133t HEARINGS BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION UNITED STATES SENATE SEVENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS TO AMEND THE NATIONALITY ACT OF 1940 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1942 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee, consisting of Senators Maloney, Herring, and Ball, met pursuant to call at 10:30 a. m., Hon. Francis Maloney (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Maloney (chairman) and Ball. Also present: Senator Holman. Senator MALONEY. The meeting will come to order. This is a meeting of the subcommittee appointed by Chairman Richard Russell of the Committee on Immigration to hear those who want to be heard on H. R. 6250. (The bill referred to is as follows:) [H. R. 6250, 77th Cong., 2d Sess.] AN ACT To amend the Nationality Act of 1940 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 307 (a) of the Nationality Act of 1940, approved October 14, 1940 (54 Stat. 1142), be, and it hereby is, amended by adding the following: "Provided, That the requirement that a person shall have resided for a period of six months within the State in which the petition is filed shall not apply to members of the military and naval forces of the United States: And provided further, That any member of the military or naval forces of the United States may file his petition for naturalization in any naturalization court, regardless of his place of residence, and such petition may be heard immediately by the naturalization court if the petitioner and his witnesses shall have appeared before, and been examined by, a representative of the Immigration and Naturalization Service." SEC. 2. Subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 307 of the Nationality Act of 1940, approved October 14, 1940 (54 Stat. 1142), is hereby amended to read as follows: "(1) Prior to the beginning of such period (whether such period begins before or after his departure from the United States) the alien has established to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that his absence from the United States for such period is to be on behalf of such Government, or for the purpose of carrying on scientific research on behalf of such institution, or to be engaged in the development of such foreign trade and commerce or whose absence abroad is necessary to the protection of the property rights in such countries of such firm or corporation." SEC. 3. The Nationality Act of 1940, approved October 14, 1940 (54 Stat. 1137), is hereby amended by adding, immediately following section 304 thereof, a new section to be numbered 304A and reading as follows: "SEC. 304A. An alien, if eligible to naturalization, fifty years of age or over, who has resided in the United States continuously since prior to July 1, 1924, and who, on or prior to the effective date of this section, has made a declaration of intention to become a citizen which is not more than seven years old, or who, within two years from the effective date of this section, shall make a declaration of intention, may thereafter file petition for naturalization and be admitted to 1 |