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Get a GRIP for 2024

Registration opens Tuesday, February 20 So you didn’t make it to the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy in January. And you sat there the whole time watching people who share your interests learning new things and having fun… without you. And you’re starting to feel...

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The unavailable SS-5

When we don't get what we asked for Reader Barbara Dottino had an unpleasant surprise when she asked the U.S. Social Security Administration for a copy of a relative's SS-5 form. She wanted a copy of the original application for a Social Security number. But that's...

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Coming up: February-March 2024

Upcoming presentations Hard to believe January 2024 is already in the bag and February is here! The Legal Genealogist has already had a busy year and there's more -- much more -- coming up fast. And, as always, I want to invite you to come along, to the extent...

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BIG win on USCIS fees

Final fee rule announced by USCIS Gentle people, we won. Pure and simple. The final rule adopting new fees for the genealogy program at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was published today and... We won. Starting April 1, 2024, the fees for some...

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Ordering the SS-5: 2024 style

Higher fee, new SSA website So... you want a copy of that ancestor's application for a Social Security number, do you? You can get it. But it's going to cost you more than it used to, and there's a new web page that the Social Security Administration wants you to use...

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Another Ancestry TOS update

Things that are, things that shouldn't be, maybe things to come So just four months after the last update to its terms and conditions, Ancestry yesterday released yet another set of amendments to the rules of its road. For the most part, there's nothing in the changes...

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That silly scilicet

Unimportant legal lingo As many times as The Legal Genealogist has said we need to read every single solitary word in our legal documents, there's a simple truth that shouldn't be forgotten. It's not all important stuff. Some legal lingo is pure boilerplate. It's not...

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MyHeritage amends terms of service

AI and DNA terms added or changed It was MyHeritage's turn in late December to amend its terms of service and, with two key exceptions, the changes are really minimal. The amendments, effective 21 December 2023, are truly minor for the most part: some clarifying...

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Milestones, 2024

Looking back to 2023, forward to 2024 The very best part of falling headlong into family history research is the stories. Stories in The Legal Genealogist’s family take us back a long way in America on the maternal side and in Germany on the paternal side. Stories...

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Coming up: January-February 2024

Upcoming presentations The Legal Genealogist is getting back into the swing of things here in 2024, and as always the year is getting off to a fast start. And, as before, I want to invite you to come along, to the extent possible, on the trip… Here’s an overview of...

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