8 FAM 302.5
Special Citizenship Provisions Regarding the Philippines
(CT:CITZ-35; 05-15-2020)
(Office of Origin: CA/PPT/S/A)
8 FAM 302.5-1 Introduction
(CT:CITZ-35; 05-15-2020)
The purpose of this subchapter is to provide detailed historical background and guidance about special provisions in U.S. nationality law for the Philippines. This subchapter includes guidance regarding:
(1) Calculation of prior residence or physical presence in the Philippines between January 13, 1941 and July 4, 1946 for transmittal of U.S. citizenship to a person born to one U.S. citizen parent under section 201 of the Nationality Act (NA) of 1940 and Section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA); and
(2) U.S. Naturalization of Philippine veterans of World War II.
8 FAM 302.5-2 residence/physical presence in the philippines transmittal of u.s. citizenship by a u.s. citzen parent to a child born abroad
(CT:CITZ-35; 05-15-2020)
a. A person born in the Philippines subject to section 1993 of the Revised Statutes April 11, 1899 - January 11, 1941, did not acquire U.S. citizenship by virtue of their U.S. citizen parent's residence in the Philippines.
b. One's residence or physical presence in the Philippines until it became independent on July 4, 1946 would be relevant for purposes of the Nationality Act Sections 201(e) and 201(g) and INA 301:
(1) A person born in the Philippines after January 12, 1941 (the effective date of the Nationality Act of 1940) and prior to July 4, 1946 (the date of Philippine Independence) to a U.S. citizen parent who previously resided in an outlying possession of the United States (including the Philippines), acquired U.S. citizenship at birth under section 201(e) of the Nationality Act of 1940. No specific period of residence was required to transmit U.S. citizenship; and(2) A person born outside the United States and its outlying possessions (outside the Philippines) of parents one of whom is a citizen of the United States, who, prior to the birth of such person had had 10 years residence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions (including the Philippines), at least five or which were after attaining the age of 16 years, acquired U.S. citizenship at birth under section 201(g) of the Nationality Act of 1940. Residence or physical presence in the Philippines after January 12, 1941 (the effective date of the Nationality Act of 1940) and prior to July 4, 1946 (the date of Philippine Independence) would be pertinent.
c. A parent's residence in the Philippine Islands prior to July 4, 1946, was residence in an outlying possession of the United States for the purpose of NA 201(e) and NA 201(g).
d. Residence in the Philippines by a citizen parent does constitute presence for the purposes of INA 301(a)(7) despite the fact that the unincorporated outlying possession has since become an independent country.
8 FAM 302.5-3 Birth in the Philippines to a U.S. Citizen Parent Who Served Honorably in the Armed Forces of the United States December 7, 1941 - December 31, 1946
(CT:CITZ-35; 05-15-2020)
a. NA 201(i) pertains to birth outside the United States and its outlying possessions (including the Philippines) of parents one of whom is a citizen of the United States who served honorably in the armed forces of the United States after December 7, 1941 and before the date of termination of hostilities December 31, 1946, who had, prior to the birth of such person 10 years residence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions, at least 5 of which were after the age of 12.
b. This assisted veterans who had departed the United States to serve in the U.S. military before they reached age 21, and lacked sufficient residence in the United States to transmit citizenship.
c. One feature of NA 201(i) is that it only required that paternity be established. It did not require legitimation. Citizenship claims under NA 201(i) were subject to the retention provisions of former INA 301(b).
d. NA 201(i) can only be used for persons born in the Philippines to a U.S. citizen parent after July 4, 1946 and before December 24, 1952 (the effective date of the INA).
8 FAM 302.5-4 Philippine Citizens and U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident Status
(CT:CITZ-35; 05-15-2020)
a. Filipino citizens who had entered the United States before May 1, 1934, as non-citizen U.S. nationals, without regard to the immigration laws, and had continued to reside therein as permanent residents, were not in a position to establish the lawful admission for permanent residence required for the naturalization of aliens.
b. A Filipino citizen who seeks the benefits of current INA 326 must establish by evidence satisfactory to the naturalization court that he entered the United States before May 1st, 1934 and has continuously resided therein since such date. In sustaining the burden of this proof, the petitioner is entitled to the use of any INS records concerning him.
8 FAM 302.5-5 Philippine Veterans of World War II
(CT:CITZ-35; 05-15-2020)
a. The Commonwealth Army of the Philippines was called to serve with the United States Armed Forces in the Far East during World War II, under President Roosevelt’s military order of July 26, 1941.
b. Sections 701, 702 and 705 of the Nationality Act of 1940, added by the Second War Powers Act, 1942, 56 Stat. 182, as amended, provided for the naturalization of noncitizens who served honorably in the Armed Forces of the United States during World War II authorizing the appointment of naturalization officers to confer these benefits on noncitizens outside the jurisdiction of a naturalization court:
(1) Section 701 exempted certain alien servicemen who served outside the continental limits of the United States from some of the usual requirements for naturalization, including those of a period of residence in the United States and literacy in English. An amendment to this section specified that all petitions filed under it had to be filed no later than December 31, 1946;
(2) Section 702 provided for the overseas naturalization of persons eligible for naturalization under section 701 who were not within the jurisdiction of any court authorized to naturalize aliens; naturalization under section 702 could take place only during active service in the Armed Forces; and
(3) Section 705 authorized the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, with the approval of the Attorney General, to make such rules and regulations as were necessary to carry into effect the provisions of the act.
c. Implementation:
(1) Over the next 3 years, approximately 7,000 Filipino soldiers were naturalized as U.S. citizens in places outside the Philippine Islands (which were occupied during that entire period by Japan). Most of these were naturalized by courts in the United States, but at least 1,000 others were naturalized by U.S. immigration officials appointed under section 702, traveling from post to post on rotation throughout England, Iceland, North Africa, and the islands of the Pacific (see INS v. Hibi, 414 U.S. 10 (1973); and
(2) After the Philippines were liberated from Japanese occupation, in August 1945, George Ennis, the U.S. Vice Consul in Manila, was designated to naturalize aliens pursuant to the NA. Almost immediately after that, the Philippine Government began to express its concern that a mass migration of newly naturalized veterans would drain the country of essential manpower, undermining postwar reconstruction efforts in the soon-to-be independent country. Accordingly, on September 13, 1945, the Commissioner recommended to Attorney General Clark that Vice Consul Ennis's naturalization authority be revoked. (Memorandum to Tom C. Clark, Attorney General, from Ugo Carusi, INS Commissioner, dated September 13, 1945, quoted in Matter of Naturalization of 68 Filipino War Veterans, 406 F. Supp. 931, 936, n. 5 (ND Cal.1975).) On October 26, 1945, Ennis was informed of that revocation. For the next 9 months, no official with section 702 authority to receive and act upon petitions for naturalization was present in the Philippines, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) apparently taking the position that appointment of such an official was authorized, but not mandated. Not until August, 1946, did the INS designate a new section 702 official for the Philippines, who naturalized approximately 4,000 Filipinos before the December 31, 1946, expiration date of the 1940 act.
d. The 9-month absence of a naturalization examiner during the filing period was the basis of numerous lawsuits filed by Filipino World War II veterans. (For example, In the Matter of Petitions for Naturalization of 68 Filipino War Veterans, 406 F. Supp. 931 (ND Cal. 1975); United States v. Mendoza, 464 U.S. 154 (1984); Olegario v. United States, 629 F. 2d 204 (2nd Cir. 1980).)
e. The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that Filipino World War II veterans had no statutory rights to citizenship under the expired provisions of the Nationality Act of 1940.
f. On February 18, 1946, the Congress enacted the Rescission Act of 1946 which deemed that the service performed by these Filipino veterans would not be recognized as “active service” for the purpose of any U.S. law conferring “rights, privileges, or benefits.”
g. Besides the explicit cutoff date in the 1940 act, Congress in 1948, adopted a new liberalized citizenship program that excluded Filipino servicemen, and specifically provided that even applications timely filed under the 1940 act and still pending would be adjudged under the new provisions act of June 1, 1948.
h. Congress passed several bills to amend the Immigration Act of 1990, making it possible for veterans to naturalize in the Philippines and extending the cut-off date for application (8 CFR 329.5). Interviews were conducted in the Philippines and in the United States. In 1997 Congress extended the filing deadline until Feb. 3, 2001. That was the last extension. This soon brought about a large wave of elderly Filipino applicants, some twenty-eight thousand of whom had become U.S. citizens. The text of 405 does not address the derivative naturalization of spouses, widows or children of veterans.