US writer and her daughter reclaim Lithuanian citizenship – and a new sense of freedom

I still remember hovering my fingers over the keyboard, about to wire thousands of euros to someone I had never met – in a country I had never visited – for a passport I didn’t yet have. As a financial writer, I’ve covered more stories of scams than I can count. Part of me wondered: Was I about to become one of them?

Despite my reservations, I clicked “send.”

Months later, standing in the Lithuanian Consulate in New York, I finally exhaled. A few weeks after that, my Lithuanian passport arrived in the mail – and I could truly celebrate.

I was officially a dual citizen of the United States and Lithuania.

My journey started with a dream of spending more time in Europe, maybe even living and working there. As an entrepreneur, I didn’t want to juggle work visas or 90-day Schengen rules – I wanted freedom. When I discovered that Lithuania allowed citizenship reinstatement by descent, I realized that my grandparents’ story could become my own.

They had fled Lithuania during World War II. They rarely spoke about those years, and piecing together their story felt daunting. I didn’t know where to start, what documents to find, or how to prove eligibility.

That’s when I found IN IURE Law Firm. Unlike other firms that required large upfront payments, they worked on a success-fee basis – I would only pay if the process succeeded. That trust made all the difference.

The process was smooth and clear. Both IN IURE and their document partners guided me step by step – from collecting records to final approval. Less than a year later, we both held our Lithuanian passports.

For my daughter, the benefits were immediate – she was able to attend graduate school in Europe, earning two master’s degrees for just a few hundred euros, with a stipend through the Erasmus program.

For me, it’s been a profound mix of practicality and heritage. I grew up on my grandmother’s Lithuanian cooking and Easter egg traditions – but now, that connection runs deeper.

My grandmother never returned to Lithuania. I’m proud that I could – not just for her, but for the generations after us.