Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/348/528/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 04:21:33+00:00

Document:
An alien who filed his declaration of intention to become an American citizen before the effective date of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, and who otherwise complied with the naturalization laws then in effect, has a "status," "condition," or "right in process of acquisition" preserved by § 405(a), the general savings clause of the 1952 Act, even though his petition for naturalization was filed after the effective date of that Act. Pp. 348 U. S. 529-539.
(a) When subsection (a) of the savings clause was broadened in the 1952 Act, Congress manifested its intention that the Act should take effect prospectively where there was no specific provision to the contrary. Pp. 348 U. S. 533-535.
(b) The 1952 extension of subsection (a) is not limited to situations concerning derivative citizenship. P. 348 U. S. 535.
(c) The fact that, under the 1952 Act, declarations of intention are no longer prerequisite to naturalization is immaterial here, in view of the provision in § 405(a) preserving the "validity" of declarations of intention "valid at the time this Act shall take effect." Pp. 348 U. S. 535-536.
(d) In this case, the alien's inchoate right to citizenship is protected by § 405(a), and is not defeated by any implication stemming from § 405(b). Pp. 348 U. S. 536536-539.
(e) Section 316(a) of the 1952 Act, which imposes a more stringent requirement as to residence than did the prior law, did not "otherwise specifically provide" that the 1952 Act, rather than the prior law, was to apply to the situation of the alien in this case. P. 348 U. S. 539.
"(a) Nothing contained in this Act, unless otherwise specifically provided therein, shall be construed to affect the validity of any declaration of intention, petition for naturalization, certificate of naturalization, certificate of citizenship, warrant of arrest, order or warrant of deportation, order of exclusion, or other document or proceeding which shall be valid at the time this Act shall take effect; or to affect any prosecution, suit, action, or proceedings, civil or criminal, brought, or any status, condition, right in process of acquisition, act, thing, liability, obligation, or matter, civil or criminal, done or existing, at the time this Act shall take effect; but, as to all such prosecutions, suits, actions, proceedings, statutes [sic], conditions, rights, acts, things, liabilities, obligations, or matters, the statutes or parts of statutes repealed by this Act are, unless otherwise specifically provided therein, hereby continued in force and effect. . . ."
"(b) Except as otherwise specifically provided in title III, any petition for naturalization heretofore filed which may be pending at the time this Act shall take effect shall be heard and determined in accordance with the requirements of law in effect when such petition was filed."
effect, has a "status," "condition," or "right in process of acquisition" preserved by § 405(a), supra, despite the fact that his petition for naturalization was filed after the effective date of the new Act. The Government contends that petitions for naturalization are to be governed exclusively by § 405(b), and that, since respondent does not come within the terms of that subsection -- his petition not having been filed before the effective date of the new Act -- the savings clause is inapplicable, and the substantive provisions of the 1952 Act apply.
The facts are not in dispute. Respondent was admitted for permanent residence in the United States on March 7, 1948, and, the following month, he filed his declaration of intention to become a citizen. During the next five years, respondent was absent from the United States on business for several periods of less than a year each. Although the aggregate of these absences was some forty-four months, it is conceded that respondent had not at any time abandoned his American residence. Accordingly, all other prerequisites to citizenship having been satisfied, respondent was entitled to be naturalized under the Nationality Act of 1940 upon completing five years of residence. 54 Stat. 1142, 8 U.S.C. (1946 ed.) § 707. But, before this period had run, the Immigration and Nationality Act became effective on December 24, 1952. Section 316(a) of this Act, 66 Stat. 242, 8 U.S.C. §1427(a), imposed a new requirement of physical presence: to be eligible for citizenship, an alien must be physically present in the United States for at least one-half the period constituting his five-year residence. When, on April 24, 1953, Menasche filed his petition for naturalization, he lacked 14 months of fulfilling this new requirement. Thus, if the 1952 Act applies to respondent's case, it is clear he may not be naturalized, while, under the 1940 Act, he is admittedly eligible for citizenship.
The district judge admitted Menasche to citizenship, holding that the 1940 Act governs, because respondent enjoyed a status, condition, and right in process of acquisition preserved by §405(a) of the new Act. 115 F.Supp. 434. The Court of Appeals affirmed. 210 F.2d 809. We granted certiorari because of the importance of the questions presented in this and the companion case of Shomberg v. United States, supra,, in the administration of our nationality laws. 348 U.S. 811.
In interpreting § 405 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in relation to the facts of this case, we must consider the historical background of the savings clause and of the procedure for filing declarations of intention. The declaration of intention was introduced into our law by the second Act of Congress on the subject of naturalization, 1 Stat. 414 (1795), and remained an integral part of our naturalization procedure until the Act of 1952 dispensed with it as a prerequisite to citizenship. 66 Stat. 254, 8 U.S.C. § 1445(f). For the more than 150 years between these enactments, Congress considered it appropriate to require aliens to declare their intention to become United States citizens several years before they petitioned for naturalization. Exceptions were made from time to time to avoid hardship or to expedite the naturalization of a favored group, but, until the 1952 enactment, the declaration constituted the "first papers" toward American citizenship in the usual naturalization procedure. See Joint Hearings before the Subcommittees of the Committees on the Judiciary, 82d Cong., 1st Sess., on S. 716, H.R. 2379, and H.R. 2816, pp. 79-80, 723-725; S. Rep. No. 1515, 81st Cong., 2d, Sess., pp. 732-734.
Savings clauses of the type here involved -- broad, inclusive provisions -- date back to the general statutes on immigration and naturalization enacted in the early part of this century. The Naturalization Act of 1906, 34 Stat.
"shall be construed to affect any prosecution, suit, action, or proceedings brought, or any act, thing, or matter, civil or criminal, done or existing at the time of the taking effect of this Act."
34 Stat. 907. To the same effect is the savings clause of the Immigration Act of 1917. 39 Stat. 897. In the years that followed, amendments to the immigration and naturalization laws were enacted with more limited savings clauses, tailored to the special changes made by the new legislation. 40 Stat. 545, 547, 548; 40 Stat. 559, amended, 55 Stat. 252; 42 Stat. 1022; 43 Stat. 169; 46 Stat. 854. [Footnote 1] These provisions, though differing in their terms, manifested an intention on the part of Congress to save rights which had accrued under prior laws.
"shall be heard and determined within two years thereafter in accordance with the requirements of law in effect when such petition was filed. [Footnote 3]"
The litigation under this section, involving, first, the scope of subsection (a) and, secondly, the relation between the two subsections, throws considerable light on the parallel problems under § 405 presented in the instant case.
"contains the customary clauses by which the status quo is maintained in relation to naturalization proceedings and other related matters."
1st Sess., on H.R. 6127, superseded by H.R. 9980, 411, 484.
The Government would have us limit the 1952 extension of subsection (a) to situations concerning derivative citizenship, arguing that this problem was entirely responsible for the new language on status, condition, and right in process of acquisition. With this we cannot agree. The change in the section was designed to extend a savings clause already broadly drawn, and embodies, we believe, congressional acceptance of the principle that the statutory status quo was to continue even as to rights not fully matured. It should be noted, further, that the conflict between Aberasturi and Bertoldi involved a situation where the alien had failed to take any affirmative action to assert his claim to citizenship. Even the more restrictive Aberasturi opinion recognized that affirmative action by the alien might alter the result there reached. 147 F.2d at 452. If Congress was willing to preserve a "mere condition, unattended by any affirmative action," we think its savings clause also reaches instances, such as this, where affirmative action is present. The whole development of this general savings clause, its predecessors accompanying each of the recent codifications in the field of immigration and naturalization, manifests a well established congressional policy not to strip aliens of advantages gained under prior laws. The consistent broadening of the savings provision, particularly in its general terminology, indicates that this policy of preservation was intended to apply to matters both within and without the specific contemplation of Congress.
they confer no special advantage on the alien declarant. [Footnote 4] But all this is immaterial. First, the congressional resolution of the Bertoldi-Aberasturi conflict indicates a willingness, at least in some situations, to preserve rights in process of acquisition without requiring affirmative action on the part of the alien. It could be argued in the present case that it was Menasche's residence, rather than his filing of the declaration, which gave rise to his rights under § 405(a). And this approach would have the virtue of eliminating the inequitable treatment envisaged by the Government as regards those special groups of aliens who did not have to file declarations as a prerequisite to citizenship. But, while our decision could be rested on this ground, it is sufficient here merely to refer to the provision in § 405(a), derived verbatim from § 347(a) of the 1940 Act, preserving the "validity" of declarations of intention "valid at the time the Act shall take effect."
"a period of 2 years would be granted during which any petition for naturalization filed prior to the enactment of the new measure might be heard under the law in effect when the proceeding was begun."
of rights under the savings clause, and § 347(b) merely a special limitation on these rights. Indeed, there were two cases in which petitions for naturalization filed after the effective date of the 1940 Act were considered solely in relation to § 347(a). In re Samowich, 70 F.Supp. 273; Petition of Rothschild, 57 F.Supp. 814. These decisions ignored the supposedly obvious negative implications of § 347(b), and cast considerable doubt on the Government's present view that § 347(b) automatically removed from the coverage of prior law petitions filed after the effective date of the 1940 Act. Thus, the construction advanced by the Government concerning the relation between § 405(a) and §405(b) would not continue the relation between the predecessor provisions, but would actually be a marked departure. The only significant change made in subsection (b) by the 1952 Act was the deletion of the two-year time limit, and there is nothing to indicate that Congress, in making this change, intended to alter the entire structure of the savings clause by making § 405(b) the exclusive provision for naturalization petitions. See Analysis of S. 3455, supra. The few decisions considering this problem under the 1952 Act accord with the decisions of the District Court and Court of Appeals in the instant case, holding that § 405(a) preserves rights accruing in the pre-petition stages of the naturalization process. United States v. Pringle, 212 F.2d 878, aff'g Petition of Pringle, 122 F.Supp. 90; In re Jocson, 117 F.Supp. 528. We believe that Congress so intended.
See also 54 Stat. 1150, 8 U.S.C. (1946 ed.) § 726; 64 Stat. 1015, 8 U.S.C. (1946 ed., Supp. V) §725(b).
"SEC. 347. (a) Nothing contained in either chapter III or in chapter V of this Act, unless otherwise provided therein, shall be construed to affect the validity of any declaration of intention, petition for naturalization, certificate of naturalization or of citizenship, or other document or proceeding which shall be valid at the time this Act shall take effect; or to affect any prosecution, suit, action, or proceedings, civil or criminal, brought, or any act, thing, or matter, civil or criminal, done or existing, at the time this Act shall take effect; but as to all such prosecutions, suits, actions, proceedings, acts, things, or matters, the statutes or parts of statutes repealed by this Act, are hereby continued in force and effect."
"(b) Any petition for naturalization heretofore filed which may be pending at the time this Act shall take effect shall be heard and determined within two years thereafter in accordance with the requirements of law in effect when such petition was filed."
The alien may, if he wishes, file a declaration of intention with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. 66 Stat. 254, 8 U.S.C. § 1445(f). The apparent object of this optional provision is to preserve the rights of aliens under state laws, where, for example, there may be a requirement that a legally resident alien shall have filed his declaration of intention before he can obtain work. See Joint Hearings on S. 716, H.R. 2379 and H.R. 2816, supra, p. 80; S.Rep. No. 1515, supra, p. 738.
It is possible, although we do not pass on the point in this opinion, that § 405(b) serves a function which carries with it a negative implication different from that advanced by the Government. Section 405(b) provides that pending petitions for naturalization shall be governed by the "law in effect when such petition was filed." (Emphasis supplied.) Section 405(a), on the other hand, provides that nothing in the new Act shall "affect" any of the enumerated subjects, preserving the law as it existed immediately prior to the effective date of the Act. Thus, § 405(b) may "otherwise specifically provid[e]" for a law applicable to pending petitions different from the law preserved by § 405(a) for other protected interests. We have not fully considered, in passing on the question before us, the consonance of such an interpretation with the over-all statutory scheme, but advance it merely as another illustration of the meaning which can be given § 405(b) to avoid both the result pressed by the Government in this case and the objection that §405(b) is rendered redundant by holding that petitioner has rights protected by § 405(a).

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