Citzenship by Marriage

• After the Cable Act, women could no longer become naturalized citizens simply because their husbands already were, or had become, naturalized citizens. All women were required to reside continuously within the United States for one year before filing a petition for citizenship.
  
  

Citizenship Terminated by Marriage

• The law goes on to state that "Any woman citizen who marries an alien ineligible to citizenship shall cease to be a citizen of the United States."
  
  

Ineligibility for Citizenship

• Two Supreme Court rulings, Takao Ozawa v. United States (1922) and United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind (1923) upheld then-current naturalization laws, maintaining that Asian and Indian immigrants were ineligible for citizenship.
  
  

Cable Act Effect

• Consequently, under the Cable Act of 1922, any American woman who married an Asian or Indian immigrant was stripped of her citizenship.
  
  

Cable Act Fate

• The Cable Act of 1922, also referred to as the Married Woman's Act of 1922, was repealed in 1936 after only 14 years on the books.