Stanley Forman Reed

“ If there was no 'liability' for service, the disqualification for citizenship under the penalty clause could not arise because the applicant had not made the 'application' referred to in the statute as 'such application.' 'Such application' refers to an application to be relieved from 'such liability.' As there was no 'liability' for service, his act in applying for relief from a nonexistent duty could not create the bar against naturalization. By the terms of the statute, that bar only comes into existence when an alien resident liable for service asks to be relieved. ”

“ As we conclude that he was not a resident under the Act at the time of his application for relief from military service, we do not decide whether Denmark was a neutral country. Nor need we determine whether the bar against citizenship has been removed by the termination of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. [16]
The phrase of § 3 (a) , 'every other male person residing in the United States,' when used as it is, in juxtaposition with 'every male citizen', [17] falls short of saying that every person in the United States is subject to military service. ”

“ Where an official's authority to act depends upon the status of the person affected, in this case eligibility for citizenship, that status, when in dispute, may be determined by a declaratory judgment proceeding after the exhaustion of administrative remedies. Under § 19 (c) of the Immigration Act the exercise of the Attorney General's appropriate discretion in suspending deportation is prohibited in the case of aliens ineligible for citizenship. The alien is determined to have a proscribed status by this administrative ruling of ineligibility. ”