Oswald told Snyder that despite the statement he had given him in October 1959, he had never applied for Soviet citizenship, but only for permission to reside in the Soviet Union. He presented his Soviet internal passport, which described him as without citizenship of any kind. Oswald said that he had been employed since January 13, 1960, as a metal worker in the research shop in the Byelorussian Radio and Television Factory in Minsk. He claimed that he had taken no oath of allegiance of any kind, and that he had not been required to sign any papers in connection with this employment. He added that he was not a member of the factory trade union organization. Oswald said that he was earning 90 rubles ($90) a month and that he had saved about 200 rubles ($200) toward travel expenses to the United States. He denied that he had made any derogatory statements concerning the United States to radio, press, or TV in the Soviet Union, and he denied that he had turned over any information to the Russians as he had threatened to do in the 1959 interview with Snyder.[A15-100]
During the course of the interview Oswald filled out an application for renewal of his American passport.[A15-101] The renewal application was required since Oswald’s existing passport would expire on September 10, 1961,[A15-102] and it was extremely unlikely that he would be able to obtain the requisite Soviet departure documents before that time. The renewal application contained a printed statement which set forth, in the disjunctive, a series of acts which, if committed by the applicant, would either automatically disqualify him from receiving a passport on the ground that he had lost his American citizenship, or would raise a question whether he might be so disqualified. The printed statement was preceded by two phrases, “have,” and, “have not,” the first phrase being printed directly above the second. One carbon copy of the application indicates Oswald signed the document after the second phrase, “have not,” had been typed over, thereby apparently admitting that he had committed one or more of the acts which would at least raise a question as to whether he had expatriated himself. Snyder was not able to remember with certainty to which of the acts listed on the statement Oswald’s mark was intended to refer, but believed it may have been to “swearing allegiance to a foreign state.” [A15-103] He points out that the strikeout of “have not” may also have been a clerical error.[A15-104] On the actual signed copy of the application kept in the files of the Moscow Embassy, which is not a carbon copy of the copy sent to the Department, the strikeout is slightly above the “have;” therefore, since the “have” is itself printed above the “have not,” the strikeout may have been intended to obliterate the “have.”[A15-105]
In any event, Oswald filled out the supplementary questionnaire which was required to be completed if the applicant admitted he had performed one or more of the possibly expatriating acts. He signed the questionnaire under oath.[A15-106] Snyder testified that it was routine for any kind of “problem case” to fill out the supplementary questionnaire.[A15-107] The Passport Office employee who processed the Oswald case in Washington testified that she routinely regarded the questionnaire rather than the application itself as the controlling document for expatriation purposes, so that she probably paid no attention to the strikeout.[A15-108]
The pertinent questions included on the questionnaire, with Oswald’s answers, read as follows:
2. (a) Are you known or considered in your community to be a national of the country in which you are residing? No. (Yes or No)
(b) If your answer to 2(a) is “No,” explain why not. On my document for residence in the USSR my nationality is American.
3. (a) Have you ever sought or obtained registration as a national of a foreign country, applied for or obtained a passport, certificate, card document or other benefit therefrom in which you were described as a national of a country other than the United States? No. (Yes or No)
(b) If your answer to 3(a) is “Yes,” did you voluntarily seek or claim such benefits? (Yes or No) If “No,” please explain.
I recived a document for residence in the USSR but I am described as being “Without citizenship.”
4. (a) Have you ever informed any local or national official of a foreign state that you are a national of the United States? No. * * *
(b) If your answer to 4(a) is “No,” explain why not. On my document for residence in the USSR, my nationality is American.
6. (a) Have you ever taken an oath or made an affirmation or other formal declaration of allegiance to a foreign state? No. * * *
8. Have you ever accepted, served in, or performed the duties of any office, post or employment under the government of a foreign state or political subdivision thereof? No. * * *
I do not regard factory employment as state employment, as is meant in the question above.[A15-109]
On the basis of these answers, and on the basis of the statements Oswald made orally during the interview, Snyder concluded that Oswald had not lost his citizenship. Snyder therefore handed him back his passport. Pursuant to the instructions from Washington, it was stamped, “This passport is valid only for direct travel to the United States.”[A15-110]
In a despatch dated July 11, 1961,[A15-111] the Embassy informed the Department of State of its conclusion that Oswald had not lost his American citizenship and requested that, if Washington agreed with the conclusion, “the Embassy be authorized to renew Oswald’s passport at its discretion.” The despatch, with which Oswald’s application and supplemental questionnaire[A15-112] were enclosed, informed the Department that Oswald was questioned at length at the Embassy and that no evidence was revealed of any act which might be considered as having caused the loss of his American citizenship.
The Embassy added in the despatch—
It is our intention not to renew it [the passport] without the Department’s prior approval of the enclosed renewal application, and then only upon evidence of a present need for the renewal in connection with his efforts to return to the United States.[A15-113]
Oswald appeared at the Embassy once again on July 11, 1961, this time accompanied by Marina, in order to complete the papers necessary to obtain permission for his wife to enter the United States.[A15-114] In a letter dated July 16, 1961, Oswald informed the American Embassy about his and Marina’s application to the Soviet officials for permission to leave Russia, and described the harassment which Marina was allegedly undergoing because of her attempts to leave the country.[A15-115]