Passport Litigation

Passports: United States v. Moreno in 2013

United States views on international law [1] in relation to Passports: United States v. Moreno: In United States v. Moreno, No. 12-1460, 727 f.3d 255 (3d Cir. Jul. 3, 2013), a defendant in a criminal case appealed her conviction for falsely and willfully representing herself as a United States citizen in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 911. The defendant argued that “her validly issued passport constitutes conclusive proof of U.S. citizenship under 22 U.S.C. § 2705,” and therefore, “the government failed to prove lack of citizenship.” Id. at *1. On July 3, 2013, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its opinion, rejecting the defendant's argument, and holding that “[b]y its text, § 2705 provides that a passport will serve as conclusive proof of citizenship only if it was 'issued by the U.S. Secretary of State to a citizen of the United States.'” Id. at *3 (quoting 22 U.S.C. § 2705) (emphasis added by court). Excerpts from the court's opinion appear below (with footnotes omitted).

Some Aspects of Passports: United States v. Moreno

By its text, § 2705 provides that a passport will serve as conclusive proof of citizenship only if it was “issued by the U.S. Secretary of State to a citizen of the United States.” 22 U.S.C. § 2705 (emphasis added). Under the plain meaning of the statute, a passport is proof of citizenship only if its holder was actually a citizen of the United States when the passport was issued. Under the language of the statute, the logical premise needed to establish conclusive proof of citizenship consists of two independent conditions: (1) having a valid passport and (2) being a U.S. citizen. The second condition is not necessarily satisfied when the first condition is satisfied. For example, the U.S. Secretary of State issues passports not only to U.S. citizens but also to U.S. nationals. See 22 C.F.R. § 50.4 (noting that United States nationals may apply for a United States passport); see also 8 U.S.C. § 1101(22) (“The term 'national of the United States' means (A) a citizen of the United States, or (B) a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States.”). Here, Moreno satisfies the first condition but not the second: she has a valid U.S. passport but is not a U.S. citizen—and was not one at the time the passport was issued. … This is an issue of first impression in the Third Circuit. Moreno argues that other courts …have interpreted § 2705 as establishing that a valid passport is conclusive proof of U.S. citizenship. See, e.g., Vana v. Att'y Gen., 341 F. App'x 836, 839 (3d Cir. 2009) (per curiam) (“[A] United States passport is considered to be conclusive proof of United States citizenship… .”); Magnuson v. Baker, 911 F.2d 330, 333 (9th Cir. 1990) (“[T]hrough section 2705, Congress authorized passport holders to use the passport as conclusive proof of citizenship.”) (dictum)… However, we are not bound by these cases and believe that this interpretation is atextual because it effectively reads the phrase “to a citizen of the United States” out of the statute. Thus, it does not give effect to the statute as written. … Because the text of § 2705 is unambiguous, we hold that a passport is conclusive proof of citizenship only if its holder was actually a citizen of the United States when it was issued.

Resources

Notes

1. Passports: United States v. Moreno in the Digest of United States Practice in International Law