ArrER or 0—M— 

In DEPORTATION Proceedings 

A-11753508 

Decided by Special Inquiry Officer September 12, 1960 

Approved by Board January 12,1961 

Citizenship—Native of Puerto Rico born in 1908 of Spanish parentage. 

(1) Born in Puerto Rico in 1908 of Spanish parents who came to live there 

prior to the Island's annexation by the United States and who moved to 

Spain shortly after his birth in 1908, respondent, who, since that time, except for a year's stay in the United States as a tourist (1946-47), had not 

been in Puerto Rico or other United States territory until his entry on 

December 21, 1957, when he was admitted as a nonimmigrant visitor; who 

is recognized by the Spanish government as a citizen of Spain; and who 

has never filed any declaration or taken any affirmative action to elect or 

preserve Spanish, Puerto Rican or United States citizenship is held not to 

have acquired Puerto Rican citizenship at birth in 1908 under section 7 of 

the Act of April 12, 1900, as a result of the declaration to retain Spanish 

nationality filed by respondent's father on November 22, 1899, in accordance 

with the provisions of. Article IX of the Treaty of Peace with Spain (proclaimed April 11, 1899), which declaration operated with equal effect to 

retain the Spanish nationality of respondent's mother, although she herself 

took no independent action in this respect, both parents thereby continuing 

to hold Spanish nationality and neither acquiring Puerto Rican citizenship 

under the 1900 Act. 

(2) Respondent did not acquire United States citizenship under section 5 of 

the Act of March 2, 1917, as he was not within Its provisions, not having 

become a citizen of Puerto Rico under section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900. 

(3) Respondent has not complied with provisions of subsequent Acts relating 

to acquisition of United States citizenship by natives of Puerto Rico in 

that (a) he has held Spanish nationality continuously since birth; (b) he 

has not resided in United States territory on specified statutory dates; and 

(c) ne nas not mane any aeciaration in statutory terms to obtain United 

States citizenship. 

CHARGE: 

Order : Act of 1052—Section 241 (a) (9) [8 U.S.O. 1231 (a ) (a)]—railed to 

comply with conditions of nonimmigrant status. 

BEFORE 1.171h SPECIAL INQUIRY OFFICER 

(September 12, 1 960) 

DISCUSSION: The order to show cause in this case was issued 

June 25, 1958, alleging deportability on the charge shown in the 

188 
caption hereof. The initial hearing was held on September 5, 1958, 

following which the special inquiry officer entered an order on February 10, 1959, in which he concluded that deportability had been 

established on the charge contained in the order to show cause and 

ordered the respondent's deportation. The decision was appealed 

to the Board of Immigration Appeals which, by order dated 

June 19, 1959, dismissed said appeal. On October 19, 1959, the 

District Director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service 

at San Juan, Puerto Rico, made a motion to the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider its decision. This motion was made 

principally because it was felt that, on the basis of the reasoning 

set forth in the motion, the Board should reconsider its decision 

and find in favor of the alien (sic) on his appeal. The Board of 

Immigration Appeals, by order dated December 4, 1959, withdrew 

the outstanding order of deportation and remanded the case to the 

special inquiry officer for further proceedings in order to develop 

that aspect of the case relating to the possibility of acquisitions of 

Puerto Rican citizenship by the respondent through his mother, and 

also for the purpose of having the case reconsidered by the special 

inquiry officer in accordance with the suggestions contained in the 

motion by the District Director. The motion by the District Director was made not only because he felt that the finding should be 

made in favor of the respondent but also because certain statements 

were made in the decision of the special inquiry officer and in that 

of the Board of Immigration Appeals which were not in accord 

with views long held by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The Board stated in its decision of December 4, 1959, that it 

was not the Board's intention to disturb any administrative practices of long standing unless good cause exists.' Reopened hearing 

was held on May 16, 1960, at the conclusion of which the Service 

and counsel for the respondent were afforded the opportunity to 

submit briefs. Such briefs were submitted and the case is ready 

for decision. 

The issue in the case is solely whether alienage of the respondent 

has been established. If it has been established, the respondent is 

deportable. 

The evidence in the case does not appear to be conflicting. The 

issue is purely one of law. 

The evidence reflects that the respondent was born in _Puerto 

Rico during October 1908, the son of J-0— and L—M—. The 

respondent testified that, his parents were married by proxy and that 

thereafter his mother came to Puerto Rico to reside with his father 

prior to the annexation of Puerto Rico. Both of respondent's parents were born in Spain. The respondent's father, on November 22, 

I The Board also directed that the case be certified to it for final decision. 

189 
1899, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, executed a "Declaration of Nationality in Accordance with the. Provisions of Article IX of the Treaty 

of Peace Between the United States and Spain" in which he stated 

that he is a native of the Spanish Peninsula, a Spanish subject, 

married to and that he wishes to preserve fidelity to the Spanish Crown. In that declaration he named five of his children, the 

older two aged thirteen and fourteen, born in Spain, and the 

younger three aged three months to six years, born in Puerto Rico. 

The respondent Testified that when he was about six or eight months 

old, either in the latter part of 1908 or early 1909, the family moved 

to Spain and that with the exception of a period of one year cornmencing in July 1946 the respondent was not in Puerto Rico or 

American territory until his last entry into the United States on 

December 21, 1957, at which time he entered at the port of Miami, 

Florida, and was admitted as a nonimmigrant for pleasure until 

June 21, 1958. lie has been employed as an art critic at a salary 

of $200 a month commencing prior to the time the period of his admission expired. The one year during which he was in the United 

States commencing in July 1946 was a period he spent in New York 

as a tourist. The last entry of the respondent into the United 

States took place following his departure from Cuba (where he 

lived from 1951 to 1057) for this country. Upon his arrival in the 

United States he prevented a Cuban passport with a nonimmigrant 

visitor's visa and a Form I-94A, which shows birth at Havana, 

Cuba. It also appears that at the time of his arrival he was in 

possession of a Spanish passport showing birth in San Juan, Puerto 

Rico, in October 1910, and a certificate of nationality issued by the 

Consul General of Spain in New York on November 6, 1946, showing the same date and place of birth.. Whether the respondent was 

born in 1908 or 1910 is immaterial to the conclusion in this case. 

The evidence shows clearly that not only was the respondent's 

father born in Spain but that his mother was born there too, and 

his testimony indicates that their marriage took place in 1889. He 

stated that he, the respondent, was recognized- by the Spanish Government as a citizen of Spain. 

There is no evidence that the respondent's mother ever filed a 

declaration of nationality in accordance with the provisions of 

Article IX of the treaty, such as was filed by the respondent's 

father. Exhibit R-1 is a certificate stating that the records of the 

Department of State of Puerto Rico do not show that any declaration was filed by L—M—G— to preserve her allegiance to the 

Crown of Spain. The respondent testified that he never filed any 

declaration or took any affirmative action to elect, choose or preserve Puerto Rican, American, or Spanish nationality. 

The reason given by the respondent for entering the United 

190 
States with a Cuban passport s not material to the decision in this 

case. 

Only two further pieces of evidence need be mentioned. The first 

is a baptismal certificate showing the baptism of E—O— on February 16, 1909, in San Juan, with birth having taken place at San 

Juan, October 12, 1908, and that the person baptized was the son of 

J-0— and L—M—, both of Puerto Rico. Exhibit R.-3b is a certificate from the Bureau of Vital Statistics, Department of Health, 

Puerto Rico, showinoi that a search of the books from October 12, 

.1904 to 1915, failed-.to disclose the registration of the birth of 

E—O—M. This negative certificate was issued to the respondent 

May 20, 1960. 

Respondent is married to a citizen of Cuba. His wife resides in 

Cuba. 

THE GOVERNMENT'S PRESENT CONTENTION 

In its brief, dated June 13, 1960, filed after the conclusion of the 

reopened hearing, the Service argued that the respondent is an alien 

and subject to deportation and asserted in connection with the 

question of alienage that: 

(1) Respondent's father's declaration to preserve Spanish 

allegiance was effective as a declaration to preserve the 

Spanish nationality of the respondent's mother as well, 

even though she took no independent action in that respect; 

(2) Section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900 did not confer 

Puerto Rican citizenship on the respondent because he was 

neither residing in Puerto Rico on April 11, 1899 (having 

been born in 1908), and because he could not take Puerto 

Rican citizenship through either of his parents because 

neither of his parents had Puerto Rican citizenship as they 

had elected to retain Spanish nationality; 

(3) As the respondent did not become a citizen of Puerto Rico 

under the Act of April 12, 1900, he did not become a citizen of the United States under the provisions of section 5 

of the Act of March 2, 1917; 

(4) The respondent became a Spanish subject at birth through 

his parents. 

RESPONDENT'S PRESENT CONTENTION 

The respondent, through his counsel, contends that he became a 

citizen of Puerto Rico through his father under the Act of April 12, 

1900, and a citizen of the United States under the provisions of 

section 5 of the Act of March 2, 1917. Counsel also asserts that the 

respondent's case should be governed by the determination made by 

191 
the Department of State that the respondent's e was a 

citizen of the United States. 

GENERAL STATEMENTS 

(1) The civil rights and political status, which include citizenship, of native inhabitants of Puerto Rico are solely those which 

are determined by Congress. In other words, native inhabitants of 

Puerto Rico acquire no citizenship status in Puerto Rico or the 

United States solely by virtue of the treaty between the United 

States and Spain or solely by virtue of residence in Puerto Rico. 

Their citizenship status in Puerto Rico or in the United States is 

only that conferred upon them by Congress. This principle was 

adequately set forth by the Supreme Court of the United States in 

Downey v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244 (1901), where, at page 279, the 

court stated as follows: 

We are also of opinion that the power to acquire territory by treaty implies nut only the power to govern such territory, but to prescribe upon what 

terms the United States will receive its inhabitants, and what their status 

shall be in what Chief Justice Marshall termed the "American Empire." There 

seems to be no middle ground between this position and the doctrine that if 

their inhabitants do not become, immediately upon annexation, citizens of the 

United States, their children thereafter born, whether savages or civilized, 

are such, and entitled to all the rights, privileges, and Immunities of citizens. 

If such be their status, the consequences will be extremely serious. Indeed, 

it Is doubtful if Congress would ever assent to the annexation Of territory 

upon the condition that its inhabitants, however foreign they may be to our 

habits, traditions, and modes of life, shall become at once citizens of the 

United States. In all its treaties hitherto the treaty-making power has made 

special provision for this subject; • * * in the case of Porto Rico and the 

Philippines, "that the civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants * * shall be determined by Congress." In all these cases there is an 

implied denial of the right of the inhabitants to American citizenship until 

0d-ingress by further action shall signify its assent thereto. 

(2) In a deportation case the Government has the burden of establishing alienage. 

(3) Because of the order of December 4, 1959, by the Board of 

Immigration Appeals, I am not bound by the order of February 10, 

1959, by the special inquiry officer nor by the order of June 19, 

1959, by the said Board. 

(4) A clear understanding of the applicable legal principles 

would be difficult without having, as part of this opinion, the text 

of various matters referred to herein. For this reason, there are 

appended hereto and hereby made a part of this opinion, the following: 

(a) Appendix A—Article IX of the Treaty Between the 

United States and Spain, proclaimed April 11, 1899; 

(b) Appendix B—Section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900; 

192 
(c) Appendix C--Section 5 of the Act of March 2. 1917, as 

amended; 

(d) Appendix D—The text of Immigration and Naturalization 

Service General Order Number 213, dated January 29, 

1935, dealing with the administrative interpretation relating to citizenship of natives or inhabitants of Puerto Rico; 

(e) Appendix E—Section 202, Nationality Act of 1940; 

(f) Appendix F—Sertion 302, Immigration and Nationality 

Act. 

QUESTIONS RAISED IN THIS CASE BUT NOT NECESSARY TO BE DISPOSED OF AND NOT DISPOSED OF 

BECAUSE OF THE CONCLUSIONS REACHED 

HEREIN 

(1) Whether a person who acquired Puerto Rican citizenship 

under section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900 was required to be 

residing in Puerto Rico on March 2, 1917, in order to acquire 

United States citizenship wider the provisions of section 5 of the 

Act of March 2, 1917. I may state, however, by way of obiter 

dictum that it is my conclusion that such a question, where pertinent, must be answered in the negative. 

(2) Whether Puerto Rican citizenship could be obtained by 

virtue of the provisions of section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900 

(by an individual born in 1908 in Puerto Rico) through a person's 

mother, a native of the Spanish Peninsula, who herself might have 

acquired Puerto Rican citizenship under section 7 of the Act of 

April 12, 1900. By way of obiter dictum, it is stated that it is my 

view that this question must be answered in the affirmative in cases 

where the issue becomes pertinent. 

DID RESPONDENT GAIN PUERTO RICAN CITIZENSHIP 

AND/OR UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP THROUGH 

HIS FATHER? 

The respondent's father was born in Spain. Under the provisions of Article I(1) of the Spanish Constitution the father was 

born a Spanish citizen. Flournoy and Hudson, A Collection of 

Nationality Laws, p. 526, and H. Doc. No. 326, 59th Congress, 2d 

Session, p. 510. 'There is no evidence that he ever lost his Spanish 

citizenship. On the contrary, it appears from the evidence that he 

retained his Spanish citizenship. When the United States acquired 

Puerto Rim fluid Spain, Article IX of the treaty with that coun 

try proclaimed on April 11, 1899 (see Appendix A) made Provision 

for Spanish subjects who were natives of the Peninsula residing in 

Puerto Rico to preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain by 

193 

854877-63- -14 
making a declaration of their decision to preserve their allegiance 

to the Crown of Spain within a year from the date of the exchange 

of ratifications of the treaty. It was further provided in Article 

IX that in default of such declaration they shall be held , -o have 

renounced allegiance to the Crown of Spain and to have adopted 

the nationality of the territory in which they now reside. The 

term "Peninsula," as used in Article IX of the treaty, included 

Spain but obviously did not include Puerto Rico, The respondent's 

father did preserve his allegiance to the Crown of Spain in accordance with the provisions of the treaty by making the required declaration on November 22, 1899. Thereafter when Congress enacted 

the Act of April 12, 1900, section 7 thereof conferred Puerto Rican 

citizenship on certain people but two things were necessary "(1) 

that the applicant was a Spanish subject, native of the Peninsula, 

or a Spanish subject, native inhabitant of Porto Rico on April 11, 

1899, or was born of such a person subsequent thereto; (2) that 

the applicant must have resided in Porto Rico on April 11, 1899, 

and have continued to reside therein until the date when the act of 

Congress mentioned went into effect, April 12, 1900, or have been 

born subsequent to the date of the annexation, April 11, 1899, to a 

person who was on that date a Spanish subject, native of the Peninsula or a native inhabitant of Porto Rico, and who acquired 

American nationality under the treaty and the statute" (emphasis 

supplied). III Hackworth, Digest of International Law, pp. 141, 

142. From this it will be seen that the respondent's father would 

have acquired Puerto Rican citizenship on April 12, 1900, except 

for the fact that section 7 of that Act removed him from the classes 

of persons who acquired Puerto Rican citizenship by virtue of the 

exception which states "except such as shall have elected to preserve 

their allegiance to the Crown of Spain on or before the eleventh 

day of April nineteen hundred, in accordance with the provisions 

of the treaty * * *." The respondent's father, therefore, did not 

acquire Puerto Rican citizenship under the Act of April 12, 1900, 

and there is no evidence that he acquired it in any other way 

thereafter. 

We now come to the crucial point in the argument advanced by 

respondent's attorney, namely, that the respondent acquired Puerto 

Rican citizenship under section 7 because, he alleged, the respondent 

was a child born subsequent to April 11, 1899, to an inhabitant of 

Puerto Rico who was a Spanish subject on that date and residing 

in Puerto Rico from that date to April 12, 1900. 

As pointed out above by the emphasized portion of that part of 

the essential requisites to acquire Puerto Rican citizenship, Hackworth, who, at the time of preparing his monumental text was legal 

advisor for the Department of State, was of the opinion that for a 

194 
person born in Puerto Rico, as, for example, this mg/mm-1mq was 

in 1908, to have acquired Puerto Rican citizenship through his 

father, that father must have been one who acquired American 

nationality under the treaty with Spain and section 7 of the Act 

of April 12, 1900. We have seen, however, that the respondent's 

father did not acquire Puerto Rican citizenship under the 1900 Act 

because he had, prior to the effective date of that Act, made a declaration to preserve his allegiance to the Crown of Spain. Respondent's counsel, therefore, reads that part of section 7 of the Act of 

April 12, 1900 which provides "except such as shall have elected to 

preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain * * *" as affecting 

only the individual who made the election insofar as the right of 

that individual to acquire Puerto Rican citizenship is concerned. 

What he failed to do was to accord to this quoted language in section 7 its true meaning. namely, that it was a definitive description 

-of a class of persons who did not acquire Puerto Rican citizenship 

under section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900 and, therefore, the 

phrase "and their children born cubsoquent thereto" in section 7 

actually related to the children of fathers (and perhaps mothers) 

who were not of the so defined excepted class. To state it another' 

way, children born in Puerto Rico after April 11, 1899, in order to 

acquire Puerto Rican citizenship under section 7 of the Act of 

April 12, 1900 had to be children of a father who himself acquired 

Puerto Rican citizenship under that Act. That is the only kind of 

father discussed in section 7. This interpretation is borne out by 

the provisions of section 1 of General Order 213 of the Immigration 

-and Naturalization Service (see Appendix D) which interprets the 

Act of April 12, 1900 as conferring Puerto Rican citizenship upon 

a child born subsequent to April 11, 1899, to a parent who acquired 

Puerto Rican citizenship in accordance with other provisions of 

section 1 of that General Order, which other provisions excluded a 

man who made a declaration that he elected to preserve his allegiance to Spain. 

It is axiomatic that the interpretations of a statute fairly susceptible of different constructions, by an agency of the Government 

charged with executing it, are entitled to great respect. IticLaren 

v. Fleischer, 256 U.S. 477 (1921). It is my view that the Act of 

April 12, 1900 is not fairly susceptible of different constructions 

but, even if it were, Hackworth, the legal advisor for the State Department, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service have 

interpreted section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900 not as respondent's 

counsel would have us interpret it, but rather as set forth above. 

As we shall see hereafter, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary 

of the Interior also interpreted the law as did the Department of 

State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. 

195 
Reliance need not be put merely upon Hackworth and General 

Order Number 213. The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico had before it in 1957 a declaratory judgment 

action pursuant to the provisions of section 360(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act in which the facts were as closely akin to 

those in the instant case as can be hoped to be found: Conrad v. 

Dulles, 155 F. Supp. 542. In that case the plaintiff was born in 

Puerto Rico in September 1906. The plaintiff's father resided in 

Puerto Rico on April 11, 1899, but was at plaintiff's birth a Spanish 

subject because he had, on or brefore April 11, 1900, elected to preserve allegiance to the Crown of Spain in accordance with Article 

IX of the treaty between the United States and Spain. The court 

found that the subject was not a citizen of the United States under 

section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900 and section 5 of the Act of 

March 2, 1917. 

This leads us to the question which has thus far not been treated, 

namely, whether iebpundent in the instant case acquired United 

States citizenship through his father under the provisions of the 

Act of March 2, 1917, as amended. The case of Conrad v. Dulles, 

supra, says such a person did not acquire United States citizenship 

under that Act. Section 5 of the Act of March 2, 1917 confers 

United States citizenship upon citizens of Puerto Rico as defined 

by section-7 of the Act of April 12, 1900, and all natives of Puerto 

Rico who were temporarily absent from that island on April 11, 

1899, and since have returned and are permanently residing on that 

island and are not citizens of any foreign country. The respondent 

in the instant case did not become a citizen of Puerto Rico through 

his father under the Act of April 12, 1900, as has already been 

pointed out, and consequently did not acquire United States citizenship through his father under the provisions of section 5 of the 

Act of March 2, 1917. In Hackworth, supra, p. 144, it is stated 

"Now, then, if * * * never obtained the condition of citizen of Porto 

Rico, it seems to be clear that he was not made a citizen of the 

United States by the provisions of Section 5 * * s." While the individual in that case was born in Puerto Rico in 1879 of a French 

father, it nevertheless makes clear that the instant respondent could 

not have acquired United States eitizenship through his father because 

he, the respondent, never acquired Puerto Rican citizenship (see 

also General Order 213, Appendix D). 

Additionally, the Service points out on page 4 of its brief that 

section 5c was added on May 16, 1938, to the Act of March 2, 1917, 

because Congress sought to afford relief, as stated by the Secretary 

of Labor, 

to persons who were born in Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 1899, of fathers 

who preserved their allegiance to Spain under the treaty of peace with Spain. 

log 
Persons born 01 SUM falhera are not citizena of the 'United Stater, in the 

absence of their having taken formal proceedings therefor. 

This purpose of section 5c of the Act of March 2, 1917, as 

amended, was thus gleaned from a statement of the Secretary of 

Labor set forth in Senate Report Number 1679, accompanying H.R. 

4275, 75th Congress. Similarly, in the same report (p. 5 of Service 

brief) the Acting Secretary of the Interior, in response to an inquiry from the Chairman of the House Committee on Insular Affairs to the Director, Division of Territories and Island Possessions, 

is quoted in part as stating : 

The primary purpose is to admit to United States citizenship a limited class 

of Puerto Ricans, who, through ignorance of the law or misunderstanding, 

failed to take advantage of the opportunity to become such citizens under 

sections 5, 5a, and 5b of the Organic Act for that island, the Act of March 2, 

1917 * * and of June 27, 1934 • • 

About 6,000 residents of Puerto Rico are involved, concerning whose status 

there appears to have been considerable popular confusion and misunderstanding. They are descendants, born in the island since its cession to the United 

States, of Spanish subjects who eiecteil, uu ur before April 11, 1900, to retain 

their allegiance to the Crown of Spain in accordance with Article IX of the 

Treaty of Peace which terminated the Spanish-American War. The descendants of Spanish subjects who so elected are not citizens of the United States, 

although born and residing in Puerto Rico, unless naturalized, or unless, on 

or before March 4, 1928 (or else within one year after reaching their majority), they or their ancestors filed declarations, as provided in sections 5 

and 5a of the Organic Act, availing themselves of the privilege of becoming 

American Li tiLens. 

-Whether the respondent acquired United States citizenship under 

that Act in his own right will be treated in another portion of this 

opinion. It is sufficient at this point to state that under the amendment to that Act and under the Nationality Act of 1940 and the 

Immigration and Nationality Act the respondent could not acquire 

United States citizenship through his father. 

A second contention raised by respondent's attorney is that the 

respondent's situation is the same as that of respondent's brother, 

G—, who was held to have acquired United States citizenship. This 

is not a valid argument. G— was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 

July 10, 1898, and resided there until subsequent to April 12, 1900, 

and was, therefore, himself (and not through his father) directly 

within the provision-5 of 3e;etion 7 of the Act of April 10, 1900, and 

thus acquired Puerto Rican citizenship in his own right. He waa 

an infant and not a native of the Peninsula, and could not as a matter of law make a declaration to preserve Spanish allegiance - It is 

also almost axiomatic at this late date that the father's declaration 

to preserve his (the father's) allegiance to the Crown of Spain did 

not serve to preserve Spanish allegiance for a child born in Puerto 

Rico in 1898, residing in Puerto Rico at the time of the cession of 

197 
those islands, even though that child's name is mentioned in the 

father's declaration. See Hackworth, Supra, pp. 142, 143. G—

acquired Puerto Rican citizenship; the respondent did not. 

DID RESPONDENT GAIN PUERTO RICAN CITIZENSHIP 

AND/OR UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP THROUGH 

HIS MOTHER? 

We have just seen that the respondent did not gain Puerto Rican 

and/or United States citizenship through his father. If he could 

have gained Puerto Rican citizenship and/or American citizenship 

through his mother pursuant to the 1900 and 1917 Acts, it would be 

only if his mother became a Puerto Rican citizen under section 7 of 

the 1900 Act. His mother did not make a separate declaration to 

retain allegiance to the Spanish Crown. The question, therefore, 

is whether the declaration of allegiance made by the respondent's 

father had like effect upon rccpondcnt'c mother. If it did, than 

she did retain allegiance to the Spanish Crown and did not acquire 

Puerto Rican citizenship under section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900. 

Authorities on this point are scarce. The brief of June 13, 1960, 

filed by the Service argues that since the respondent's mother was 

also a native of the Spanish Peninsula, with the right to make such 

a declaration to retain Spanish allegiance, her husband's declaration was effective as a declaration to preserve her Spanish nationality even though she herself took no independent action in that 

respect. That brief points out that the position of the Service on 

that point is more fully expounded in the case of Maria Marroig 

Vda. de Frontera (petition for naturalization No. 4738, filed in the 

District Court of the United States for Puerto Rico, on January 14, 

1947). The opinion of the Service, a copy of which is attached to 

the Service brief, is dated October 20, 1947, and bears file Number 

2849—P 4738. The arguments in that opinion are persuasive. It will 

not he necessary for me to set out those arguments in this opinion 

because the District Court of the United States for the District of 

Puerto Rico in the Frontera case handed down a decision on December 20, 1948, in which the court concluded (Mrs. Frontera was in the 

same position as the respondent's mother so far as the material 

facts are concerned) that the declaration to retain Spanish nationality executed by petitioner's husband also operated to preserve the 

petitioner's Spanish nationality. The court pointed out that at the 

time of the Tieaty or Peace bet ween the United States and Spain all 

countries recognized the principle that the nationality of a woman 

on marriage merged in that of her husband and that she lost her own 

nationality and acquired his. The court then pointed out that under 

Article 22 of the Spanish Civil Code of 1889 "A married woman follows the condition and nationality of her husband." The court's 

198 
reasoning continues by adding that it should be borne in mind that 

petitioner was a native of the Spanish Peninsula and, therefore, 

eligible to retain her Spanish nationality under the provisions of 

Article IX of the Treaty; that she was admitted to Puerto Rico as a 

Spanish subject in 1910, obtained a Spanish passport in 1939, and 

reentered the United States in 1939 under a special provision of law 

relating to persons who had retained Spanish nationality under the 

Treaty with Spain, and that the petitioner was also recognized as a 

Spanish subject by Spain. The court, however, finally concludes as 

follows: "Under the authorities heretofore cited (some of which 

were cited in the Service opinion), the Court holds that at the time 

of the Treaty between the United States and Spain, petitioner's nationality was merged with that of her husband and, therefore, petitioner remained a subject of the Spanish Crown" (parenthetical 

clause added). 

In view of this holding by the court in the Frontera petition matter and in view of the cogent reasoning advanced in the Service's 

opinion in that matter, and particularly in the absettee of authorities to the contrary, I conclude that the respondent's father's declaration to retain allegiance to the Spanish Crown had the same 

legal effect on his wife that her own declaration of allegiance to 

the Spanish Crown would have had had she been able to make, and 

had she made, a declaration of allegiance. This being the situation, 

the respondent's mother did not acquire Puerto Rican citizenship 

under section 7 of the 1900 Act. The respondent, therefore, did 

not acquire Puerto Rican citizenship at his birth in 1908 through 

his mother. There is no evidence that he in any way acquired United 

States citizenship under any act through his mother. As a matter of 

fact, it appears rather clear that his mother is at the present time 

recognized in Spain as a Spanish citizen and that /she at no time 

took any Affirmative action in accordance with the requirements of 

the applicable statutes to acquire United States citizenship. 

DID RESPONDENT ACQUIRE PUERTO RICAN AND/OR 

UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP IN HIS OWN RIGHT? 

We have just seen that the respondent did not acquire Puerto Rican 

and/or American citizenship through his father or his mother. There 

is nothing in section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900, which would 

have conferred Puerto Rican citizenship on the respondent in his own 

right because in order for a person to acquire Puerto Rican citizenship in his own right under that motion of law it would have been 

necessary for the person to have been a Spanish subject, a native 

inhabitant of Puerto Rico on April 11, 1899, and to have resided 

there on that date and have continued to reside there until April 12, 

1900. The respondent was born in 1908 and, therefore, did not 

199 
acquire Puerto Rican citizenship in his own right under section 7 

of the 1900 Act. 

When the respondent's father retained his allegiance to the Spanish Crown he retained, of course, his Spanish citizenship. Under 

Article 1(2) of the Constitution of Spain "children of a Spanish 

father or mother, although born out of Spain" are' Spaniards. 

H. Doc. No. 326, 59th Congress, 2d Session, p. 510. (It is noted that 

in Flournoy and Hudson, A Collection of Nationality Laws, p. 526, 

Article 1(2) of the Spanish Constitution is translated as "The Children: of Spanish parents, although born outside Spain," are Spaniards.) Furthermore, Article 17(2) of the Spanish Civil Code of 

1889 provides that "The children of a Spanish father or Spanish 

mother, although born outside Spain," are Spaniards (II. Doc. No. 

326, supra, and Flournoy and Hudson, supra, p. 537). It is, therefore, clear that when the respondent was born in 1908 he acquired 

Spanish nationality through his parents. At this point it is well to 

mention that respondent's counsel in his brief, dated June 22, 1960, 

seems to argue that it is inconsistent to hold that the respondent's 

father's declaration to retain allegiance to the Spanish Crown could 

have no effect on the respondent and yet the respondent's father's 

Spanish citizenship would have some effect on the respondent. There 

is nothing unusual about this situation. There are many instances 

where the law of the blood (jug sanguinity) applies co far as the 

transmission of citizenship from father to son is concerned. The 

father's declaration of retention of Spanish allegiance did not deprive the respondent of anything because the respondent was not yet 

born when the father made the declaration. At the time the respondent was born there was no statute granting him Puerto Rican citizenship or United States citizenship but there was a Spanish law giving 

him Spanish citizenship. With regard to the brother, G—, who is 

also mentioned in this connection in the respondent's attorney's 

brief, G—'s citizenship rested on a different footing; it rested on 

G—'s own situation because, among other things, G— was born in 

Puerto Rico prior to the proclamation of the Treaty with Spain. 

Other acts of Congress (Act of March 4, 1927, adding section 5a to 

the Act of March 2, 1917; the Act of June 27, 1934, adding section 

5b to the Act of March 2, 1917; and the Act of May 16, 1938, adding 

section 5c to the Act of March 2, 1917; section 202 of the Nationality 

Act of 1940, and section 302 of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act, all set out in the appendices) relate to the acquisition of United 

States citizenship by natives of Puerto Rico under certain circumstances. All of them, however, require one or more of the following: 

(1) Residence in territory over which the United States exercises sovereignty on dates fixed in the statutes; 

(2) That the individual concerned not be a national of any 

foreign country; 

200 
(3) That aerlpration to acquire American citizenship be made 

in accordance with the terms of the statute. 

The respondent at birth was a citizen of Spain and he has apparently continued to be such until the present time. He did not have 

his residence in United States territory, as required by the various 

statutes, on the dates mentioned therein, and he has never made 

a formal declaration to acquire United States citizenship pursuant 

to the provisions of any of the statutes. He did not acquire Puerto 

Rican or United States citizenship in his own right. 

CONCLUSION 

It is my conclusion that the respondent is an alien. This opinion 

has been lengthier than it would ordinarily have been but it was 

felt desirable to cover the area in detail because of the paucity of 

available material on the subject. 

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSION OF LAW 

I hereby adopt the allegations and the charge in the order to show 

cause as my findings of fact and conclusion of law, respectively. 

FZECTION 

The respondent, at the initial hearing, elected Cuba as the country to which he wishes to be deported in the event deportation is to 

take place. 

ORDER: It is ordered that the respondent be deported from the 

United States in the manner provided by law on the charge contained 

in the order to show cause. 

It is further ordered that this case be certified to the Board of 

Immigration Appeals for final decision by that Board. 

APPENDIX A 

ARTICLE IX OF THE TREATY OF PEACE BETWEEN THE 

UNITED STATES AND SPAIN PROCLAIMED APRIL 11, 

1899 

Spanish subjects, natives of the Peninsula, residing in the territory over 

which Spain by the present treaty relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty, may 

remain in such territory or may remove therefrom, retaining in either event 

all their rights of property, including the right to sell or dispOse of such 

property or its proceeds; and they shall also have the right to carry on their 

industry, commerce and professions, being subject in respect thereof to seen 

laws as are applicable to other foreigners. In case they remain in the territory they may preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain by making, 

before a court of record, within a year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, a declaration of their decision to preserve such Line201 
glance; In default of which declaration they shall be held to have renounced 

It and to have adopted the nationality of the territory in which they may 

reside. 

The civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the territories hereby ceded to the United States shall be determined by the Congress. 

(30 Stat. 1754; Treaty Series No. 343; Malloy, Treaties, II, 1690.) 

APPENDIX B 

SECTION 7 OF THE ACT OF APRIL 12, 1900 

Sec. 7. That all inhabitants continuing to reside therein who were Spanish 

subjects on the eleventh day of April, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and 

then resided in Porto Rico, 1and their children born subsequent thereto. shall 

be deemed and held to be citizens of Porto Rico, and as such entitled to the 

protection of the United States, except such as shall have elected to preserve 

their allegiance to the Crown of Spain on or before the eleventh day of April 

nineteen hundred, in accordance with the provisions of the treaty of peace 

between the United States and Spain entered on the eleventh day of April. 

eighteen hundred and ninety-nine; and they, together with such citizens of 

the United States as may reside in Porto Rico, shall constitute a body politic 

under the name of The People of Porto Rico, with governmental powers as 

hereinafter conferred, and with power to sue and be sued as such. 

APPENDIX C 

SECTION 6 OF THE ACT OF MARCH 2, 1917, AS AMENDED 

Sec. 5. That all citizens of Puerto Rico, as defined by section seven of the 

Act of April twelfth, nineteen hundred, "temporarily to provide revenues and 

a civil government for Puerto Rico, and for other purposes," and all natives 

of Puerto Rico, who were temporarily absent from that island on April eleventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and have since returned and are permanently residing in that island, and are not citizens of any foreign country, 

are hereby declared, and shall be deemed and held to be, citizens of the 

United States: Provided, That any person hereinbefore described may retain 

his present political status by making a declaration, under oath, of his decision to do so within six months of the taking effect of this Act before the 

district court in the district in which he resides, the declaration to be in 

form as follows: 

"I, , being duly sworn, hereby declare my Intention not to 

become a citizen of the United States as provided in the Act of Congress conferring United States citizenship ripen citImens of Puerto Rico and certain 

natives permanently residing in said Island." 

In the case of any such person who may be absent from the island during 

said six months the term of this proviso may be availed of by transmitting a 

declaration, under oath, in the form herein provided within sir months of the 

taking effect of this Act to the executive secretary of Puerto Rico; And provided further, That any person who is born in Puerto Rico of an alien parent 

and is permanently residing in that island may, if of full age, within six 

1The spelling of "Porto Rico" was changed to "Puerto Rico" by the Act of 

May 17, 1932 (47 Stat. 148). 

202 
months of the taking effect of this Act, or if a minor, upon reaching his 

majority or within one year thereafter, make a sworn declaration of allegiance to the United States before the United States District Court for Puerto 

Rico, setting forth therein all the facts connected with his or her birth and 

residence in Puerto Rico and accompanying due proof thereof, and from and 

after the making of such declaration shall be considered to be a citizen of 

the United States. 

Sec. ha.' That all citizens of the United States who have resided or who 

shall hereafter reside in the island for one year shall be citizens of Puerto 

Rico: Provided, That persons born in Puerto Rico of alien parents, referred 

to in the last paragraph of section 5, who did not avail themselves of the 

privilege granted to them of becoming citizens of the United States, shall 

have a period of one year from the approval of this Act to make the declaration provided for in the aforesaid section: And provided further, That persons who elected to retain the political status of citizens of Puerto Rico may 

within one year after the passage of this Act become citizens of the United 

States upon the same terms and in the same manner as is provided for the 

naturalization of native Puerto Ricans born of foreign parents. 

Sec. 5b.' All persons born in Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 1899 (whether 

before or after the effective date of this Act), and not citizens, subjects, or 

nationals of any foreign power, are hereby declared to be citizens of the 

United States: Provided, That this Act shall not be construed as depriving 

any person, native of Puerto Rico, of his or her American citizenship heretofore otherwise lawfully acquired by such person; or to extend such citizenship 

to persons who shall have renounced or lost it under the treaties and/or laws 

of the United States or who are now residing permanently abroad and are 

citizens or subjects of a foreign country: And provided further, 3 That any 

woman, native of Puerto Rico and permanently residing therein, who, prior 

to March 2, 1911, had lost her American nationality Dy reason or her marriage to an alien eligible to citizenship, or by reason of the loss of the United 

States citizenship by her husband, may be naturalized under the provisions 

of section 4 of the Act of September 22, 1922, entitled "An Act relative to the 

naturalization and citizenship of married women," as amended. 

Sec. 519.4 (sic) Section 404(e) of the Nationality Act of 1940 (U.S.C., Title 8, 

sec. 804(c)), shall not be applicable to persons who acquired citizenship under the provisions of sections 5 and ha of this Act. 

Sec. 5c.5That any person of good character, attached to the prlucIples of 

the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and 

happiness of the United States, and born in Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 

1899, who has continued to reside within the jurisdiction of the United States, 

whose father elected on or before April 11, 1960, to preserve his allegiance to 

the Crown of Spain in accordance with the provisions of the treaty of peace 

between the United States and Spain entered into on April 11, 1899, and who, 

by reason of misinformation regarding his or her own citizenship status failed 

within the time limits proscribed by section 6 or motion 6a hereof to e'erI Added by the Act of March 4, 1927 (44 Stet. 1418). 

Added by the Act of June 27, 1934 (48 Stet. 1245). Repealed by the Act 

of June 27, 1952 (66 Stet. 279). 

aSecond proviso repealed by sec. 504 of the Act of October 14, 1940 (54 

Stet. 1173). 

4 Added by the Act of June 25, 1948 (62 Stat. 1015). This amendment is 

retroactive to October 13, 1945. 

'Added by the Act of May 16, 1938 (52 Stet, 337). Repealed by sec. 504 

of the Act of October 14, 1940 (54 Stat. 1173). 

203 
cise the privilege of establishing United States citizenship and has heretofore 

erroneously but in good faith exercised the rights and privileges and performed the duties of a citizen of the United States, and has not personally 

sworn allegiance to any foreign government or ruler upon or after attainment 

of majority, may make a sworn declaration of allegiance to the United States 

before any United States district court. Such declaration shall set forth 

facts concerning his or her birth in Puerto Rico, good charactr, attachment 

to the principles of the Constitution of the United Slates, and being well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States, residence within 

the jurisdiction of the United States, and misinformation regarding United 

States citizenship status, and shall be accompanied by proof thereof satisfactory to the court. After making such declaration and submitting such proofs, 

such person shall be admitted to take the oath of allegiance before the court, 

and thereupon shall be considered a citizen of the United States. 

APPENDIX D 

TEXT OF GENERAL ORDER NUMBER 213 

DATED JANUARY 2.9, /.93.5 

13y; virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me under Revised 

Statutes, section 161 (U.S.C., Title 5, sec. 22), and other provisions of law, 

the following regulations interpreting section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900 

(31 Stat. 79; U.S.C., Title 48, sec. 733) ; sections 5 and 5a of the Act of 

March 2, 1917 (39 Stat. 953, U.S.C., Title 8, sec. 5; 44 Stat. 1418-1419, U.S.C., 

Title 8, sec. 5a) ; and section 5h of said Act of March 2, 1917, as added by 

Act of June 27, 1934 (48 Stat. 1245) are prescribed for the gridance of officers and employees of the Immigration and Naturalization Service: 

Puerto Rican Citizenship Under the Act of April 12, 1900 

Sec. 1. Under the provisions of section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900 (31 

Stat. 79, U.S.C., Title 48, sec. 733)- 

(a) An inhabitant of Puerto Rico who was a Spanish subject on April 11, 

1899, and continued to reside in Puerto Rico until April 12, 1900. became on 

April 12, 1000, a citizen or Puerto Rico unless on or before April 11, 1900, 

he made a declaration before a court of record that he bad elected to preserve his allegiance to Spain; 

(b) A child born at any time subsequent to April 11, to a parent 

who acquired Puerto Rican citizenship in accordance with preceding subsection (a) was himself vested with Puerto Rican citizenship. 

United States Citizenship Under the Act of March 2, 1917 

Sec. 2. Under the provisions of sections 5 and 5a of the Act of March 2, 

1917 (39 Stat. 953, U.S.C., Title 8, sec. 5; 44 Stat. 1413-1419, U.S.C., Title 8, 

sec. 5a), the following are citizens of the United States: 

(a) A person who on Motel! 2, 1917, was a citizen of Puerto RICO as Qefined in section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900, and section 1 of these regulations; and who did not within six months after March 1, 1917, make a declaration under oath before the district court in the district in which he resided, 

retaining the political status he then bad; 

(b) A native of Puerto Rico who was temporarily absent from that island 

on April 11, 1899, who had returned and was permanently residing therein on 

204 
March 2, 1017, who wan not on March 2, 1017, a riti ,Len of any foreign country and who within six months after March 1, 1917, did not make a declaration under oath before the district court in the district in which he resided, 

retaining the political status he then had; 

(c) A native of Puerto Rico, born of an alien parent, who was permanently 

residing in that island on March 2, 1917, and who, within six months after 

March 1, 1917, or within one year after attaining the age of twenty-one if he 

was not twenty-one years of age on March 2, 1917, or within one year after 

March 2, 1027 (regardless of his age), made a sworn declaration of allegiance 

to the United States before the United States District Court for Puerto Rico; 

and 

(d) A person who elected to retain the political status of a citizen of 

Puerto Rico and who within one year after March 3, 1927, made a sworn 

declaration of allegiance to the United States before the United States District Court for Puerto Rico. 

United States Citispnship Under the Act of June $7, 1934 

Sec. 3. A person born in Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 1899, who was 

not a citizen of the United States on June 27, 1934, became a citizen on 

:nine 27. 1934. unless- 

(a) He was on that date a citizen, subject, or national of any foreign 

power; or 

(b) Prior to June 27, 1934, he had renounced or lost United States citizenship under the treaties and/or laws of the United States; or 

(c) Ile was on that date residing permanently abroad and was a citizen 

or subject of a foreign country. 

APPENDIX E 

SECTION 202 OF THE NATIONALITY ACT OF 1940 

Sec. 202. All persons born in Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 1899, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, residing on the effective date of 

this Act in Puerto Rico or other territory over which the United States exercises rights of sovereignty and not citizens of the United States under any 

other Act, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States. 

APPENDIX F 

SECTION 302 OF THE IMMIGRATION AND 

NATIONALITY ACT 

Sec. 302. All persons born in Puerto Rico on or after April 11, 1899, and 

prim. to January la, 1041, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, 

residing on January 13, 1941, in Puerto Rico or other territory over which the 

United States exercises rights of sovereignty and not citizens of the United 

States under any other Act, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United 

Mateo ao of January 13, 11441 All persons born in Puerto Rico on or after 

January 13, 1941, and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, are 

citizens of the United States at birth. 

205 
BEFORE THE BOARD 

(January 12, 1961) 

DISCUSSION: When this case was first before us on June 19, 

1959, we dismissed respondent's appeal from an order of a special 

inquiry officer entered on February 9, in which it was concluded that 

alienage had been established and that respondent was deportable on 

the charge contained in the order to show cause. When we last considered this en sf. on December 4, 1959, on motion of the District 

Director, we remanded the case to the special inquiry officer for 

further proceedings and consideration with respect to the possibility 

of respondent having acquired Puerto Rican citizenship. On September 12, 1960, the special inquiry officer entered an order finding 

that the respondent is an alien and ordering that respondent be deported from the United States on the charge contained in the order 

to show cause. This case is before us on certification for a final 

decision as directed in our aforementioned order of December 4, 1959. 

The respondent testified that he was born in Puerto Rico in October 1908. A certificate from the Bureau of Vital Statistics, Department of Health, Puerto Rico, issued to the respondent on May 20, 

1960, shows that a search of the books from October 12, 1904 to 

1915, failed to disclose the registration of the birth of E—O—M—. 

In support of his claimed birth in Puerto Rico, respondent did present a baptismal certificate showing the baptism of E-0—, the son 

of J-0-- and L—M—, both of Puerto Rico, on February 16, 1909, 

in San Juan, with birth having taken place at San Juan on October 12, 1908. Respondent testified that his parents were married by 

proxy in about 1889 and he supposes his mother came to Puerto Rico 

upon being married. Respondent testified that both his mother and 

father were born in Spain. The respondent's father, in November 

1899, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, executed a "declaration of nationality 

in accordance with the provisions of Article IX of the Treaty of 

Peace between the United States and Spain" in which he stated that 

he is a native of the Spanish Peninsula, a Spanish subject, married 

to L—, and that he wishes to preserve fidelity to the Spanish Crown. 

He named five children in the declaration, the older two age 13 and 

14, born in Spain, and the younger three, age 3 months to six years, 

born in Puerto Rico. Respondent testified that when he was about 

six or eight months old, in the latter part of 1908 or early 1909, 

his family moved to Spain and that with the exception of a period 

of one year commencing in July 1940 he was not in Puerto Rico or 

American territory until his last entry into the United States on 

December 21, 1957, when he entered at the port of Miami and was 

admitted as a nonimmigrant for pleasure at the port of Miami until 

June 21, 1958. 

Counsel excepts to the conclusion of the special inquiry officer 

206 
that respondent was never a citizen of Puerto Rico or a citizen of 

the United States. Counsel argues that respondent should be considered a citizen of Puerto Rico according to section 7 of the Act 

of April 12, 1900, and as such entitled to become an American citizen 

by reason of the provisions of section 5 of the Act of March 2, 1917. 

Counsel points out that although respondent's brother G—, who 

was born in Puerto Rico before 1899, was included in the declaration 

of the father preserving allegiance to Spain, it has nevertheless been 

held that G— is a citizen of the United States by reason of birth 

in Puerto Rico, the son of Spanish subjects. 

The sole issue in this case is that of nationality since respondent is clearly deportable on the charge contained in the order to 

show cause if alienage has been established. He accepted employment as an art critic at a salary of $200 a month before the time 

that the period of his admission expired. 

Article IX of the Treaty with Spain proclaimed on April 11, 1899, 

and which is applicable to the acquisition of Puerto Rico from 

Spain, provided that Spanish subjects who were native., of the Peninsula and were residing in Puerto Rico could preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain by making, before a court of record, 

within a year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of the 

Treaty, a declaration of their decision to preserve such allegiance 

and that in default of such a declaration they shall have been held 

to renounce allegiance to Spain and to have adopted the nationality 

of the territory in which they resided. The Treaty further provided that the civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the territory "shall be determined by the Congress." 

Section 7, Act of April 12, 1900, mentioned by counsel, provides 

in part : "That all inhabitants continuing to reside therein who 

were Spanish subjects on the eleventh day of April, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and then resided in Porto Rico, and their 

children born subsequent thereto, shall be deemed and held to be 

citizens of Porto Rico, and as such entitled to the protection of the 

United States, except such as shall have elected to preserve their 

allegiance to the Crown of Spain on or before the eleventh day of 

April nineteen hundred, in accordance with the provisions of the 

Treaty of Peace between the United States and Spain entered into on 

the eleventh day of April, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine . . ." 

(Emphasis supplied.) 

Respondent's father, having been born in Spain, was a citizen of 

that country (Article I(1) of the Spanish Constitution, Flournoy 

and Hudson, Nationality Laws, p. 526). By filing the required declaration on November 22, 1899, respondent's father preserved his 

Spanish citizenship. Hence, he did not become a citizen of Puerto 

Rico under section 7 of the Act of April 12, 1900, since that law 

207 
excepted from the provisions of Puerto Rican citizenship those who 

had elected to preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain on 

or before the 11th day of April 1900. Consequently, neither did the 

subject acquire Puerto Rican citizenship under section 7 of the Act 

of April 12, 1900, since Puerto Rican citizenship was bestowed under 

that law on the children born subsequent to April 11, 18M, of former 

Spanish subjects who had not elected to preserve their Spanish 

citizenship. The appeal will be dismissed and the order of the 

special inquiry officer directing deportation approved. 

ORDER: It is ordered that the appeal be dismissed and that the 

order of deportation be and the same is hereby approved. 

208