Savorgnan v. United States, Civil Action No. 1738.
| Decision Date | 10 September 1947 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 1738. |
| Parties | SAVORGNAN v. UNITED STATES et al. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Wisconsin |
Edgar M. Alstad, of Madison, Wis., for plaintiff.
Charles H. Cashin, U. S. Atty., and James E. Doyle, Asst. U. S. Atty., both of Madison, Wis., for defendants.
In this action plaintiff seeks judgment declaring that she is an American citizen.
It appears from the proofs submitted that plaintiff was born at Reedsburg, Wisconsin, on May 2, 1915; that her parents were both native born Americans. From the date of her birth until July 15, 1941, she resided continuously in the United States; that on or about August 1, 1940, at St. Louis, Missouri, at the suggestion of her then intended husband, Alessandro Savorgnan, she applied through the Italian Consulate at Chicago, Illinois, for Italian citizenship. The application was made solely for the purpose of obtaining consent from the Italian Government to her marriage to Savorgnan, who was at that time in the Diplomatic Service of Italy and located in this country. On November 23, 1940, at Chicago, Illinois, the plaintiff, at the request of said Savorgnan, signed an oath of allegiance to the Italian Government. The application and oath were written in Italian. Plaintiff at that time could not read, write, or understand that language. She assumed that the signing of the documents was but a step in obtaining consent of the Italian Government to her marriage.
Plaintiff married Alessandro Savorgnan on December 26, 1940, at Waukon, Iowa. He was at that time Italian Vice Consul at St. Louis, Missouri, having served in that post since 1936.
On February 5, 1941, she signed a form filled out in the English language and prepared by her husband, required to be filed with the United States Department of State by members of the families of foreign diplomats residing in the United States, and in this form she listed her present nationality as Italian.
On or about July 15, 1941, Savorgnan, along with other consular personnel throughout the United States, was compelled, by executive order, to leave the country. Practically without notice and without any opportunity for any planned or considered departure, plaintiff accompanied her husband to Italy. No time was permitted for her to obtain an American passport before her departure and she departed from this country on a foreign visitor's visa.
Due to the outbreak of the war and its continuation subsequent to her arrival in Italy, she was compelled to remain in that country from July 1941 until she returned to the United States in 1945. Her absense from the United States was due to the war time conditions. In July 1941 when she left this country for Italy she did so without any intention of establishing a permanent residence abroad or abandoning her residence in the United States, or of divesting herself of her American citizenship.
On June 19, 1944, upon the entry of the United States Army into Rome, she immediately identified herself with the American Military Authorities and was thereafter employed by the Allied Control Commission and served with it continuously until she returned to the United States in 1945.
On October 15, 1944, upon the reopening of the United States Consulate in Rome, she applied through the regular procedure for registration as an American citizen.
On January 1, 1945, the American Consulate at Rome notified her in writing that the Department of State had approved her registration as an American citizen, and...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Perez v. Brownell
...citizenship and oath of allegiance to Italian Government) she had no present or fixed intention in her mind to expatriate herself.' 73 F.Supp. 109, 111. 1. Section 401 of the Nationality Act of 1940, 54 Stat. 1137, 1168—1169, as amended, 8 U.S.C. § 1481, 8 U.S.C.A. § 1481. The fact that the......
-
King v. United States
...In Savorgnan v. United States, 338 U.S. 491, 70 S.Ct. 292, 94 L.Ed. 287 (1950), affirming 171 F.2d 155 (C.A.7, 1948), reversing 73 F.Supp. 109 (W.D.Wis. 1947), the Court recited that the court of appeals had reversed the district court's entry of a judgment against the Government (as well a......
-
Savorgnan v. United States v. 8212 1949
...54 Stat. 1171, 8 U.S.C. § 903, 8 U.S.C.A. § 903, for a judgment declaring her to be an American citizen. That court decided in her favor. 73 F.Supp. 109. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the judgment and remanded the case with directions to dismiss the pet......
-
Boissonnas v. Acheson
...American citizen, the District Court held that plaintiff was entitled to judgment declaring her to be an American citizen. Savorgnan v. U. S., D.C., 73 F.Supp. 109. The Court of Appeals reversed the judgment of the District Court, 7 Cir., 171 F. 2d 155, at page 158, stating in its opinion t......