Real customer experiences with ItalMe's Italian citizenship services. If you've had an experience you'd like to share, contact us below. All reviews are user-submitted and verified for authenticity.
These are real reviews, public information and first hand accounts of those who have worked with Italme, Mark Lane, Vanessa Lane and Ray Rapallo. We are investigating if Ray's real name is Ray Varrieur.
ItalMe, LLC controls the following websites: https://italme.com/ | https://italme.net/
ItalMe has published operating at the following addresses: 8665 Sudley Rd #325 Manassas, VA 20110 237 Hanbury Road E 17-243 Chesapeake, VA. 23322
I contracted with ItalMe in July 2021 to help me obtain Italian citizenship through ancestry. Over the course of more than four years, I paid the company over $18,000, trusting their promises of expert guidance and professional service. What I received instead was an experience marked by long silences, broken promises, and a complete lack of accountability.
Despite repeated requests for a current balance, updated invoices, and clarification around billing (especially given fluctuating currency exchange rates), ItalMe ignored me most of the time. In one case, I was told I could pay the balance when my citizenship was finalized. Months later, I was accused of breaching the agreement — with no warning, no updated figures, and no response to my prior inquiries. This wasn’t just frustrating — it was unprofessional and, frankly, deeply disrespectful. ItalMe’s internal communication is chaotic at best and misleading at worst. They even breached my privacy, exposing my email address (and dozens of others) in a mass client message.
I eventually turned to formal arbitration as required by the contract. ItalMe refused to participate, which speaks volumes about how seriously they take their obligations. I have since spoken with multiple other clients who report similarly troubling experiences: lack of communication, sudden invoice threats, no progress on their cases, and pressure to sign NDAs when they tried to speak out.
ItalMe’s business practices raise serious questions about integrity, transparency, and consumer respect. I’m sharing this publicly not out of emotion, but because I believe others deserve to be warned. I would strongly advise anyone considering ItalMe to proceed with extreme caution.
Have there been other complaints filed against ItalMe? Publicly available documents provided below: Complaints with the Attorney General of Virginia Complaints against ItalMe with the Chesapeake General District Court Paul Pezza vs. Mark Lane and Vanessa Lane - Public Bill of Particulars filing secured from Chesapeake GD Court
There is an ItalMe, LLC filed in the state of NV on 4/14/21. Interesting! Who are the managing members and why is this important? ItalMe, LLC in NV
There are two filings of ItalMe in the state of WY. Interesting! ItalMe, LLC in WY
ItalMe On BBB ItalMe On Trust Pilot ItalMe Fails to Respond to American Arbitration Association ItalMe on Rip Off Report
Mary C. - Verified ItalMe Customer
In 2020, I contracted ItalMe to assist me in obtaining Italian dual citizenship. Per the agreement, I paid €19,840 in full by November 2022. The contract stated that services would continue until I either obtained citizenship or was definitively denied. The company agreed to conduct business via email and phone appointment, but consistent communication broke down as early as 2021.
Throughout the process, I frequently had to chase invoices, request updates, and repeat inquiries — most of which were ignored. Calls were never answered, and voicemails were never returned. My emails went mostly unanswered, unless I mentioned the possibility of leaving a negative review, in which case I received vague, noncommittal replies.
In 2023, I contacted ItalMe about a change in marital status that would affect my legal documents and citizenship case. Despite repeated requests, I received no legal advice or updates. It wasn’t until a mass email error in December 2023 — which revealed widespread client dissatisfaction — that the company finally responded. In February 2024 I was told verbally that my case had been severely mishandled, but no formal apology or resolution followed.
In October 2024, I received immigration advice from ItalMe’s lawyer that was later contradicted by a licensed immigration attorney in Italy. I was given a process to follow to obtain a long-term residency visa called a permesso di soggiorno and locations where I could move to follow this process. Unfortunately for me, the advice was less legal and more playing with gaps in knowledge of Italian officials. Despite giving the benefit of the doubt and reaching out to ItalMe for clarification, no explanation or answer followed. Had I followed ItalMe’s guidance, I could have faced legal consequences or deportation for attempting to obtain a long-term visa using an invalid method.
Since that time (October 25, 2024), I have received no meaningful response. I’ve reached out multiple times via email and phone, with no resolution or accountability. I have carefully complied with the contract I signed only to be met with unethical silence and incorrect information with no attempt to clarify.
Anonymous - Verified ItalMe Customer
My mother paid Italme $26,000 total (payment in full)—a significant portion of her retirement savings—for citizenship services for herself, my son, and me, under the 1948 case pathway. We were told the process would take 3–4 years. It has now been over three years, and we are still stuck in the document-gathering phase, with no substantial progress.
According to an email response from August 2023, our portfolio was ready to be translated and head to court. That never happened, and my inquiries were met with vague reasons. Despite repeated follow-ups, I’ve received no response in over two months to my requests for specific information regarding our case. The recent decree law change potentially renders my son and I ineligible. Had Italme submitted our documents on the timeline they promised, we would have been grandfathered in under the old rules.
At this point, I have no evidence they've completed any tasks over the last three years that I couldn’t have done myself within a few months. They have failed to perform the services they were paid for, ignored time-sensitive legal changes, and completely ceased communication.
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