documents that prove the date
- Naturalization records of your Italian ancestor. The date that counts is the naturalization itself (the oath), not the earlier Declaration of Intention. Records can be requested through the USCIS Genealogy Program or found at the National Archives (NARA), depending on the year.
- If your ancestor never naturalized, you need proof of that: a search of USCIS records with no result.
- Birth certificate of the child in your line, to compare dates.
- Everything apostilled and translated into Italian.
If the Ministry claims your ancestor naturalized before the relevant birth, it has to prove it. Under Italian case law, whoever applies proves the line; whoever denies it proves the break.
If you want us to look at your case
In a 45-minute consultation (€67) we compare your dates and documents and tell you whether your line holds. If it does not, I will tell you then.
Last updated: October 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice for your specific case.
Frequently asked questions
My great-grandfather naturalized when my grandfather was 10. Is my line broken? If your grandfather was born in the United States before the naturalization, no. He was Italian and American from birth, and he kept Italian citizenship. Judgment no. 125/2026 of the Joint Sections of the Court of Cassation confirms it.
What if my grandfather was born in Italy and came to the U.S. as a child? Then the 2026 ruling does not help in your case. Because he was born in Italy, he held only Italian citizenship at birth. If his father naturalized while your grandfather was still a minor living with him, and U.S. law extended that naturalization to him, he lost Italian citizenship automatically under art. 12(2) of Law 555/1912. In that case the line is broken, unless he later reacquired it. Everything depends on three dates: his birth, his father’s naturalization, and his own U.S. citizenship records. If you have questions, you can book a €67 consultation here.
My application was rejected because of the “minor issue.” Can I try again? Yes, but do not file a new application. Request a review (“riesame”) of your original one. After the Joint Civil Sections of the Court of Cassation ruling of 26 July 2026 (no. 125/2026), the Ministry of the Interior (Circular no. 65050 of 10 August 2026) allows denials based solely on the old interpretation to be reconsidered under the law in force when you first applied. If you applied, or were given your appointment, before 27 March 2025, the 2025 reform does not apply to you. A new application would be assessed under current law, including the generational limit. The request goes to the office that issued the denial, even if you have moved since. This applies only where the parent naturalized between 1 July 1912 and 15 August 1992. If you have questions, you can book a €67 consultation here.
Does it matter if the Italian ancestor was my great-grandmother? No, the same rule applies to mothers. If the line passes through a woman and a child born before 1 January 1948, it has to go through the courts.
How do I start? Book a €67 consultation with the dates of naturalization and birth at hand.
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