On May 6, 1919, Dr. Thind petitioned for citizenship at the U.S. District Court of Oregon. In November of 1920, the District Court of Oregon granted Dr. Thind his citizenship.
However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the case and sent it to the U.S. Supreme Court for review. The Supreme Court later rescinded Dr. Thind’s citizenship, stating that he was not a “white person” according to revised statutes. Below are a series of documents of the proceedings of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals involving Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind’s saga for U.S. Citizenship.
Document List
- Letter from Secretary of State, Foreign office: Hindu race not suitable for U.S. Citizenship (February 20, 1926)
- Letter from Secretary of State, Foreign office: Hindu race not suitable for U.S. Citizenship (February 20, 1926)
- Provisional List of Indian “extremist” in United States, Canada, Mexico, and Panama January 19, 1928
- Revised List of Indian “extremist” in United States, Canada, Mexico, and Panama January, 1931
- Dr. Thind’s handwritten letter to the Clerk of U.S. District Court inquiring of his petition for citizenship. (Sept 27, 1935)
- Handwritten notes by officials at the Department of Labor, compiling a list of the cities where Dr. Thind lectured. (June 24, 1935)
- Affidavit in Support of Petition for Citizenship Based on Military, Naval, or Sea Service (June 24, 1935)
- Application for a Certificate of Arrival and Preliminary Form for Petition for Citizenship (Sept 27, 1935)
- Letter from the Bureau of Naturalization to the War Department asking verification of Dr. Thind’s military records. The records were verified in this same document (Sept 27, 1935)
- Naturalization Petition File # 2270-P-250957 for Bhagat Singh Thind (Sept 27, 1935)
- Letter from District Director of Immigration and Naturalization Service indicating Dr. Thind’s residing in U.S.A at time petition was filed (Oct 8, 1935)
- Letter to District Director of Immigration and Naturalization Service from examiner regarding the many cities Dr. Thind lectured from Aug, 1936 to Sept, 1930. (Oct 15, 1935)
- Office Memorandum to Thind regarding pending Citizenship review: (January 30, 1936)
- Top Secret memorandum from British Intelligence official regarding a confusion between Dr. Thind and another Sikh. (June 22, 1936)
- Office Memorandum determining Dr. Thind has established residency in the U.S.A from 1918 to 1930. (February 18, 1936)
- Office Memorandum from Chief Examiner reference a conversation between two immigration officers on Dr. Thind’s admittance of citizenship (Feb 18, 1937)
- Internal letter within two officers of the U.S. Department of Labor, Immigration and Naturalization Service, investigating the eligibility of Dr. Thind’s petition for citizenship. (February 17, 1937)
- Letter from office of Secretary of State, Foreign Office. This indicates an examination has been made and sent to Washington for review (Date unknown)
- Revised list of Indian “extremist”, 1936 and 1939
