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

Assurance Marina Oswald Would Not Become Public Charge

Section 212(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides that aliens will not be admitted to the United States if, in the opinion of the responsible Government official, they are likely at any time to become public charges. The pertinent Department of State regulations require that such a determination be predicated upon circumstances indicating that the alien will probably become a charge upon the public after entry. In 1962, Lee Harvey Oswald was 22 years old and in good health, had lived in the United States for 17 years before joining the Marine Corps, and had gained two and a half years of job experience in a factory producing electronic equipment. Under these circumstances, the Department concluded that Oswald’s affidavit that he would support his wife was sufficient assurance that she was not likely to become a public charge. A second affidavit from Marguerite Oswald’s employer provided a possible alternative basis, but the Embassy had no reason to consider its sufficiency because a favorable ruling had already been made on the basis of Oswald’s affidavit.

Marina Oswald’s Communist Organization Membership

Under section 212(a)(28) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, an alien is not admissible to the United States if a member of, or affiliated with, a Communist organization, unless the alien establishes that such membership was involuntary, occurred solely when under sixteen years of age, or was for the purpose of obtaining employment, food rations, or other essentials of living. At the time she applied for a visa, Marina Oswald was a member of the Soviet Trade Union for Medical Workers. The State and Justice Departments had a long-standing interpretation that membership in a professional organization or trade union behind the Iron Curtain is considered involuntary unless accompanied by some indication of voluntariness, such as active participation or holding office. Because there was no evidence of such voluntariness, her union membership was properly held not to bar her admission. Although Marina Oswald declared she was not a member of the Komsomol or any other Communist organization, she was in fact a member of the Komsomol. Had this fact been known, she would not necessarily have been denied a visa but a careful investigation would have been required. If the membership had become known after her denial, she could have been excluded for willful misrepresentation of a material fact. The text notes that judicial decisions disagree on what constitutes a material fact for this purpose, and that the Visa Office applies a “rule of probability” under which a misstatement is material only if it concealed facts which probably would have resulted in a denial of a visa.