Gew Ah Yen Certificate of Residence

Gew Ah Yen Certificate of Residence

The passage of the 14th Amendment provided all persons born in the United States birthright citizenship, a right confirmed by the 1898 Supreme Court Decision United States v. Wong Kim Ark. Despite this ruling, United States citizens married to Chinese nationals lost citizenship after the passage of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. As a result, Gew Ah Yen, an American-born citizen, lost her citizenship when she married Sue Ah Yen, a Chinese National. This required her to apply for a Certificate of Residence, required by all Chinese residents of the United States after the 1882 act.

United States. Internal Revenue Service. District of Oregon.

National Archives at Seattle, Chinese Exclusion Case Files, Case 31/293. For more information about the Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files, see: https://www.archives.gov/seattle/finding-aids/chinese-exclusion-act

1894 May 3

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