Maggie Filardo never met her paternal grandfather, who died before she was born. But Pietro Antonio Filardo gave his granddaughter one of the greatest gifts of her life: Italian citizenship.
Five years ago, after going through a process she began near the beginning of the first Trump administration, the American-born Filardo and her two children became dual citizens through her ancestry. She cited several reasons for pursuing a second citizenship: With none of her Italian relatives still living, she wanted to instill in her offspring an appreciation for her family's heritage; recently divorced, she was free to indulge her expat fantasies; and unsettled by political events at home, she sought a refuge for her brood.
"I was worried about the United States as a place for my children to grow up and continue to live," said Filardo, 45, a physician in New York City. "Times change, fortunes change and I wanted them to have an alternative."
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