Why would someone born in the US apply for naturalization?

Question

I found a petition for naturalization by Mary (Rogers) Howley. Odd thing is she was born in the US 63 years prior. As far as I can find & family knowledge is that she lived in Indiana her whole life. Her husband was Irish but the application is for her, not him. Also she wasn't living with him in 1940 per census records. 

"Indiana Naturalization Records and Indexes, 1848-1993," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HH14-VKT2 : 4 August 2020), Agnes Mary Howley, 4 Jan 1940; citing Naturalization, Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana, United States, NARA NAID 5682644, National Archives at Chicago, Illinois, n.d.

Comments

When she married a non-American, her citizenship changed.

This was not overturned until much more recent times.

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Previously mentioned and discussed here :

At one time, a U.S. woman lost her citizenship if she married a foreigner

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Fascinating article - Thanks for sharing. Would the children have to be naturalized too or would they be granted it through their mother?

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Judy Russell also wrote about this topic on her blog here:

Becoming unAmerican

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@ Faith - not really sure.  The US citizenship stuff can be confusing.

In most situations, any child that is born in the United States or one of its territories will automatically receive American citizenship. This is called "birthright citizenship" and is protected by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which (in Section 1) states the following:

• All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.

However, children born to diplomats and other recognized government officials from foreign countries won't receive U.S. citizenship if born on American soil (Title 8 of the U.S. Code).

The laws regarding citizenship obtained through acquisition are quite complex and take into account factors such as the citizenship of parents and whether the child was born outside of wedlock. This complexity has not lessened at all because Congress has made major changes to these laws throughout history. In order to determine which laws will apply to you or your child, you must first see which date range applies:

1. Born prior to May 24, 1934;
2. Born between May 25, 1934 and January 12, 1941;
3. Born between January 13, 1941 and December 23, 1952;
4. Born between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986; or
5. Born after November 14, 1986.

Source.

Answer 1

As Melanie says, there was a period when a woman automatically assumed her husband's nationality.  I believe it was after the First World War that the law in the US changed.  Edit:  The Cable Act of 1922 finally provided for a woman to have her own nationality.

In fact, when a man was naturalized, his wife and all children were also.

Comments

It should be noted - the Cable Act only allowed the woman to retain her own nationality if the husband were eligible for citizenship.  If he were not so eligible, then she took on his nationality by the act of saying "I do".  Even the allowance to take an oath (etc) given in 1936 was constrained to those whose marriages had ended by death, or divorce.  There was nothing for those who had married, and whose marriages lasted decades.

Also -

The act of July 2, 1940, provided that all women who had lost citizenship by marriage could repatriate regardless
of their marital status. They only had to take an oath of allegiance—no declaration of intention was required.
But they still had to show that they had resided continuously in the United States since the date of the marriage.

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As Ellen said in the previous thread on this - the very idea that a woman had to take an oath of allegiance to the country of their birth, simply because they married someone, offends my modern sensibilities.