Dulles

Plaintiff has filed a petition, pursuant to Title 8, § 908, U.S.C.A., 1 asking this court to declare him to be a national of the United States and entitled to the rights and privileges of a citizen thereof. To plaintiff’s petition the Secretary of State filed an answer in which, as a further and separate defense, it was alleged the petition failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

The matter came on regularly for trial before this court, and plaintiff testified that he is the son of Fong Kwok Way, a resident of Los Angeles, California; that Fong Kwok Way is a citizen of the United States and as such citizen had married Horn Soong Choon on November 6, 1924, in China; that plaintiff is the lawful issue of said marriage, that he was born at Song Yuen Village, Hoiping District, Kwangtung, China, on May 17, 1935. Plaintiff further testified that he went to Hong Kong, China, approximately twenty days prior to May 7, 1951, for the purpose of making application for a passport to travel to the United States as the son of an American citizen.

On May 7, 1951, plaintiff went to the office of the Consulate General in Hong Kong and filed his application for passport. On May…