Mr. Hay to Mr. Leishman.

No. 190.]

Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your No. 180, of the 24th ultimo, reporting your refusal to issue a passport to Mr. Frederick Knochtenhofer, the circumstances of whose case are as follows: He was horn in Switzerland in 1873; came to the United States in 1893, soon after he had passed his twentieth year and shortly before reaching his majority, when he would be subject to military service; was naturalized in the United States on September 19, 1899; left the United States within one month thereafter, when he returned to his native land, where he is now living with his father. In answer to inquiries put to him he admitted that he had not renounced his Swiss citizenship and did not intend to do so, and had no intention of returning to the United States to live.

Under the circumstances cited, the Department approves your action in refusing him a passport.

You ask advice on the following points:

1. Are you warranted in refusing a passport to a native-born Swiss who returns to the country of his birth after acquiring American citizenship, unless he can clearly show that he has formally renounced his Swiss citizenship in the manner prescribed by Swiss law?

In reply to this I have to say, that the laws of the United States do not require the consent of the government of the alien’s origin or a compliance with the laws of such country relative to renunciation of allegiance as a prerequisite to naturalization here. You would, therefore, not be justified in making it a condition to the issuance of a passport that the applicant shall show that he has formally renounced Swiss citizenship in the manner prescribed by Swiss law.

2. “Can a Swiss who, in order to become a citizen of the United States, must, when taking the oath of allegiance, first renounce allegiance to any foreign power, especially to the land of his birth—can he, without false swearing and thus obtaining his certificate of naturalization by fraud, be considered a bona fide citizen of the United States as long as he conserves his Swiss citizenship, which he well knows he can not lose except by his own act in formally renouncing same?”

This is in effect, can a person who obtains his certificate of naturalization by fraud be considered a bona fide citizen of the United States? Naturalization being a judicial act, there is no authority on the part of the executive to declare that a naturalized citizen of the United States is not a citizen because of fraud in the procurement of his citizenship. That can only be determined judicially by a competent court of the United States. But this does not interfere with the exercise of the discretionary power vested in the Secretary of State in the matter of granting passports and protecting American citizens abroad, and the Department’s standing rule is to withhold a passport from any holder of naturalization papers found to have been obtained by fraud.

I am, etc.,

John Hay.