Title 8 — Aliens and NationalityRelease 119-73not60

§1489 Application of Treaties; Exceptions

Title 8 › Chapter 12— IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY › Subchapter III— NATIONALITY AND NATURALIZATION › Part III— Loss of Nationality › § 1489

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

The rules here must not conflict with any treaty the United States joined and the Senate approved before December 25, 1952. No woman who was a U.S. national loses her nationality just because she married a foreigner on or after September 22, 1922, or married someone racially barred from citizenship on or after March 3, 1931; and a woman who was a U.S. citizen at birth does not lose citizenship by living abroad after such a marriage, even if a treaty would say otherwise.

Full Legal Text

Title 8, §1489

Aliens and Nationality — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Nothing in this subchapter shall be applied in contravention of the provisions of any treaty or convention to which the United States is a party and which has been ratified by the Senate before December 25, 1952: Provided, however, That no woman who was a national of the United States shall be deemed to have lost her nationality solely by reason of her marriage to an alien on or after September 22, 1922, or to an alien racially ineligible to citizenship on or after March 3, 1931, or, in the case of a woman who was a United States citizen at birth, through residence abroad following such marriage, notwithstanding the provisions of any existing treaty or convention.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1988—Pub. L. 100–525 substituted “before December 25, 1952” for “upon the

Effective Date

of this subchapter”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

8 U.S.C. § 1489

Title 8 — Aliens and Nationality

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60