I'm a member of CGSI, but will probably not attend the Conference.

Even though Ivan is fictitious I have DNA cousin matches (6 to 20 cM) to five Ancestry.com members with RUSINKO surname on their family trees.  My true surname is RUS(Z)NAK.  Will your presentation be available post Conference?

To Karen:
Czechoslovakia was formed October 1918.  Between 1939 and 1945, it ceased to exist after invasion by Germany.  In 1948, Communists used a fake election to "govern" the country until 1989 when the USSR dissolved.

Czechoslovakia became free again.  In 1993 the country separated into Czech Republic and Slovakia or Slovak Republic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovakia

I am an American citizen living in Zvolen, Slovakia.  My mother's mother, Maria Demkova was born in Veľký Šariš  on 4 November 1883, and arrived in New York 11 November 1898 aboard the H. H. Meier out of Bremen, Germany,   She then proceeded by train to live with relatives in Perth Amboy, NJ.  She subsequently married and had children.

I began my quest for a residence permit at the Slovak Consulate in Washington, DC.  They required a birth certificate from, plus my mother's death certificate and then my grandmother's death certificate .  I obtained both death certificates from the NJ State Archives in Trenton, NJ.

A cousin  told me where my grandmother was born, so I went to Slovakia.  The pastor of the church there referred me to the State Archives office in Nižná Šebastova, which is immediately NE of Prešov.

The staff of the State Archives provided me with a Rodný List  (birth certificate) transcribed from my grandmother's baptismal record on microfische.  This document entitled me to apply for a Certificate of a Slovak Living Abroad, which in turn entitled me to apply for a Temporary Residence permit.  I have been informed by the Alien Police that I must reside in Slovakia five years before I may apply for a Permanent Residence  permit.  I must reside in Slovakia eight years before I am eligible to apply for citizenship, although the Slovakia authorities may waive the prescribe time periods if it is deemed in the interest of the the Slovak Republic to do so.

I was just thinking about the year.  Czechoslovakia didn’t exist until after WW1 so it must be if they lived in what would become Czechoslovakia or Slovakia after WW 1.  I was just wondering if it would apply to those whose ancestors were from Transcarpathia.  I assume it wouldn’t because today it is not in Slovakia.

I've been more or less following the change in the law since I first heard about it. I just found out that the parliament put off finalization of the change till September, but it is expected that it will pass. The new law will allow citizenship by descent up to the 3rd generation - that is, anyone with a great-grandparent who was a Czechoslovak or Slovak citizen will be eligible. Some other countries (e.g., Croatia, Italy) also have the 3rd generation rule.