Regulations setting forth the procedure to be followed by aliens who entered the United States prior to June 3, 1921 and who cannot produce a certificate of arrival were issued by Commissioner General of Immigration Hull in a general order of the Department of Labor.
The regulations, based on the act of Congress of March 2, 1929, providing for the registry of such immigrants and the issuance to them of records of admission for permanent residence, specify that application by persons affected is to be made in duplicate form to the Commissioner General and may be submitted either in person or by mail to the immigration office nearest to the applicant’s place of residence. The application must be signed and sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths and must be accompanied by a postal money order for twenty dollars, payable to the Commissioner General of Immigration. Cash will not be accepted.
This order will go into effect on July 1, 1929, following which date applications for legalization may be made. The burden of proof is on the applicant who has to submit evidence on the six points of inquiry which will be made. The six points are: (1) That the applicant is an alien not ineligible to citizenship; (2) That there is no record of admission for permanent residence; (3) That he entered the United States prior to June 3, 1921; (4) That he has resided in the United States continuously since such entry; (5) That he is a person of good moral
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character; and (6) That he is not subject to deportation.
If the applicant has absented himself from the United States during the period for one year, it will be considered that he has broken the continuity of his residence and cannot, therefore, claim legalization under this order. The burden of proof is upon the applicant. For the purpose of naturalization the applicant to whom a record of registry will be granted will be deemed to have been lawfully admitted to the United States as of the date of his entry. The claims of the applicant must be supported by two witnesses, American citizens, who must appear personally at the hearing which will be held by the appointed officers and only in cases of remoteness or disability will their affidavits be accepted.
“In seeking to determine whether an applicant is a person of good moral character the examining inspector will ascertain, so far as possible, sources from which information relative thereto may be obtainable, and thereafter make such inquiries or conduct or cause to be conducted such investigations as may be appropriate. If it appears that an applicant is deportable the case will be handled in the usual manner,” the order declares.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
