150.949/88
The Secretary of State to the Japanese Ambassador (Horinouchi)
The Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Japanese Ambassador and has the honor to refer to the Ambassador’s note no. 12 of January 17, 194019 concerning the reentry [Page 631] into the United States of Japanese nationals who may proceed to Canada on visits extending beyond the date of termination of the treaty of commerce and navigation between the United States and Japan.
The permits requested of Japanese nationals by the Canadian authorities presumably are intended to serve as evidence that the bearers will be permitted to reenter the United States. Japanese nationals who have been residing in the United States under the provisions of the treaty of 1911, and who return to the United States after the termination of the treaty, will be obliged to obtain visas as temporary visitors and to qualify for admission as visitors for business or pleasure. Their admissibility into the United States can only be determined on the basis of all of the circumstances surrounding their cases at the time of their application for reentry, and for this reason the authorities of the American Government are unable to issue any permit or other documentation guaranteeing the reentry of a Japanese national or any other alien at some future date.
The appropriate branches of the Government have decided that Japanese merchants now in this country under treaty provisions need not, upon termination of the treaty, take any action toward changing their status as residents of the United States and that the administrative authorities of this Government will for the time being take no action in this matter provided there is no violation of the terms of admission of such Japanese merchants under the provisions of Section 3(6) of the Immigration Act of 1924, as amended.20 In the absence of a treaty of commerce between the United States and Japan, the applications of Japanese nationals who wish to enter the United States temporarily for business or pleasure will be considered in the light of existing laws and regulations applicable to visas for the entry of temporary visitors. Japanese nationals how residing in the United States under the provisions of the commercial treaty, and who proceed abroad temporarily, will also be subject to the provisions of the immigration laws and regulations relating to temporary visitors.
It may be mentioned that the existing law and regulations applicable to the admission into the United States of temporary visitors preclude the classification of any person as a temporary visitor who intends to remain indefinitely or for a long period of time in the United States.