File No. 864.56/12.

The Acting Secretary of State to Ambassador Kerens.

No. 71.]

Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch No. 39 of June 21, 1910, in regard to the liability of persons of Austrian and Hungarian origin to perform military service in their respective native countries.

In reply I send you herewith six copies of the department’s “Notice to American Citizens Formerly Subjects of Austria or Hungary Who Contemplate Returning to Either of Those Countries,” issued October 22, 1910. You will note that the statement in the first paragraph in regard to the age of liability to perform military service in Austria and Hungary has been amended in accordance with the information contained in your dispatch.

I am, etc.,

Alvey A. Adee.
[Inclosure.]

Austria-Hungary.

Notice to American citizens formerly subjects of Austria or Hungary who contemplate returning to either of those countries.

The information given below is believed to be correct, yet is not to be considered as official, so far as it relates to the laws and regulations of Austria-Hungary.

Liability to perform military service in Austria and in Hungary arises on January 1 of the calendar year in which an Austrian or Hungarian reaches his twenty-first year and ceases on the 31st of December of the year in which he ends his thirty-first year.

Under the terms of the treaty between the United States and Austria-Hungary a former subject of Austria or Hungary who has resided in this country five years and has been naturalized as a citizen of the United States is treated upon his return as a citizen of the United States. If he violated any criminal law of his original country before the date of emigration he remains liable to trial and punishment, unless the right to punish has been lost by lapse of time as provided by law. A naturalized American citizen formerly a subject of Austria or Hungary may be arrested and punished under the military laws only in the following cases: (1) If he was accepted and enrolled as a recruit in the army before the date of emigration, although he had not been put in service; (2) if he was a soldier when he emigrated, either in active service or on leave of absence; (3) if he was summoned by notice or by proclamation before his emigration to serve in the reserve or militia and failed to obey the call; (4) if he emigrated after war had broken out.

A naturalized American citizen of Austrian or Hungarian origin on arriving in his original country should at once show his passport to the American consul, or at least to the local authorities; and if, on inquiry, it is found that his name is on the military rolls he should request that it be struck off, calling attention to the naturalization treaty between this country and Austria-Hungary published in 1871.

The laws of Austria-Hungary require every stranger to produce a passport on entering. This provision is not usually enforced, but may be at any time. Travelers are usually called upon to establish their identity and are advised to provide themselves with passports. They do not ordinarily require to be viséed.

A native of Austria or Hungary will probably experience difficulty in establishing his status if he returns to his original country bearing an American naturalization certificate and passport issued in a name different from his original name Such a person, if his name has been changed by order of a court, should take with him a properly authenticated copy of the order of the court; if the change of name was not legally made, he should obtain from the court in which he was naturalized a new certificate [Page 71] of naturalization in his lawful name, and his passport application should agree therewith.

Attention is called to the following provisions of the second section of the Expatriation Act, of March 2, 1907:

That any American citizen shall be deemed to have expatriated himself when he has been naturalized in any foreign State in conformity with its laws, or when he has taken an oath of allegiance to any foreign State.

When any naturalized citizen shall have resided for two years in the foreign State from which he came, or for five years in any other foreign State it shall be presumed that he has ceased to be an American citizens and the place of his general abode shall be deemed his place of residence during said years: Provided, however, That such presumption may be overcome on the presentation of satisfactory evidence to a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States, under such rules and regulations as the Department of State may prescribe: And provided also, That no American citizen shall be allowed to expatriate himself when this country is at war.

American citizens in Austria-Hungary should apply for registration in the nearest American consulates.