§5 StAG declaration submitted! full timeline so far

just want to say a heartfelt danke schön to all the folks in this subreddit for being such a great resource, and for giving me the push to start this process! this week I mailed my and my kid's declarations of citizenship to the BVA. here's the whole seven month process:

summer 2025

• heard about §5 StAG and suspected that it would apply to me, my dad, and my kid. brought it up to my dad but he thought we wouldn't be eligible because Oma naturalized in the US before he was born. at the time I was under the impression that I couldn't apply unless my dad did it first, and since he believed we couldn't and he's also even more ADHD than me, I gave up at the time

January 2026

• read one depressing news article too many, and went looking again at my citizenship options. started a thread to see whether we would qualify, and got several encouraging replies (thank you again!)

1/8/26

• sent inquiry to SE Legal because they're the first Google result and they offer free consultations

1/9/26 

• sent inquiry via German Consulate of Chicago's contact form, received autoresponse with fillable questionnaire, replied with completed questionnaire.
• SE Legal called to schedule discovery call, scheduled for 9a 1/21

1/13/26

• emailed Stuttgart Standesamt to request copy of Oma's birth certificate, her parents' marriage certificate, and Oma and Opa's marriage certificate

1/14/26 

• requested Mom and Dad's marriage certificate via VitalChek
• called Michigan Vital Records to inquire about Dad's birth certificate, but it must be released to Dad. Sent VitalChek link to Mom
• submitted VetRecs/NARA request for Oma and Opa's marriage certificate (married by a chaplain on a US base in Stuttgart)
• Dad submitted birth certificate request on VitalChek, estimated 45-60 business days

1/15/26 

• Chicago consulate replied to ask which grandmother was born in Germany and when she naturalized
• Submitted USCIS request for Oma's naturalization certificate

1/16/26

• Registrar of Stuttgart Standesamt replied to my inquiry email asking for proof of descent and more information on Karl and Marie. she said Oma's marriage certificate was found from 25.09.1948 in Rüdesheim/Rhein. this would be after she left Germany according to her travel document, which seems to confirm that she and Opa were married by a chaplain on base (much earlier, according to family lore, than the date on the marriage certificate Germany had on record). I replied to the email with supporting documents, and compiled them into a PDF to submit to the Urkundenportal 
• completed Urkundenportal application for birth certificate (two German copies, two English copies, 80 Euros), and received confirmation email with no tracking number. Got auto responder error message from the Standesamt for my reply to registrar

1/19/26

• after three error messages, I set my reply and further questions to registrar’s direct email 

1/20/26

• received digital copy of Oma's birth certificate from registrar. inquired again about my great grandparents' marriage certificate, and whether that would be better approached as a family register request

1/21/26 

• Stuttgart registrar processed birth certificate application; received confirmation email
• had discovery call with SE Legal. their lawyer confirmed that I will not need Opa's birth certificate, or my great grandparents' marriage certificate. she was very impressed that we have Oma's Kennkarte from 1946. processing citizenship through SE Legal would cost €7,500 for me and my kid, and paying that much money for something I could do myself would make Oma spin in her grave, so I passed
• emailed Rüdesheim am Rhein Standesamt to inquire about Erna Kaiser's Familienbuch
• received Total Denial from USCIS on the basis that I did not provide proof of Oma's death. Emailed obituary and proof of descent to FOIAPA email, in hope of avoiding the need for an appeal

1/22/26

• contacted the National Archives at Chicago to see if they have any record of Oma’s naturalization. received auto responder reply
• re-submitted USCIS request for Oma's naturalization records

1/26/26

• magistrate at Rudesheim Standesamt replied to my email to confirm that the marriage certificate on file lists Opa by name. I replied to ask how I can request two certified copies in German and two in English, as well as a copy of the excerpt of Erna's Familienbuch. Started certificate request process through Standesamt form system, but hit an error message when form would not accept my house number, and I could not progress
• Archives Specialist at the National Archives of Chicago replied to my inquiry with a copy of the index page for naturalizations in Genesee County, Michigan, and advised me to reach out to the Archives of Michigan for more information. 
• emailed the Archives of Michigan with record request for Oma's naturalization. received reply from reference desk with links to Michigan Archives online shop for records request, verification, and notarization. ordered two copes, verified and notarized. Michigan Archives online shop is adorably named Michiganology

1/27/26

• Rudesheim magistrate replied to say that Familienbuche copies cannot be issued in English. I said that was fine and asked again how to request those copies
• SE Legal followed up to see if I will be using their services. I said no and thanked them for their time.

1/28/26

• Rudesheim magistrate sent me a digital copy of Erna's Familienbuch, with no further information on how to order physical copies of that or her marriage certificate. I replied and asked how I can order two certified paper copies each of the Familienbuch and the marriage certificate. The Rudesheim Standesamt website only says to contact the same email address I have been corresponding with
• the German Consulate in Chicago emailed me back to say that based on the information I provided, I qualify for §5 StAG, and included thorough directions for submission. 
• I tried the Rudesheim certificate portal again, and succeeded this time. Certificates totaled 40 Euros, but there was no payment system
• received response from USCIS referring me to USCIS Genealogy for my naturalization documents request. Submitted request online ($30). 

1/30/26

• Rudesheim magistrate replied to say that they cannot offer digital copies of the Familienbuch, or translated copies of the marriage certificate. I said that would be fine and asked how to proceed with ordering two certified copies of the marriage certificate

2/2/26

• Rudesheim magistrate replied to say she will send two certified copies to my address, along with the invoice

2/16/26 

• Oma's birth certificate from Stuttgart arrived 

2/28/26

• Michigan Archives naturalization documents arrived 

early March 2026

• while searching for my child's lost passport, I found photos Opa took in Rudesheim in 1948. from what I can tell, Oma and Opa went there to catch their ship out of Germany. I suspect that the chaplain's marriage certificate was not sufficient for Germany to rescind Oma's citizenship and wish her auf wiedersehen, fraulein, so they quite possibly made them get married again in someone's office, just to have the ~official~ certificate on file

3/17/26

• NARA sent email reply that the record of Oma and Opa's wedding in the chaplain archives was probably lost in a fire in the 1970s. at this point, without solid German redundant record-keeping, I might have been out of luck

4/16/26

• USCIS sent naturalization documents via email

4/21/26

• followed up with Rudesheim magistrate re: certified copies of marriage certificate, not yet received

5/16/26

• Oma and Opa's marriage certificate arrived from Rudesheim

7/11/26

• met up with a friend of mine who is a notary public, to stamp all my copies of four generations worth of vital records. discovered that notaries public in my state cannot notarize copies of vital records, womp womp
• made appointment with the honorary consulate of Germany in Leawood, Kansas to get my copies certified to Germany's standards

7/13/26

• submitted FBI background check and got fingerprinted ($50); received results the same day

7/23/26

• drove to Leawood to have supporting documents notarized at the honorary consulate
• ordered long form birth certificates for my daughter, because the short form birth certificates in Missouri do not include the state and the honorary consul informed me that that birth certificate would be rejected by Germany

7/27/26

• long form birth certificates arrived

8/12/26

• mailed declaration, supporting documents, and cover letter via registered international mail to BVA ($45)
• attempted again to pay Rudesheim invoice, but could not get the online payment system to work

overall this has been a great test of my newly treated executive dysfunction, and I'm extremely glad to have finished this stage of the process, and to be able to kick back and wait a couple years. best of luck to everyone else currently working on this process, and to anyone who has been debating whether to do it, I encourage you to do it!