Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

State Department Effort to Reverse Waiver Denial

State Department Effort to Reverse Waiver Denial The plan to obtain Marina’s visa in Belgium became unnecessary when the Immigration and Naturalization Service began reconsidering the section 243(g) waiver. On March 16, 1962, the Soviet desk at the State Department took initial action to seek a change by sending a memorandum to the Visa Office urging that INS be asked to reconsider. The memorandum argued that it was in U.S. interest to get Oswald and his family out of the Soviet Union quickly because Oswald was an unstable character whose actions were unpredictable, and that refusing to issue a visa would allow the Soviet Government to argue the United States imposed a forced family separation, weakening the Embassy’s position in other cases. The State Department subsequently notified the Moscow Embassy that the decision was under review and instructed it to withhold action pending reconsideration.

Section 243(g) Waiver Request

Section 243(g) Waiver Request The Visa Office first contacted the Washington INS office informally and was advised that any letter requesting review should come from the Director or Acting Administrator level, since the case had been carefully considered at the Assistant or Deputy Associate Commissioner level. On March 27, 1962, an acting administrator in the State Department wrote to the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization requesting that the section 243(g) sanction be waived in Marina’s case. The letter acknowledged the difficulty of the case given Oswald’s background but argued that refusing a visa would effectively punish Marina and the Oswalds’ newborn child for Mr. Oswald’s earlier indiscretions, noted the $500 repatriation loan the Government had advanced to Oswald, and emphasized the importance of not allowing the Soviet Government to claim it had done its part while the U.S. refused to issue a visa, which would weaken the Embassy’s position in encouraging positive Soviet action in other cases.