Application of Mary Yee for Return Certificate

In 1922, Yee Shing, a Chinese merchant living in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and his wife, Mary, wanted to take their family to China to educate their American-born children. Several months before their departure, Yee filed the paperwork for a “return certificate,” establishing his right to come back to America, and ensuring that his children could also return. This was necessary because of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and its extensions.

Mary, Yee’s American-born wife, was no longer a U.S. citizen because of their marriage. Under the Expatriation Act of 1907, a female U.S. citizen who married a citizen of another nation automatically lost her U.S. citizenship and took on the nationality of her husband. In other words, when Mary married Yee Shing, she became Chinese. 

As “a lawfully domiciled Chinese Laborer,” Mary also had to file this paperwork before leaving the country to ensure that she would be allowed to return. She attached her photograph and submitted to an interview. Her return certificate was approved, and the family left Seattle for China on September 16, 1922.