Antonio Mendoza Banaag v. United States

Antonio Mendoza Banaag is a 54-year-old citizen of the Philippines. He served in the armed forces of the United States from May 20, 1946 to April 22, 1949 and received an honorable discharge. In 1978, while in the United States as a nonimmigrant temporary worker, he filed a petition for naturalization based on his service in the armed forces. The district court denied his petition.

Banaag appeals from the district court’s denial of his petition arguing that he is eligible for naturalization under each of three statutes granting preferential treatment to certain aliens who served in the United States Armed Forces. The three statutes relied upon by Banaag are the Second War Powers Act, Ch. 199, § 1001, 56 Stat. 176 , 182-83 (1942), repealed by Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, Pub.L. No. 82-414, § 403 (a)(42), 66 Stat. 163 , 280; the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, § 328, 8 U.S.C. § 1439 ; -and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, § 329, 8 U.S.C. § 1440 . Because we find that Banaag fails to meet at least one specific eligibility requirement contained in each of the three statutes, we affirm the district court’s judgment.

I. Section 1001 of the Second War…