CAPÍTULO II. With the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels of the
This chapter documents the 1961–1962 correspondence, administrative processes, and legal reviews between the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and the State Department related to Lee Harvey Oswald’s U.S. passport, citizenship status, and efforts to return to the United States with his Soviet wife, Marina. It covers initial Embassy inquiries about Oswald’s passport request, in-person interviews to assess his citizenship status, the application and approval process for passport renewal, and the legal analysis confirming Oswald had not expatriated his U.S. citizenship.
Initial Embassy Correspondence on Oswald’s Letters
After receiving Oswald’s first letter postmarked February 5, 1961, the Moscow Embassy forwarded a dispatch to the State Department on February 28 relaying Oswald’s correspondence and the Embassy’s initial response. The Embassy asked whether Oswald would face prosecution if he returned to the U.S., whether he should be notified of potential prosecution, and if there was any objection to mailing his 1959 passport to him to facilitate his application for a Soviet exit visa. After receiving Oswald’s March 20 letter, the Embassy consulted Washington again, proposed to inform Oswald he must travel to Moscow in person to discuss reentry to the U.S. and that the Soviet government did not object to visits by American citizens, and sent this letter to Oswald on March 24.
State Department April 1961 Passport Return Instructions
The State Department reviewed the Embassy’s February 28, 1961 dispatch, and on April 13 issued instructions that for security reasons, Oswald’s passport could only be released to him if he appeared in person at the Embassy. Even then, the passport could only be provided after a full investigation confirmed he had not renounced his U.S. citizenship, he had to present proof he had arranged to depart the Soviet Union for the U.S., and the passport would be stamped valid only for direct return to the U.S. The Department also informed the Embassy it could not advise Oswald whether he would face prosecution for any offenses if he returned to the U.S.
Oswald’s May 1961 Letter and Embassy Dispatch
On May 26, 1961, the Embassy sent a dispatch to the State Department reporting it had received Oswald’s May 16 letter, in which he demanded full guarantees he would not be prosecuted under any circumstances if he returned to the U.S., threatened to seek assistance from U.S. relatives if guarantees were not provided, noted his Russian wife would accompany him, and repeated his refusal to travel to Moscow. The Embassy proposed to reply that citizenship questions required an in-person interview, advise on his wife’s immigration procedures, and observed that Oswald’s Soviet internal passport listed him as “without citizenship,” suggesting he had not yet expatriated under Section 349(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Embassy asked whether Oswald was entitled to U.S. government protection while abroad without evidence of an expatriating act.
State Department July 1961 Citizenship Status Guidance
The State Department responded to the Embassy’s May dispatch on July 11, 1961, noting it was unclear if Oswald’s “without citizenship” designation meant he lacked Soviet citizenship or any citizenship. It stated that in the absence of evidence he had definitively lost U.S. citizenship, he retained that technical status. The Department said the Embassy could use its discretion to provide protection in an emergency, but non-emergency matters should be submitted to the Department, and the Embassy should seek prior State Department advice before granting Oswald U.S. citizen documentation for any application.
Oswald’s Unannounced July 1961 Embassy Visit and Interview
On July 8, 1961, Oswald appeared unannounced at the Moscow Embassy, met with consul Richard E. Snyder who asked him to return on July 10. Oswald contacted his wife to travel to Moscow, and returned alone on July 10 for an official interview. Snyder’s post-interview memorandum noted Oswald appeared more mature than during his 1959 Embassy visit, stated he had only applied for Soviet residence (not citizenship), never took an oath of allegiance to the Soviet Union, worked as a metal worker in Minsk earning 90 rubles monthly, had saved 200 rubles for travel to the U.S., and denied making derogatory statements about the U.S. or providing information to the Soviets as he had threatened in 1959.
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