66
STAT.]
PUBLIC LAW 4 1 4 - J U N E 27, 1952
239
United States and ont of wedlock shall be held to have acquired at birth the nationality status of his mother, if the mother had the nationality of the United States at the time of such person's birth, and if the mother had previously been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year. CHAPTER 2—NATIONALITY THROUGH NATLRALIZATION I
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JURISDICTION TO NATURALIZE
SEC. 310. (a) Exclusive jurisdiction to naturalize persons as citizens of the United States is hereby conferred upon the following specified courts: District courts of the United States now existing, or which may hereafter be established by Congress in any State, District Courts of the United States for the Territories of Hawaii and Alaska, and for the District of Columbia and for Puerto Rico, the District Court of the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the District Court of Guam; also all courts of record in any State or Territory now existing, or which may hereafter be created, having a seal, a clerk, and jurisdiction in actions at law or equity, or law and equity, in which the amount in controversy is unlimited. The jurisdiction of all the courts herein specified to naturalize persons shall extend only to such persons resident within the respective jurisdiction of such courts, except as otherwise specifically provided in this title. (b) A person who petitions for naturalization in any State court having naturalization jurisdiction may petition within the State judicial district or State judicial circuit in which he resides, whether or not he resides within the county in which the petition for naturalization is filed. (c) The courts herein specified, upon request of the clerks of such courts, shall be furnished from time to time by the Attorney General with such blank forms as may be required in naturalization proceedings. (d) A person may be naturalized as a citizen of the United States in the manner and under the conditions prescribed in this title, and not otherwise. ELIGIBILITY FOR N A T U R A L I Z A T I O N
SEC. 311. The right of a person to become a naturalized citizen of the United States shall not be denied or abridged because of race or sex or because such person is married. Notwithstanding section 405 (b), this section shall apply to any person whose petition for naturalization shall hereafter be filed, or shall have been pending on the effective date of this Act. REQUIREMENTS AS TO UNDERSTANDING THE E N G L I S H LANGUAGE, HISTORY, P R I N C I P L E S, A N D FORM OF GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES
SEC. 312. No person except as otherwise provided in this title shall hereafter be naturalized as a citizen of the United States upon his own petition who cannot demonstrate— (1) an understanding of the English language, including an ability to read, write, and speak words in ordinary usage in the English language: Provided, That this requirement shall not apply to any person physically unable to comply therewith, if otherwise qualified to be naturalized, or to any person who, on the effective date of this Act, is over fifty years of age and has been living in the United States for periods totaling at least twenty years: Provided fv/rther^ That the requirements of this section relating
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