Legal Justification for the Decisions Affecting Marina Oswald
Wife of a citizen of the United States.—Section 205 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 provides for the admission into the United States of persons married to American citizens.[A15-198] Once it was determined that Lee Harvey Oswald was born in the United States[A15-199] and had not expatriated himself, his American citizenship was established. Marina Oswald submitted a marriage certificate to show that she was his wife.[A15-200] This requirement was, therefore, satisfied.
Assurance that Marina Oswald would not become a public charge.—Section 212(a)(15) of the act provides that aliens will not be admitted to the United States if, in the opinion of the responsible Government official, they “are likely at any time to become public charges.”[A15-201] The pertinent Department of State regulations provide that a determination to exclude an alien for this reason must be “predicated upon circumstances which indicate that the alien will probably become a charge upon the public after entry into the United States.”[A15-202]
In 1962, Oswald was 22 years old and in good health. He had lived in the United States for 17 years before joining the Marine Corps and was, therefore, familiar with its language and customs. He had gained job experience by working 2½ years in a factory which produced electronic equipment. Under these circumstances the Department was not unreasonable in concluding that Oswald’s own affidavit that he would support his wife was sufficient assurance that she was not likely to become a charge upon the public after her entry into the United States. The receipt of the affidavit from Marguerite Oswald’s employer provided a possible alternative basis for reaching this decision, but since a favorable ruling had already been made on the basis of Oswald’s affidavit, the Embassy had no reason to consider the sufficiency of the second affidavit.
Membership in a Communist organization.—Under section 212(a) (28) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, an alien will not be admitted to the United States if he is or was a member of, or affiliated with, a Communist organization unless:
* * * such an alien establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer when applying for a visa and the consular officer finds that (i) such membership or application is or was involuntary, or is or was solely when under sixteen years of age, by operation of law, or for purposes of obtaining employment, food rations, or other essentials of living and where necessary for such purposes * * *[A15-203]
At the time Marina Oswald applied for a visa she was a member of the Soviet Trade Union for Medical Workers.[A15-204] According to the Department of State, the
* * * long-standing interpretation [of the statute] concurred in by the State and Justice Departments [is] that membership in a professional organization or trade union behind the Iron Curtain is considered involuntary unless the membership is accompanied by some indication of voluntariness, such as active participation in the organization’s activities or holding an office in the organization.[A15-205]
Since there was no evidence that Marina Oswald actively participated in the union’s activities or held an office in the organization, her union membership was properly held not to bar her admission to this country.
Although Marina Oswald declared that she was not a member of the Komsomol or any other Communist organization, she was in fact a member of the Komsomol, the Communist youth organization.[A15-206] If this fact had been known to the State Department, Marina Oswald would not necessarily have been denied a visa, although a careful investigation into the nature of the membership would have been required.[A15-207] However, had her membership in the Komsomol become known to the Department after her denial of such membership, it is possible that she would have been excluded from the United States on the ground of having willfully misrepresented a material fact.[A15-208]