Valentin Villarin v. United States

This appeal is from an order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Southern Division, denying a petition for naturalization filed by appellant, Valentin Villarin, on January 18, 1960, under 8 U.S.C.A. § 1440 (a), which, at all pertinent times, provided:

“Any person who, while an alien or a noncitizen national of the United States, has served honorably in an active-duty status in the military, air, or naval forces of the United States during either World War I or during a period beginning September 1, 1939, and ending December 31, 1946, and who, if separated from such service, was separated under honorable conditions, may be naturalized as provided in this section if (1) at the time of enlistment or induction such person shall have been in the United States, the Canal Zone, American Samoa, or Swains Island, whether or not he has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence, or (2) at any time subsequent to enlistment or induction such person shall have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. * * * ”

Appellant was born in the Philippine Islands on November 2, 1897. Until July 4, 1946, he was…