1492. Your 1970, 1st. See general instruction November 18, 1911, 77
consular.1 Passports should not be issued in all cases of class
mentioned, but discretion should be exercised. Naturalized citizens who
have long resided abroad and evidently would not have returned this
country but for conditions resulting from war should not ordinarily be
granted passports. This is especially true as to persons previously
refused passports.
Rules of June 1, 1915, governing the granting and
issuing of passports to those who have declared their intention
to become citizens of the United States2
- 1.
- The first section of the act approved March 2, 1907, “in
reference to the expatriation of citizens and their
protection abroad,”[Page 907]provides “That the Secretary of State shall be authorized,
in his discretion, to issue passports to persons not
citizens of the United States as follows: Where any person
has made a declaration of intention to become such a citizen
as provided by law and has resided in the United States for
three years, a passport may be issued to him entitling him
to the protection of this Government in any foreign country:
Provided, That such passport
shall not be valid for more than six months and shall not be
renewed, and that such passport shall not entitle the holder
to the protection of this Government in the country of which
he was a citizen prior to making such declaration of
intention.”
- 2.
- This section is not intended to confer upon persons who
have only declared their intention to become citizens a
general right to receive passports upon application. Such
passports will be issued only when it is affirmatively shown
to the Secretary of State that some special exigency
requires the temporary absence of the applicant from the
United States, and that without such absence the applicant
would be subjected to special hardship or injury. Under this
law passports can not be issued to declarants who intend
visiting their native lands.
- 3.
- Such passports will not be issued to those who have made
the declaration of intention and who have failed, through
their own neglect, to complete their intention and secure
naturalization as citizens of the United States; nor to
those who may make the declaration of intention in order to
secure passports and leave the United States, nor shall more
than one such passport be issued to any applicant.
- 4.
- It is therefore ordered that before a passport shall be
issued to anyone who has made the declaration of intention
to become a citizen of the United States the following facts
shall be established to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State:
- (a)
- That the applicant has resided in the United
States for at least three years as provided by
law.
- (b)
- That he is not yet eligible under the law for
final naturalization.
- (c)
- That at least six months have elapsed since the
applicant’s declaration of intention.
- (d)
- That the applicant has not previously applied for
and obtained a similar passport from this
Department.
- (e)
- That a special and imperative exigency exists
requiring the absence of the applicant from the
United States. The burden of proof will, in each
case, be upon the applicant to show to the
satisfaction of the Secretary of State that there is
a necessity for his absence. The statement as to
such necessity must be detailed and supported by
satisfactory corroborative evidence. Under this rule
passports will not be granted to persons who wish to
go abroad as commercial travelers.
- (f)
- That the applicant has not applied for or obtained
a passport from any other Government since he
declared his intention to become a citizen of the
United States.
- 5.
- Applications must be made in the form of an affidavit to
the Secretary of State. Blank forms of application are not
furnished by the Department.
- 6.
- The affidavit must be executed before a clerk of a Federal
or State court within the jurisdiction of which the
applicant or his witnesses reside and the seal of the court
must be affixed.
- 7.
- If the applicant signs by mark, two attesting witnesses to
his signature are required.
- 8.
- The applicant is required to state the date and place of
his birth, the date of his emigration to this country, his
occupation and the place of his permanent residence, the
name of the court before which he declared his intention to
become a citizen of the United States and the date of the
declaration, where he intends to travel, how long he expects
to remain in each foreign country, for what purpose he is
proceeding abroad, the circumstances which make his absence
necessary, that he intends to return to the United States,
and the probable duration of his absence therefrom. No fee
is prescribed by law for the issuance of a declarant’s
passport.
- 9.
- If any previous application for a similar passport has
been denied by the Department, this fact must be stated by
the applicant.
The application must be accompanied by description of the person
applying and should state the following particulars, namely: Age,
——; stature, —— feet——inches (English measure); forehead, ——; eyes,
——; nose, ——; mouth, ——; chin, ——; hair, ——; complexion, ——; face,
——.
The application must also be accompanied by duplicate photographs of
the applicant, on thin paper, unmounted, and not larger in size than
three by three inches. One must be attached to the application by
the clerk of the court before whom it is made, with an impression of
the seal of the court so placed as to cover part of the photograph
but not the features, and the other sent loose, to be attached to
the passport by the Department. Photographs on cardboard or
postcards will not be accepted.
The applicant’s declaration of intention must be forwarded with his
application, which must also be accompanied by two supporting
affidavits from citizens of the United States, who shall state that
the applicant is the person he represents himself to be, how long
they have known him, and that the facts stated in his affidavit are
true to the best of their knowledge and belief.
A passport may be granted to a declarant under the statutory
provision quoted above for purposes of identification and protection
in foreign countries, other than his country of origin, but not for
the purpose of facilitating reentry into this country. All matters
relating to immigration being under the supervision of the
Department of Labor, any inquiries concerning the right to reenter
the United States should be addressed to that Department.
W. J. Bryan
Department of State,
Washington
,
June 1, 1915.
