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foreign election. United States laws which provided for loss of citizenship for voting in foreign elections were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967).

As a result of the Afroyim decision voting in a foreign political election is no longer considered an act which in and of itself, is of such a serious nature as to cause loss of United States citizenship.

Dept. of State File No. P75 0072-2115.

In a note dated April 28, 1975, the Department of State responded to an inquiry from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington with regard to the effect upon U.S. citizenship of making a declaration to become a German citizen under the amendment of December 24, 1974, to the German Nationality Law. The Department's reply reads in pertinent part as follows:

Those persons who make the declaration required by the aforementioned section of law and as a result become German citizens on or after their twenty-first birthday will be subject to loss of United States citizenship under Section 349(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act..

Those persons who make the declaration in their own behalf and as a result become German citizens prior to their twentyfirst birthday, will not, according to administrative interpretation, be subject to the loss of United States citizenship under Section 349(a)(1).

Those persons whose parents make the declaration in their behalf and who as a result of the parents' declaration become German citizens while under the age of twenty-one will be subject to the loss of United States citizenship under Section 349(a)(1), with the stipulation that if the person acquiring German citizenship in this manner complies with the residence requirements of the first proviso to Section 349(a)(1) loss of United States citizenship will not occur.

Dept. of State File No. P75 0075-888.

Sec. 349(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(1), reads, in part, as follows:

(a) From and after the effective date of this chapter a person who is a national of the United States whether by birth or naturalization, shall lose his nationality by

(1) obtaining naturalization in a foreign state upon his own application, upon an application filed in his behalf by a parent, guardian, or duly authorized agent, or through the naturalization of a parent having legal custody of such person: Provided, That nationality shall not be lost by any person under this section as the result of the naturalization of a parent or parents while such person is under the age of twenty-one years, or as the result of a naturalization obtained on behalf of a person under twenty-one years of age by a parent, guardian, or duly authorized agent, unless such person shall fail to enter the United States to establish a permanent residence prior to his twenty-fifth birthday.

The 1974 amendment to the German Nationality Law provides, in pertinent part (translation):

Article 3

(1) A legitimate child born after March 31, 1953, but before enforcement of this law, of a German mother, who at the time the child was born was a German citizen, will become a German citizen by filing a declaration expressing that it wishes to elect German citizenship, provided it did not acquire German citizenship at birth. The right to file this declaration also applies to illegitimate children having lost German citizenship through legitimation by an alien in accordance with German law.

(2) The right to file this declaration does not exist when the child acquired German nationality by birth or legitimation or when it has rejected it.

(3) Acquisition of German citizenship becomes effective at the time when the written declaration is received by the naturalization authorities. A document issued by the pertinent office represents proof or evidence of acquisition. Par. 39, Chapter 1 of the citizenship law is applicable.

(4) Those who are 18 years of age file the declaration themselves.

(5) Persons who have not attained the age of 18 or who in fact are 18 but not able to act themselves due to mental or physical illness, will be represented by a person having custody over them. The declaration can also be given by parents or one parent NOT having custody over the child. This, however, has to be approved by the Guardianship Court. The approval can be refused only in those cases when the court is of the opinion that acquisition of German citizenship will be to the disadvantage of the child. The right for custody of the child is governed by the BGB (Civil Code). During the course of approval proceedings the Guardianship Court may disregard the testimony of the alien parent, when there are serious grounds that the well-being of the child is endangered.

(6) The right to file the declaration exists only within three years after enforcement of this law.

(7) The person who through no fault of his own was unable to meet the deadline can file the declaration within 6 months from the time when the hindrance ceased to exist. It will also be considered to be an unvoluntary hindrance when the person filing the declaration was prevented by the State in which he is residing to establish residence in the district where the law is in force.

(8) Pars. 17 and 20 of the law dated February 22, 1955, settling citizenship questions, ultimately_amended by the law of December 28, 1959, concerning establishment of a Bundesverwaltungsamt (Federal Administrative Office) apply correspondingly.

(9) The procedure itself as well as the issuance of the document are free of charge.

(10) Citizenship-as per Chapters 1-9-will also be acquired by a child whose mother at the time of its birth was German without having German nationality in the sense of Article 116, Chapter 1 of the Basic Law.

Article 4

Claim for naturalization as governed by par. 10 of the citizenship law in the version of this law exists also for a child who has achieved majority and was born after March 31, 1953, within three years after enforcement of the law. Article 5

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Effective March 19, 1975, the Department of State extended for six months its prior restrictions on the use of U.S. passports for travel into or through Cuba, North Korea, and North Viet-Nam.

These restrictions were extended again, effective September 19, 1975: until March 24, 1976, in the case of Cuba and North Korea, and until March 19, 1976, in the case of North Viet-Nam. The Department's announcement with respect to restrictions on travel to Cuba took note of the termination by the Organization of American States (OAS) of its sanctions against Cuba on July 29, 1975, but stated:

The OAS resolution of July 29, 1975, left member states free to act to continue or terminate actions consistent with the 1964 resolution. The United States, like a number of other OAS members, has chosen to continue to act consistently with the 1964 resolution and in that connection to maintain restrictions on travel to Cuba until developments in U.S.-Cuban bilateral relations warrant their removal.

The Department of State also announced, effective September 19, 1975, restrictions on the use of U.S. passports for travel into or through Cambodia until March 19, 1976, and into or through South Viet-Nam until March 24, 1976, unless extended or sooner revoked by public notice. The Department's reasons for such restrictions were stated in the Notices as follows:

. . . In the aftermath of the war in Cambodia, conditions in that country remain unsettled. The severe hostility of the Cambodian regime toward the United States continues, and the United States has no diplomatic relations of any kind with that regime. Nor are there any diplomatic missions in Cambodia which could provide protection on behalf of the U.S. Government. The Department of State believes that unrestricted travel by American citizens to Cambodia could be hazardous and would seriously impair the conduct of U.S. foreign affairs.

In the aftermath of the Communist takeover of South Viet-Nam on April 30, 1975, conditions continue to be unsettled in the Indochina area. Under these circumstances the U.S. believes that unrestricted travel by American citizens to South Viet-Nam would seriously impair the conduct of U.S. foreign affairs.

See the Fed. Reg., Vol. 40, No. 57, Mar 24, 1975, p. 13011, and No. 186, Sept. 24, 1975, pp. 43931-43932. See also the 1973 Digest, pp. 80-81 and the 1974 Digest, pp. 76-77.

Visas

Immigrant Visas

On October 20, 1975, amendments to Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 42.91(a)(15), dealing with ineligible

classes of immigrants, became effective. That subparagraph deals with aliens ineligible under the provisions of Section 212(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1182, to receive visas if, in the opinion of the consular officer at the time of application for a visa, they are likely at any time to become public charges. In issuing the new regulation, the Department of State said its purpose was to establish standards to be applied by consular officers in determining the eligibility of an alien to receive an immigrant visa under Section 212(a)(15) of the Act. The Department pointed out that the new regulation creates a presumption of ineligibility under Section 212(a)(15) of the Act when an applicant does not establish that he will have an income above the specified poverty guideline. The regulation would also raise an implication intended by the Department: that an applicant who establishes that his prospective income will exceed the specified poverty guideline level will be presumed eligible for a visa under that section of the Act.

The amended section of the Regulations reads as follows:

§ 42.91 Aliens ineligible to receive a visa.

(a) Aliens ineligible under the provisions of section 212(a) of the Act. (15) Public Charge. (i) Any conclusion that an alien is ineligible to receive an immigrant visa under the provisions of section 212(a)(15) of the Act shall be predicated upon circumstances which indicate that the alien will probably become a charge upon the public after entry into the United States.

(ii) An alien relying on an offer of prearranged employment to establish eligibility under section 212(a)(15) of the Act other than an offer of employment certified by the Department of Labor pursuant to section 212(a)(14) of the Act (shall not be deemed eligible to receive an immigrant visa unless the employment offer has been made on a form prescribed by the Department which has been sworn to and subscribed to by the employer before a notary public.

(iii) An alien relying solely on the personal income he will be receiving to establish eligibility under section 212(a)(15) of the Act who does not establish that he will have an annual income above the income poverty guidelines published annually or at shorter intervals by the Community Services Administration (formerly the Office of Economic Opportunity) as derived from the low income threshold tables which are also published annually by the Bureau of the Census, and who is without other adequate financial resources, shall be presumed ineligible under that section of the Act.

(iv) An alien within the purview of section 212(a)(15) of the Act, who is otherwise eligible to receive a visa, may be issued an immigrant visa upon receipt of notice by the consular officer of the giving of a bond or undertaking, as provided in section 221(g) of the Act, if the consular officer is satisfied that the giving of such bond or undertaking removes the alien's ineligibility to receive a visa under this section of the law.

See Fed. Reg., Vol. 40, No. 179, Sept. 15, 1975, pp. 42532-42533.

Nonimmigrant Visas

On October 7, 1975, an amendment to Section 212.1(b) of Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), revoking the waiver of the nonimmigrant visa requirement for certain aliens seeking to

enter Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, became effective. L.F. Chapman, Jr., Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, stated that the basis and purpose of the amendment were to eliminate abuse of the nonimmigrant visa waiver for admission to Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands of the United States, which had been utilized for the purpose of facilitating entry into, and stay in, the United States in violation of law. The regulation retained the provision for a waiver of the visa requirement for nationals of the British Virgin Islands having a residence in such islands when seeking to enter the Virgin Islands of the United States as nonimmigrants. It also permits nationals of other British, French, or Netherlands territory in the Caribbean area or of independent countries formerly part of such territory, who are beneficiaries of indefinite certifications from the Department of Labor for employment in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and their spouses and children, to benefit from such a waiver when entering the U.S. Virgin Islands for employment as certified.

As revised, 8 CFR 212.1(b) reads as follows:

§ 212.1 Documentary requirements for nonimmigrants.

(b) British, French, and Netherlands nationals, and nationals of certain adjacent islands of the Caribbean which are independent countries. A visa is not required of a British, French, or Netherlands national, or of a national of Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, or Trinidad and Tobago, who has his residence in British, French, or Netherlands territory located in the adjacent islands of the Caribbean area, or in Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, or Trinidad and Tobago, who: (1) Is proceeding to the United States as an agricultural worker; or (2) is the beneficiary of a valid, unexpired indefinite certification granted by the Department of Labor for employment in the Virgin Islands of the United States and is proceeding to the Virgin Islands of the United States for such purpose, or is the spouse or child of such an alien accompanying or following to join him. A visa is not required of a national of the British Virgin Islands who has his residence in the British Virgin Islands, and who is proceeding to the Virgin Islands of the United States.

(Immigration and Nationality Act, Sec. 103, 66 Stat. 173; 8 U.S.C. 1103.) See Fed. Reg., Vol. 40, No. 154, Aug. 8, 1975, p. 33431.

Travel

On June 28, 1975, the President approved Public Law 94-44, amending Section 1113 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1313) "to make permanent the program of temporary assistance for United States citizens returned from abroad," subject to specific limitations on the aggregate dollar amount of such assistance and on the period for which it could be furnished. The purpose of the Act was to make permanent the authority under Section 1113 of the Social Security Act to provide temporary assistance to American citizens and their dependents who had been repatriated from

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