In re Lee

• Decision Date: 30 October 1916
• Citation: 236 F. 987
• Parties: In re LEE.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

236 F. 987

In re LEE.

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

October 30, 1916

TUTTLE District Judge.

The petitioner herein, an alien, made and filed his declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United States before the enactment of the present Naturalization Act, and in conformity with the law then in force. More than seven years after such act took effect said alien filed his petition for citizenship, without having made any further declaration of intention.

The sole question involved is whether an alien who, before the date of the taking effect of the present Naturalization Act duly declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and, without renewing such declaration, filed his petition for citizenship more than seven years after such act took effect, may now be admitted to citizenship. The answer to this question depends upon the proper construction of said Naturalization Act. This is Act of June 29, 1906, c. 3592 (34 Statutes at Large, pt. 1, p. 596). The provisions thereof material here are the following portions of section 4:

'Section 4. That an alien may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States in the following manner and not otherwise:

'First. He shall declare on oath before the clerk of any court authorized by this act to naturalize aliens, or his authorized deputy, in the district in which such alien resides, two years at least prior to his admission, and after he has reached the age of eighteen years, that it is bona fide his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly, by name, to the prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of which the alien may be at the time a citizen or subject. And such declaration shall set forth the name, age, occupation, personal description, place of birth, last foreign residence and allegiance, the date of arrival, the name of the vessel, if any, in which he came to the United States, and the present place of residence in the United States of said alien: Provided, however, that no alien who, in conformity with the law in force at the date of his declaration, has declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States shall be required to renew such declaration.

'Second. Not less than two years nor more than seven years after he has made such declaration of intention he shall make and file, in duplicate, a petition in writing, signed by the applicant in his own handwriting and duly verified, in which petition such applicant state his full name, his place of residence (by street and number, if possible), his occupation, and, if possible, the date and place of his birth; the place from which he emigrated, and the date and place of his arrival in the United States, and, if he entered through a port, the name of the vessel on which he arrived; the time when and the place and name of the court where he declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States; if he is married he shall state the name of his wife and, if possible, the country of her nativity and her place of residence at the time of filing his petition; and if he has children, the name, date, and place of birth and place of residence of each child living at the time of the filing of his petition: Provided, that if he has filed his declaration before the passage of this act he shall not be required to sign the petition in his own handwriting.'

It will be noted that under the express provisions of this section and by two different paragraphs thereof, two separate and distinct acts on the part of the alien are required before he may be admitted to citizenship: First, he must declare his intention to become a citizen; second, he must make and file his petition for citizenship. Each of these steps must be taken by every alien who desires to become an American citizen. The section first provides that such alien 'shall declare on oath,' in a manner specifically prescribed, his intention aforesaid. It is clear, in view of the explicit provision that 'an alien may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States in the following manner and not otherwise,' that if there were no proviso to such first paragraph the declaration of intention filed by the petitioner herein would be insufficient, as it is not made and filed in accordance with the requirements of this act, and it would be necessary for petitioner to renew such declaration, although it was made and filed in conformity with the law in force at the date of its filing. To avoid such a result, however, Congress limited the application of this paragraph by adding thereto the proviso already quoted, as follows:

'Provided, however, that no alien who, in conformity with the law in force at the date of his declaration, has declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States shall be required to renew such declaration.'

The effect, and, in my opinion, the only purpose, of this proviso is to give to a declaration filed before such act became a law, and in conformity with the law in force at the date of such declaration, the same force and effect as if it had been filed in conformity with, and therefore subsequent to, the passage of such act. The alien seeking citizenship was still required to file a declaration of intention, but if such declaration had already been filed in conformity with the former law, that declaration would take the place, and be accepted in lieu, of the particular kind of a declaration otherwise required, notwithstanding the fact that such aforesaid declaration was a different kind of declaration than that described and prescribed in said act. This, in my opinion, is the meaning of such proviso.

Having, however, thus provided for the making and filing of a declaration of intention in the manner and subject to the requirements mentioned, Congress, in the second paragraph of said section, provided, as a further requirement, that:

'Not less than two years nor more than seven years after he has made such declaration of intention he shall make and file, in duplicate'

-- a petition complying with certain formalities specifically prescribed. It seems to me that this language clearly evinces an intention to require that this petition shall be filed not more than seven years after the making of the declaration provided for in the first paragraph already referred to, whether such declaration was made and filed in the manner prescribed by this act or was made and filed before such act took effect, but in conformity with the law in force at the day of its filing, and therefore accepted as sufficient under the statute, although not made in the manner provided.

It is urged that the proviso quoted above exempts from the seven-year limitation declarations filed before the statute took effect. I cannot agree with this contention. I think that said proviso relates only to the sufficiency of the declaration of intention, and that its sole purpose is to give to a declaration filed before this statute became operative, if sufficient under the previous law, the same force and effect as if it had been filed in accordance with the requirements of such statute.

'It is a rule that a proviso is strictly construed, and should be confined to what precedes it, unless it clearly appears to have been intended to apply to other matters also. Suth. St. Const. Sec. 223; Potter, Dwar. St. 272; End. Interp. St. Sec. 186; Wayman v. Southard, 10 Wheat. 30 (6 L.Ed. 253); U.S. v. Dickson, 15 Pet. 141-145 (10 L.Ed. 689). ' Boston Safe-Deposit & Trust Co. v. Hudson, 68 F. 758, 15 C.C.A. 651.

'It is a familiar doctrine that a proviso is to be strictly construed, and that it should be confined to what precedes it, unless it clearly appears to have been intended to apply to other matters also. ' Carter, Webster & Co. v. United States, 143 F. 256, 74 C.C.A. 394.

'This conclusion is in harmony with the general rule that a proviso should be construed with reference to the subject-matter of the sentence of which it forms a part, unless it clearly appears to be designed by the Legislature for a broader or more independent operation. Suth. Stat. Constr. Sec. 223; Savings Bank v. United States, 19 Wall. 227, 236, 22 L.Ed. 80; Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co. v. Hudson, 68 F. 758, 15 C.C.A. 651. ' United States v. Bernays, 158 F. 792, 86 C.C.A. 52.

'An exception or proviso in a statute affects and relates to the paragraph or clause in which it is found, or to which it is annexed, only, and not to the entire statute, or to other sections, paragraphs, or clauses in it, unless a different intention or purpose on the part of the...