Italian company sees US citizenship applicants quadruple since 2016

[tulipsandroses]

Italian company sees US citizenship applicants quadruple since 2016

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic and a turbulent few years in American politics, many US citizens are now seeking Italian citizenship in a bid for free healthcare, affordable university education and a less frenetic lifestyle. CNN's Ben Wedeman reports.

[link:https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2020/11/02/italy-us-visas-citizenship-covid-19-wedeman-pkg-intl-ldn-vpx.cnn|

Interesting note ... - They mention in the video, Italy was once politically unstable. Now they seem to be more stable politically and people are leaving America to live in Italy for that reason.

[kimbutgar]

1. I could easily live in Italy and would work hard to learn Italian

Unfortunately I’m too old now to make that transition.

[BannonsLiver]

4. Visited for the first time last fall.

Just a few months before the Trump Virus wrecked travel. I could seriously get into the northern Italy/Tuscany vibe.

[kimbutgar]

8. I could live in Venice

I already live in a big city and I love the vibe of Venice and the history.

[stillcool]

2. I read an article a while back...

about the exodus. Certainly understandable. One sentence in the article was "The pandemic may end, but the racism and ugliness won’t.”

Weary from political strife and a pandemic, some Americans are fleeing the country
By Emily Wax-Thibodeaux
November 2, 2020 at 7:08 p.m. EST
Americans are leaving the country or seeking foreign visas in record numbers, according to immigration lawyers and expatriate organizations, during an oppressive year of political violence, racial strife and an uncontrolled pandemic that has kept families locked in their homes for months — with no clear end in sight.

The exodus has been led by parents looking for countries with open and safe schools and by members of marginalized groups fed up with institutionalized racism, shaken by the visibility of white supremacists and worried about what a Supreme Court swing to the right will mean for their civil liberties. They’re largely Americans with financial means and the ability to work virtually, and some are dual citizens and their spouses.
============

Vows to flee the country amid contentious elections are a well-worn threat among American voters. But 2020 has been unprecedented in the number of people following through on that pledge or taking the steps to leave even before polls opened, experts said. Heather Segal, a Canadian immigration attorney, said inquiries to her Toronto office became relentless after President Trump hesitated in condemning white supremacists at the first presidential debate in late September.


“I had call, after call, after call — so many that one day I felt like an immigration attorney in 1939 Germany,” Segal said. “People start telling me their stories, saying they feel unsafe, exhausted, like they are almost pleading their case.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/weary-from-political-strife-and-a-pandemic-some-americans-are-fleeing-the-country/2020/11/02/ee66038c-f840-11ea-89e3-4b9efa36dc64_story.html

[greenjar_01]

3. There was a big wave of immigration from Italy in the late 1960s early 1970s

These were mostly boomer-age or slightly after boomer-aged people who had difficulty finding work in Italy at the time. That means there are a lot of American-born Gen-Xers in their 40s now who can get Italian citizenship through their parent.

[CaptainTruth]

5. The problem with Italy is the crime.

My wife is Italian & before COVID we would go 2-3 times a year to see her family & friends (all around the Milan area) & everyone has to live in a fortress. Metal fences & walls around all the property perimeters, bars on all the windows or metal roll-up covers that have to be put down & locked every time you leave the house, steel doors with steel jambs (frames). A couple of our friends live in an apartment building, their steel door has rods around it that go out into the steel frame like the door on a bank safe. They have a monitored security system. Their apartment has still been broken into twice in 3 years. I've been out with my wife at a train station & seen a car with all 4 tires gone. Somebody stole the rims in the parking lot in broad daylight.

I could go on, but you get the idea, it's really bad.

[dhill926]

7. I can attest to that...

flew into Rome September 2019 and promptly had my bag stolen. Luckily they only took money. The bag with all of our documents for the trip and my iPad, was recovered. The thieves are fast and efficient....

[greenjar_01]

9. Good Lord! Where in Italy?

Never saw such a thing in Lombardy.

[CanonRay]

6. I looked into getting citizenship

but I don't qualify. My grandfather became a US citizen before my father was born.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

10. People don't like living in a shithole country infested with Republican MAGAts.