SYDNEY GRUSON JUNE 27, 1961.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. PoFF, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H.R. 1395] The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 1395) for the relief of Sydney Gruson, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill do pass. The amendment is as follows: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following: That, upon his admission for permanent residence in the United States, Sydney Gruson shall be held and considered to have complied with the residential and physical presence requirements of section 316 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. PURPOSE OF THE BILL The purpose of this bill, as amended, is to provide that Sydney Gruson, upon his admission to the United States for permanent residence, shall be held to have complied with the residential and physical presence requirements of section 316 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The bill has been amended so as to permit the Department of Justice to determine whether the beneficiary's original admission for permanent residence remains valid for naturalization purposes. GENERAL INFORMATION The beneficiary is a 44-year-old native of Ireland who is a British subject. He resides in Germany with his wife and their three children, all U.S. citizens, and is employed by the New York Times as their chief correspondent in Germany. The beneficiary was admitted to the United States for permanent residence in 1954 and has been admitted temporarily on several subsequent occasions as a visitor. The pertinent facts in this case are contained in a letter dated January 31, 1961, from the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization to the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. That letter and accompanying memorandum read as follows: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, Hon. EMANUEL CELLER, Washington, D.C., January 31, 1961. Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In response to your request for a report relative to the bill (H.R. 1395) for the relief of Sydney Gruson, there is attached a memorandum of information concerning the beneficiary. This memorandum has been prepared from the Immigration and Naturalization Service files relating to the beneficiary by the New York, N.Y., office of this Service, which has custody of those files. The bill would provide that, for the purposes of naturalization eligibility, the beneficiary, who was lawfully admitted for permanent residence on November 3, 1954, and who is presently in West Germany as a correspondent for the New York Times, shall be held and considered to have been physically present in the United States during all the time he was residing abroad in the employ of an American firm. Sincerely, J. M. SWING, Commissioner. MEMORANDUM OF INFORMATION FROM IMMIGRATION AND Information concerning the case was obtained from the The beneficiary, Sydney Gruson, was born in Dublin, Ireland, on December 16, 1916, and is a British subject by election. He resides at Mehlem/Godesberg, West Germany, with his U.S. citizen spouse, whom he married on August 17, 1945, and their three children who acquired citizenship at birth. His wife, Flora Gruson, nee Lewis, was born in Los Angeles, Calif., on July 29, 1922, and the children were in England, Israel, and Mexico on November 8, 1947, March 21, 1951, and December 12, 1952, respectively. The beneficiary graduated from high school in Canada and thereafter studied journalism at the University of Toronto for 2 years. Since 1944 he has been employed by the New York Times as a journalist in various countries abroad, Mexico and the United States. He has been their chief correspondent in Germany since 1958, and he earns about $15,000 per year. His wife, who is known professionally by her maiden name is a free lance journalist in Germany, earning between $5,000 and $10,000 annually. Their joint assets total over $10,000. The beneficiary's mother is a resident of Canada and a British subject. The beneficiary first entered the United States in November 1939 as a nonimmigrant visitor and thereafter reentered in a similar capacity on a number of occasions. On November 3, 1954, he was lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence at Laredo, Tex., upon presentation of an immigrant visa issued to him by the American consul in Mexico City. A petition for naturalization which he filed on December 22, 1954, was withdrawn at his request prior to January 12, 1955, when he departed from the United States on a scheduled 3-week business trip to Nicaragua. He lived in White Plains, N.Y., with his family between January 1955 and October 1955. During this time he was assigned to the New York office of the "Times" and was accredited by the United Nations for several months. The beneficiary thereafter worked in Prague, Czechoslovakia, between November 1955 and June 1958, and Germany since the latter year. Following his departure from the United States in about October 1955, he returned to this country on at least two occasions, on July 10, 1956, and July 7, 1958. He remained about 10 days on the first occasion and about 3 months on the second. In both instances, he applied for admission as a nonimmigrant visitor. The committee may desire to request the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, Department of State, to secure information as to the circumstances which impelled the beneficiary to seek admission as a nonimmigrant, rather than as a returning resident alien, subsequent to his lawful admission for permanent residence in 1954. Private bill H.R. 12219, which was introduced in the 86th Congress in the beneficiary's behalf, was not enacted. The Director of the Visa Office, Department of State, submitted the following report on this legislation: Hon. EMANUEL CELLER, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I refer to your request for a report regarding Sydney Gruson, beneficiary of H.R. 1395, 87th Congress, introduced by Mr. Walter. The bill provides that for the purposes of section 316 of the Immigration and Nationality Act the beneficiary shall be held and considered to have been physically present in the United States during all the time he was residing abroad in the employ of an American firm. According to information received from the American Embassy at Bonn, Germany, the beneficiary was born on December 16, 1916, at Dublin, Ireland. He is residing with his wife and three children at Schlosstrasse 12, Bad Godesberg, Germany. His wife, nee Flora Lewis, was born on July 29, 1922, at Los Angeles, Calif., and is the holder of a U.S. passport. She is a freelance journalist in Germany. Their children, U.S. citizens, are listed as follows: Kerry Gruson, born on November 8, 1947, at London, England. Sheila Clare Gruson, born on March 21, 1951, at Tel Aviv, Israel. Lindsey David Gruson, born on December 12, 1952, at Mexico, D.F. The beneficiary attended public school in Ireland until 1928, graduated from high school at Toronto, Canada, and attended the University of Toronto for about 2 years majoring in journalism. He has been employed since 1943 by the New York Times on various assignments throughout many countries and sections of the world. He was first accredited to the U.S. 9th Army during World War II in about 1944 and remained attached thereto until after the war. He is the chief correspondent of the New York Times in Germany. He is a member of the executive board of the Foreign Press Association, a member of the Embassy Club, and active in community affairs. A brother, A. Allen Gruson, a citizen of the United States, resides in the United States. According to the beneficiary he was admitted to the United States for permanent residence at Laredo, Tex., in November 1954 upon presentation of an immigrant visa issued at the American Embassy at Mexico, D.F. Because of his continuous travel status for the New York Times, and the fact that he was scheduled to leave this country shortly after his admission for permanent residence, he thought that a new visa was required to effect his reentry into the United States. He maintains that he was never informed that he could apply for a reentry permit and claims that the possibility of returning to the United States as a returning resident alien had never been previously mentioned to him. He returned to the United States as a temporary visitor in July 1956 for about 10 days when his father died. He returned again on a temporary visit in July 1958 for about 3 months for "have leave" and consultation with the New York Times. His last entry into the United States as a visitor was for 4 days in 1960, when he returned to Europe from Canada and stopped in New York for consultation for 2 days. He is the bearer of a nonimmigrant temporary visitor visa issued at the American Embassy at Warsaw, Poland, on June 16, 1958, valid until June 15, 1962. The beneficiary plans to return to the United States for consultation with the head office in New York in June 1961 and would greatly appreciate being able to leave the United States on his next assignment as a U.S. citizen. He appears to be fully qualified in all respects to receive an immigrant visa. Sincerely yours, ROBERT F. HALE, Mr. Walter, the author of this bill, appeared before a subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary and recommended the enactment of this measure. Upon consideration of all the facts in this case, the committee is of the opinion that H.R. 1395, as amended, should be enacted and accordingly recommends that the bill do pass. O |