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AMENDING SECTION 342 (b) OF THE NATIONALITY ACT

OF 1940, WAIVING CERTAIN FEES FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES

FEBRUARY 20, 1945.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. ALLEN of Louisiana, from the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 391]

The Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 391) to amend section 342 (b) of the Nationality Act of 1940 so as to waive two minor fees in the sum of $1 each for members of the armed forces who require certain papers in relation to the naturalization process, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill to pass.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

One dollar fees are, under the naturalization laws, charged all persons for applications for duplicate declarations of intention or applications for certificates of naturalization in lieu of certificates alleged to have been lost, mutilated, or destroyed. Because of the itinerant nature of a soldier's life, and particularly under the conditions in which he lives, among other things including the hazards of travel, a number of these certificates have been lost. The only purpose of this bill is to permit veterans and members of the armed forces to make applications for duplicate papers without paying the small fee.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The full information concerning this bill can be found in the letter hereinafter quoted, addressed to the chairman of the committee by the Attorney General:

Hon. SAMUEL DICKSTEIN,

FEBRUARY 10, 1945.

Chairman, Committee on Immigration and Naturalization,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request for my views relative to a bill (H. R. 391) to amend section 342 (b) of the Nationality Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 1161; 8 U. S. C. 742 (b)).

This provision fixes fees that may be charged by the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization for various services, including a fee of $1 for an application for a duplicate declaration of intention or for a certificate of naturalization if the original has been lost, mutilated, or destroyed.

The act of April 19, 1934 (48 Stat. 597), granted a waiver of the fees in question on behalf of veterans as defined in section 1 of the act of May 28, 1926 (44 Stat. 654). That act defined the term "veteran" as meaning:

66* * * an individual, a member of the military or naval forces of the United States at any time after April 5, 1917, and before November 12, 1918, who is now an alien not ineligible to citizenship; but does not include (1) any individual at any time during such period or thereafter separated from such forces under other than honorable conditions, (2) any conscientious objector who performed no military duty whatever or refused to wear the uniform, or (3) any alien at any time during such period or thereafter discharged from the military or naval forces on account of his alienage."

This exemption was repealed by the Nationality Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 1173), and therefore, under present law, a veteran is of necessity required to pay the fee in question. Veterans should be relieved of this exaction.

The bill under consideration proposes to reinstate the veterans' exemption contained in the 1934 act and at the same time to extend it to veterans of the present war, the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, and the campaign on the Mexican border.

The bill under consideration is identical with a bill (H. R. 5465, 78th Cong.) which was introduced at my request and favorably reported by your committee. Accordingly, I recommend the enactment of the bill.

I have been informed by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget that the proposed legislation is in accordance with the program of the President.

Sincerely yours,

FRANCIS BIDDLE, Attorney General.

A similar bill (H. R. 5465) was favorably reported in the Seventyeighth Congress.

The committee unanimously recommend that the bill do pass.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 2a of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by this bill are shown as follows (existing law in which no change is made is printed in roman; omitted matter is printed within black brackets; the new matter is printed in italics):

The Nationality Act of 1940, as amended (54 Stat. 1137):

SECTION 342 (b)

The Commissioner shall charge, collect, and account for the following fees: (1) For application for record of registry, $18.

(2) For application for a declaration of intention in lieu of a declaration alleged

to have been lost, mutilated, or destroyed, $1.

(3) For application for a certificate of naturalization in lieu of a certificate alleged to have been lost, mutilated, or destroyed, $1.

(4) For application for a certificate of derivative citizenship, $5.

(5) For application for the issuance of a special certificate of citizens' ip to obtain recognition, $5.

(6) For application for a certificate of naturalization under section 323, $1. (7) For application for a certificate of citizenship in changed name, $5. (8) Reasonable fees, with the approval of the Attorney General, in cases where such fees have not been established by law, to cover the cost of furnishing, to other than officials or agencies of the Federal Government, copies, whether certified or uncertified, of any part of the records, or information from the records, of the Service. Such fees shall not exceed a maximum of 25 cents per folio, with a maximum fee of 50 cents for any one such service, in addition to a fee of $1 for any official certification furnished under seal.

Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection, no fee shall be charged or collected for an application for a declaration of intention in lieu of a declaration alleged to have been lost, mutilated, or destroyed or for an application for a certificate of naturalization in lieu of a certificate alleged to have been lost, mutilated, or destroyed, submitted by a person who was a member of the military or naval forces of the United States at any time after April 20, 1898, and before July 5, 1902; or at any time after April 5, 1917, and before November 12, 1918; or who served on the Mexican border as a member of the Regular Army or National Guard between June 1916 and April 1917; or who has served or hereafter serves in the military or naval forces of the United States during the present war, which, for the purpose of this proviso, shall be deemed to have commenced on September 1, 1939, and to have continued until the termination of hostilities; and who was not at any time during such period or thereafter separated from such forces under other than honorable conditions, who was not a conscientious objector who performed no military duty whatever or refused to wear the uniform, or who was not at any time during such period or thereafter discharged from such military or naval forces on account of alienage.

H. Repts., 79-1, vol. 1-68

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