711.94/432
The Department of State to the Japanese Embassy
Memorandum
Referring to the memorandum from the Japanese Embassy in which inquiry was made in regard to a recent ruling of the Department of Labor to the effect that the so-called “picture marriage” is illegal in the light of the immigration laws of the United States, the Department of State has been informed that the Department of Labor, under date of April 22, 1922, promulgated a decision on the principle involved in the recognition of so-called “proxy marriages”, or marriages performed where one of the principals is in the United States and the other in a foreign country, and it has held that such marriages can not be recognized as valid for purposes of our immigration laws. This ruling the Department of State understands is applicable to all races and nationalities.