that does not apply to subsection (g) relating to desertion. I have never heard an explanation of that. It seems to me that the desertion may be punished-if you want to execute the man or put him in jail for life, or whatever is reasonable, but I do not see any reason why, if he remains in the country, his nationality should be taken away. I do not lay very much stress on it, but I do not know of any explanation for it.

Mr. SHOEMAKER. I cannot give it to you.

Mr. FLOURNOY. It says except as provided in subsection (g), no national can expatriate himself except as provided under subsection (g).

Mr. SHOEMAKER. I do not see any objection to it going out. I hardly feel able to speak about it.

Mr. FLOURNOY. You do not know who proposed it?

Mr. SHOEMAKER. No, I do not. Do you recall, Mr. Rees?
Mr. REES. It is a new one on me.

Mr. FLOURNOY. Could we not just discard that?

Mr. SHOEMAKER. I think it should be discarded.
Mr. REES. Just forget it.

Mr. SHOEMAKER. I think so.

Mr. REES. Can someone tell us briefly just what is proposed?
Mr. SHOEMAKER. Could we hold it up?

Mr. SHAUGHNESSY. It was in the original code, but the composition of that committee throughout 4 years changed from time to time, you Shall we strike it?

see.

The CHAIRMAN. Yes. I think so.

Mr. SHOEMAKER. That is taking out (h). That is what it is doing. The CHAIRMAN. From line 3 to line 15 on page 82.

Mr. SHOEMAKER. Yes, sir. That is it.

Mr. FLOURNOY. (g) has become (h)?

Mr. SHOEMAKER. (g) has become (h), and this is rewriting (g). That is apparently what has been done.

Mr. FLOURNOY. Why should you say in effect that a person who has passed off his American nationality by making a formal renunciation of his nationality before a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States in a foreign state-it does not make sense. That makes it appear that he is brought in the United States. I think we had better wait on that.

Mr. SHAUGHNESSY. Isn't it a fact that a consular officer can only function in a foreign country?

Mr. FLOURNOY. I think so.

The CHAIRMAN. Suppose you gentlemen take that under consideration and the committee will decide the other questions which you have raised, and we will see if we can close out these hearings next week, so that we can act on the proposed amendments and see if we can get them straightened out.

Mr. B. W. BUTLER. I forgot to ask you if you had any amendments to suggest.

Mr. HENRY F. BUTLER. Yes, sir. I have two amendments which I would like to suggest. The first is an amendment to section 316. I submit this amendment as follows:

(c) From and after the effective date of this act, a person who acquired United States citizenship at birth, who has lost, or shall lose, United States citizenship, shall be repatriated upon taking up or establishing permanent residence in the United States and taking the oath of allegiance prescribed by subsection (b) of

section 334 of this chapter before a judge or clerk of a court having jurisdiction to naturalize aliens as citizens of the United States.

(1) Such oath of allegiance shall be entered in the records of the naturalization court and, upon demand, a certified copy of the proceedings, including a copy of the oath administered, under seal of said court, shall be delivered to such person or his legal representative at a cost not exceeding $1.00, which certified copy shall be evidence of the facts stated therein before any court of record or judicial tribunal and in any department of the United States.

(2) Such person shall have, upon repatriation, the same citizenship status as that which existed immediately before its loss.

And I also have an amendment to strike out section 406 and insert the following in lieu thereof:

SECTION 406.

1. If a former national voluntarily shall acknowledge before a United States diplomatic or consular officer abroad or before a clerk of any, court specified in subsection (a) of section 301 of this Act in form prescribed or approved by the Secretary of State that he has committed an act of expatriation specified in this chapter, and has thereby expatriated himself in conformity with law, there shall be made a permanent record of his acknowledgment which shall be conclusive evidence of his expatriation.

2. In the absence of such voluntary acknowledgment of expatriation it shall be the duty of the United States district attorneys for the respective districts, or the Secretary or Assistant Secretary of State, upon affidavit showing good cause therefor, to institute proceedings in any court to obtain a declaratory judgment declaring such person's citizenship status.

3. Any person claiming to be a citizen or national of the United States either at birth or by operation of law other than on his own petition for naturalization or by derivation shall be entitled upon his petition joining as parties defendant thereto the Secretary of State and Commissioner of Immigration, filed in the district court of the United States for the district in which the petitioner resides or in the District of Columbia to a declaratory judgment or decree regarding his citizenship and nationality status; and the Federal Declaratory Judgments Act, as amended (48 Stat. 955, 49 Stat. 1027; 8 U. S. C. 400) is hereby further amended to confer on the courts of the United States jurisdiction of such cases without requiring allegation or proof of an actual controversy.

The CHAIRMAN. You stated you were in agreement on this amendment to section 405.

(The amendment is as follows:)

NATIONALITY CODE

PROPOSED AMENDMENT OF SECTION 405

SEC. 405. A person having American nationality, who is a minor and is residing in a foreign state with or under the legal custody of a parent who loses American nationality under section 402 of this chapter, shall at the time lose his American nationality if such minor has or acquires the nationality of such foreign state: Provided, That, in such case, American nationality shall not be lost as the result of loss of American nationality by the parent unless and until the child attains the age of twenty-three years, without having acquired residence in the United States.

(The other amendments submitted were as follows:)

NATIONALITY CODE

PROPOSED AMENDMENT OF SECTION 317 (a) AND (b)

Change the first paragraph of section 317 (a) to read as follows:

"SEC. 317. (a) A former citizen of the United States who shall have become expatriated under section 401 (a), 401 (c), or 405 hereof, but shall not have acquired the nationality of a foreign state through an express application therefor or election thereof after reaching the age of twenty-one years, may be naturalized upon filing a petition for naturalization before reaching the age of twenty-five years and upon compliance with all requirements of the naturalization laws with the following exceptions:"

Change subsection (b) of section 317 to read as follows:

"(b) A person entitled to the benefits of subsection (a) hereof shall not be obliged to comply with the requirements of the immigration laws if he has come or shall come to the United States before reaching the age of twenty-five years." CHAPTER IV-LOSS OF NATIONALITY, page 82, line 5, change the colon following the word "martial," to a period, and incorporate the proviso to said subsection in a new section as expressed below to be known as section 401b, so as to follow new section 401a, page 82m between lines 15 and 16:

SEC. 401b. (a) Except as provided in subsection (g) of section 401, no national can expatriate himself, or be expatriated, under such section while within the United States or any of its outlying possessions, but expatriation shall result from the performance within the United States or any of its outlying possessions of any of the acts or the fulfillment of any of the conditions specified in such section, if and when the national thereafter takes up a residence abroad.

(b) No national under eighteen years of age can expatriate himself under subsections (b) to (g), inclusive of section 401.

CHAPTER I-DEFINITIONS, section 104, page 4, line 1: Insert "401b," between "307(b)," and "402."

Mr. SHAUGHNESSY. There is only one point of discussion left. Suppose we draw up a final copy of the bill as it has been amended and submit it at the next meeting next week?

The CHAIRMAN. Very well.

(Whereupon, at 11:55 a. m., the subcommittee adjourned.)

TO REVISE AND CODIFY THE NATIONALITY LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES INTO A COMPREHENSIVE NATIONALITY CODE

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1940

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 10 a. m., Hon. Edward H. Rees presiding. Also present: Messrs. Flournoy, Shoemaker, Hazard, Shaughnessy, Riley, Butler, and Noel.

Mr. REES. Gentlemen, we will proceed.

I am not quite sure, but, if I am wrong in my statement, I stand corrected, I believe the Departments-the Department of State, the Department of Labor, the Department of Justice, and the War Department—are agreeable to the amendments that have been placed in the bill, with the exception of an amendment to section 401, chapter 4, and that includes section 401 (a) and 401 (b).

I am sorry that Mr. Henry F. Butler is not here this morning, but he has been detained, and we do have Mr. Noel here.

Mr. SHAUGHNESSY. Mr. Chairman, are we not all in agreement on all the amendments except subsection (a) of section 401 of chapter

4?

Mr. REES. I am not sure. We will ask Mr. Flournoy about a provision or an amendment that has been handed me for section 401.

Mr. FLOURNOY. I think we are in agreement except with reference to subsection (a).

Mr. REES. Pardon me. We have here this amendment to section 401, reading as follows:

Provided, however, That nationality shall not be lost as the result of naturalization of a parent unless and until the child shall have attained the age of twentythree years without acquiring permanent residence in the United States: Provided, further, That a person who has acquired foreign nationality through the naturalization of his parent or parents, and who at the same time is a citizen of the United States, shall, if abroad and he has not heretofore expatriated himself as an American citizen, be permitted within two years from the date of the approval of this act to return to the United States and take up permanent residence therein, and it shall be thereafter deemed that he has elected to be an American citizen. Failure on the part of such person to so return and take up permanent residence in the United States during such period shall be deemed to be a determination on the part of such person to discontinue his status as an American citizen, and such person shall be forever estopped by such failure from thereafter claiming such American citizenship.

Do you have any objection to that proviso, Mr. Flournoy?

Mr. FLOURNOY. I have no objection whatsoever, except I do not think it says what the Department of Labor means.

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