Transmittal to Congress of the Proposed Codification of the Nationality Laws.

To the Congress:

I transmit herewith a Report concerning the Revision and Codification of the Nationality Laws of the United States, submitted upon my request, by the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Labor. The Report is accompanied by a draft Code with three appendices containing explanatory matter, prepared by officials of the three interested Departments who are engaged in the handling of cases relating to nationality.

The Report indicates the desirability from the administrative standpoint, of having the existing nationality laws, now scattered among a large number of separate statutes, embodied in a single, logically arranged and understandable Code. Certain changes in substance are likewise recommended.

In the enclosed letter forwarding the Report to me the Secretary of State calls attention to a single question on which there is a difference of opinion between the Departments of Justice and Labor on the one hand and the Department of State on the other hand. If the committees of Congress decide to consider this question, the views of the three Departments may be presented directly to them.

I commend this matter to the Congress for the attentive consideration which its wide scope and great importance demand.