0501-11591
Decided by Central Office August 16, 1948
Citizenship — Acquisition by child born in the Philippine Islands (1896) of Spanish parents born in Puerto Rico, all of whom resided in Puerto Rico continuously since 1898 — Acquisition of Puerto Rican citizenship under act of April 12, 1900 — Acquisition of United States citizenship under act of March 2, 1917 — Whether child entitled to receive a certificate of citizenship under section 339 of Nationality Act of 1940.
(1) A child born in the Philippine Islands in 1896 of Spanish parents born in Puerto Rico (in 1849 and 1858), who all resided in Puerto Rico continuously since 1898, acquired Puerto Rican citizenship under the act of April 12, 1900; and he acquired United States citizenship under act of March 2, 1917, there being no evidence of any act by himself or his father to retain Puerto Rican citizenship in preference to acquisition of United States citizenship.
(2) Since such child's citizenship was not acquired at birth nor subsequently derived in any manner specified in section 339 of the Nationality Act of 1940, he is not entitled to a certificate of citizenship.
BEFORE THE CENTRAL OFFICE
Discussion: The evidence of record reflects that the subject's father and mother were born in Puerto Rico on February 19, 1849, and December 16, 1858, respectively; that the subject's parents were married on May 30, 1879; that they resided temporarily in the Philippines from 1891 to 1897 during which time the father held a judicial position under the Spanish Government; that the subject was born in Manila, Philippine Islands, on July 14, 1896; that the family returned to Puerto Rico on November 28, 1898, where they have since remained; that in 1899 the father was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico by President McKinley; that on April 24, 1909, he was appointed Chief Justice of the aforementioned court by President Taft and served in such capacity until retirement on January 9, 1922; and that the father died in Puerto Rico on June 30, 1932.
The applicant claims that he derived citizenship of the United States through his father who became an American citizen on March 2, 1917, by virtue of an act of Congress approved on that date. The questions presented for consideration are (1) whether the subject is a citizen of the United States, through his father or otherwise, and, if so, (2) whether he is entitled to receive a certificate of citizenship.
The pertinent portions of the laws of the United States which are applicable to the instant case read as follows:
SEC. 7 (act of April 12, 1900). That all inhabitants continuing to reside therein who are Spanish subjects on the 11th day of April, 1899, 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 11th day of April, 1900 * * *.
SEC. 5 (act of March 2, 1917). That all citizens of Porto Rico, as defined by section 7 of the act of April 12, 1900, "temporarily to provide revenues and a civil government for Porto Rico, and for other purposes," and all natives of Porto Rico, who were temporarily absent from that island on April 11, 1899, 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 6 months of the taking effect of this act before the district court in the district in which he resides * * *.
Although the evidence of record does not reveal the nationality of the subject's paternal grandparents, inasmuch as the subject's father was born in Puerto Rico and held several judicial positions in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines under the Spanish Government prior to the Spanish-American War, it is believed reasonable to conclude that he, the applicant's father, was a subject of Spain. Being a Spanish national and resident in Puerto Rico on April 11, 1899, the subject's father by continuing to reside in Puerto Rico until April 12, 1900, became a citizen of Puerto Rico (and a national but not a citizen of the United States) on the latter date (sec. 7, act of April 12, 1900, supra). Even if the father had been desirous of preserving his allegiance to the Crown of Spain by electing to do so on or before April 11, 1900, he would have been unable to do so because he was a native of Puerto Rico. Both the Spanish and the American Governments were in accord that such election to preserve Spanish allegiance was available only to those Spanish subjects who were natives of Spain or the Spanish Peninsula, as the natives and inhabitants of the territories ceded or relinquished by Spain lost their Spanish citizenship the moment the sovereignty of Spain over those countries came to an end. The Secretary of State, in a communication dated April 15, 1918, advised the Spanish Ambassador as follows:
You will perceive, therefore, that the views of this Government, which appear to be in accord with those entertained by Your Excellency's Government so long ago as May 11, 1901, are as follows: First, that by the terms of the treaty, the right of election to preserve Spanish nationality was given only to Spanish subjects who were natives of the Peninsula; second, that persons who were born in Porto Rico, being natives of the island, could not, and were not intended to be considered as coming within the above-mentioned class; third, that such persons (natives of the island) had no right of election, either directly or through their fathers, to retain Spanish nationality * * * ( Hackworth, Digest of International Law, vol. III, pp. 142, 143).
The applicant, having been born on July 14, 1896, in Manila, Philippine Islands (then Spanish territory), of Spanish parents, acquired nationality of Spain at birth under chapter I, article I, Spanish Constitution of June 30, 1876 ( Flournoy and Hudson, Nationality Laws, pg. 526). Being a Spanish subject and a resident of Puerto Rico between April 11, 1899, and April 12, 1900, the applicant also became a citizen of that territory by virtue of the act of April 12, 1900. Like his father, the applicant, not being a native of Spain or of the Spanish Peninsula, had no right of election to preserve his allegiance to the Crown of Spain.
Under the provisions of section 5 of the act of March 2, 1917, supra, the applicant and his father, being citizens of Puerto Rico, as defined by section 7 of the act of April 12, 1900, each acquired citizenship of the United States in his own right. The grant of such citizenship was not limited to persons who had attained their majority on March 2, 1917, but, rather, by the statute's specific language extended to "all citizens of Porto Rico." Accordingly, the subject was not precluded from acquiring citizenship of the United States in his own right under the act of March 2, 1917, because he happened to be under 21 years of age on that date.
There is no evidence whatever that either the applicant or his father at any time after March 2, 1917, made a declaration before an appropriate district court to retain his Puerto Rican citizenship, as permitted by the act of March 2, 1917. On the contrary, the evidence at hand contains strong indications that the subject and his parents considered themselves, and were regarded by this Government, as citizens of the United States since March 2, 1917. In this connection, the record contains a copy of a certification dated June 8, 1918, issued by the War Department, Bureau of Insular Affairs, to the effect that the subject became a citizen of Puerto Rico under the act of April 12, 1900, and that he became a citizen of the United States by virtue of the act of March 2, 1917. Furthermore, the father's service as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico until his retirement on January 9, 1922, the subject's enrollment in the United States Naval Reserve force on June 24, 1918, and the fact that the subject is presently a captain of the Medical Corps, United States Navy, and commanding officer of the United States Naval Medical School, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., are considered more than sufficient to dispel any possibility that the applicant or his father ever possessed any desire or declared any intention to retain Puerto Rican citizenship in preference to acquisition of citizenship of the United States pursuant to the act of March 2, 1917.
Although it is concluded that the subject is a citizen of the United States, inasmuch as his citizenship was neither acquired at birth nor derived subsequent thereto in one of the manners specified in section 339 of the Nationality Act of 1940, he is not entitled to receive a certificate of citizenship.
It is ordered that the applicant be regarded as a citizen of the United States.
It is further ordered that the application be denied.