ADMISSION OF CERTAIN RELATIVES

THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1926

UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION, Washington, D. C.

The committee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 o'clock, a. M., in the committee room, Capitol, Senator Hiram W. Johnson presiding.

Present: Senators Johnson (chairman), Keyes, Willis, Reed of Pennsylvania, Means, Nye, King, Harris, Harrison, Copeland, and Blease.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please come to order. We have met this morning for the purpose of considering bills that relate to the nonquota provision of the present immigration law. Senator Wadsworth, of New York, was anxious for a hearing upon the bill that he introduced, and the junior senator from New York, Senator Copeland, desired to present his views upon certain of his bills as well.

The bills before us, relating to this particular provision of the law, are Senate bill 2245, by Senator Wadsworth; Senate bill 1416, by Senator Fletcher; Senate bill 2011, by Senator Lenroot; Senate bills 2050, 2051, 2052, 2053, 2054, 2055, 2056, and 2057, Senate bill 2260, Senate bill 2280, Senate bill 2487, Senate bill 2649, and Senate bill 3124, all by Senator Copeland; and also Senate bill 3407, by Senator Shipstead. The bills are in order before each of the members of the committee.

(The bills referred to are here printed in full, as follows:)

[S. 2245, Sixty-ninth Congress, first session]

A BILL To amend the immigration act of 1924

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subdivision (a) of section 4 of the immigration act of 1924 is amended to read as follows:

"(a) An immigrant who is the unmarried child under twenty-one years of age, the wife, the husband, the father, or the mother of (1) a citizen of the United States, or (2) of a veteran of the American military or naval forces in the World War, or (3) of an alien legally admitted to the United States prior to July 1, 1924, for permanent residence therein, who has declared his intention in the manner provided by law to become a citizen of the United States and still residing therein at the time of the filing of a petition under section 9; and an immigrant who is a veteran of the American military or naval forces in the World War."

SEC. 2. Subdivisions (a) and (b) of section 6 of the Immigration act of 1924 are amended to read as follows:

"(a) In the issuance of immigration visas to quota immigrants preference shall be given (1) to a quota immigrant who is the unmarried child under twenty-one years of age, the wife, the husband, the father, or the mother of

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an alien legally admitted to the United States on or after July 1, 1924, for permanent residence therein and still residing therein at the time of the filing of a petition under section 9, and who has declared his intention in the manner provided by law to become a citizen of the United States.

"(b) In the issuance of immigration visas to quota immigrants preference shall be given to a quota immigrant who is skilled in agriculture, and his wife and his dependent children under the age of sixteen years, if accompanying or following to join him. This preference shall not apply to immigrants of any nationality the annual quota for which is less than three hundred.

"(c) The preference provided in subdivision (b) shall not in the case of quota immigrants of any nationality exceed 50 per centum of the annual quota for such nationality."

SEC. 3. Subdivisions (a), (b), and (e) of section 9 of the immigration act of 1924 are amended to read as follows:

"(a) In case of any immigrant claiming in his application for an immigration visa to be a nonquota immigrant by reason of relationship under the provisions of subdivision (a) of section 4, the consular officer shall not issue such immigration visa until he has been authorized to do so as hereinafter in this section provided.

"(b) Any individual claiming that any immigrant is his relative, and that such immigrant is properly admissible to the United States as a nonquota immigrant under the provisions of subdivision (a) of section 4, may file with the Commissioner General a petition in such form as may be by regulations prescribed, stating (1) the petitioner's name and address; (2) if a citizen by birth, the date and place of his birth; (3) if a naturalized citizen, the date and place of his admission to citizenship and the number of his certificate, if any; (4) if not a citizen of the United States, the length of time he has resided therein, the date when and the place where he was lawfully admitted to the United States, and the date and place of his declaration of intention and the number of the declaration; (5) the name and address of his employer or the address of his place of business or occupation if he is not an employee; (6) the degree of the relationship of the immigrant for whom such petition is made, and the names of all the places where such immigrant has resided prior to and at the time when the petition is filed; (7) that the petitioner is able to, and will support the immigrant if necessary to prevent such immigrant from becoming a public charge; and (8) such additional information necessary to the proper enforcement of the immigration laws and the naturalization laws as may be by regulations prescribed.

"(e) If the Commissioner General finds the facts stated in the petition to be true, and that the immigrant in respect of whom the petition is made is entitled to be admitted to the United States as a nonquota immigrant under subdivision (a) of section 4, he shall, with the approval of the Secretary of Labor, inform the Secretary of State of his decision, and the Secretary of State shall then authorize the consular officer with whom the application for the immigration visa has been filed to issue the immigration visa."

[S. 1416, Sixty-ninth Congress, first session]

A BILL To amend subdivision (a) of section 4 of an act entitled "An act to limit the immigration of aliens into the United States, and for other purposes," approved May 26, 1924

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subdivision (a) of section 4 of an act entitled "An act to limit the immigration of aliens into the United States, and for other purposes," approved May 26, 1924. be, and the same is hereby, amended to read:

"NONQUOTA IMMIGRANTS

"SEC. 4. When used in this act the term 'nonquota immigrant' means"(a) An immigrant who is the dependent widowed mother over fifty years of age, or the dependent father or the dependent mother over sixty years of age, or the wife, or the unmarried child under 18 years of age, of a citizen of the United States who resides therein at the time of the filing of a petition under section 9;"