Speech #800134208

Mr. Speaker. the section which is proposed to be deleted from this act which it is proposed to extend. which as we all know Is an act to permit flances to come into the United States free of any quota restrictions if they have actually been engaged to a member of the armed forces and are coming here for the purpose of marriage. is one of the provisos which conditions the use of this whole statute. Those provisos are three. and the particular one which I am proposing by my amendment to delete. which incidentally has been consented to by the author of the bill. the gentleman from Rhode Island and by the gentleman with whom I had the discussion when the bill was up on the Consent Calendar. reads as follows: The nonpreference portion of that quota to which the alien would be chargeable is exhausted at the time the alien applies for a visa. What that means is that under the provisions of this particular statute heretofore when the fiancee applied for a visa. she got the temporary 90day visa provided for in the act only if the regular quota of the country of which she was a national had actually become oversubscribed. Where that quota was not oversubscribed. therefore. the Department of State said that it must give her a visa uLder the regular quota of that country because it had not been oversubscribed. What happened in the case of girls who were German nationals was that these fianc~es were preferred above other German nationals. and above nationals of countries which were our allies. not our enemies. and who could not get regular visas but came over to this country under a 90day temporary basis and could be sent back if they did not marry. The German flancdes. however. went into the mainstream of American life and remained permanent residents here whether or not they married. Hence the statute was being abused. When I consulted with consul after consul in Germany. it was clear that the statute was subject to abuse and that frauleins could just make these arrangements for the purpose of coming into the United States without any intention whatever of marrying when they got here. By my amendment. with the proviso out. the State Department advised me that they would give only a 90day visa to all fiances regardless of what country they are nationals of and whether or not the quota of that country is open or is actually oversubscribed. The whole purpose of my amendment is simply to avoid the misuse of this law for purposes for which it was never intended.