VP 3-12138 56344/430
Decided by Central Office March 16, 1953
Nonquota immigrant — Minister of religious denomination — Salvation Army — Section 101(a)(27)(F) Immigration and Nationality Act.
The Salvation Army is a religious denomination having a bona fide organization in the United States within the meaning of section 101(a)(27)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and its commissioned officers are ministers of a religious denomination within the meaning of that section.
BEFORE THE CENTRAL OFFICE
Discussion: The questions presented are (1) whether the Salvation Army is a religious denomination within the meaning of section 101(a)(27)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and (2) whether the principal beneficiary, G---- N----, is a minister of a religious denomination within the meaning of that section.
The evidence of record fully establishes that the Salvation Army has been incorporated under the laws of many of the States in this country; is a worldwide religious organization having a distinct legal existence; a recognized creed and form of worship; a definite and distinct ecclesiastical government; a formal code of doctrine and discipline; a distinct religious history; a membership, not associated with any other church or denomination; officers ministering to their congregation, ordained by a system of selection after completing prescribed courses of training; a literature of its own; established places of religious worship; religious congregations and religious services; a Sunday school for the religious instruction of the young; schools for the preparation of its ministers, who in addition to conducting religious services, perform marriage ceremonies, bury the dead, christen children, and advise and instruct the members of their congregations.
The organization and government of the Salvation Army are of a quasi-military character. Its "general" corresponds to the supreme head, or governing body, of the other usual religious denominations. Its "commissioned officers" of several grades correspond to the various grades of the ministers or priests in other religious organizations. Its "corps" corresponds to the usual church and its "soldiers" to the membership thereof. The "commissioned officers" (ministers) are trained, prepared, and qualified according to a prescribed standard and with certain ceremonies are ordained (commissioned) by those in authority. Each corps (church) is under the control of a commanding officer (minister). (See Bennett v. City of La Grange (1922), 153 Georgia 428 ( 112 S.E. 482)).
A commissioned officer of the Salvation Army has been held to be a "regularly ordained minister of some religious denomination" within the meaning of a statute requiring that Army chaplains possess such qualifications. (See opinion of the Acting Judge Advocate General to the Secretary of War, May 24, 1917.) The Salvation Army is considered to be a recognized religious organization and its officers are classified as ministers of a religion within the meaning of the Selective Service Regulations. (See letter of January 16, 1951, Selective Service.)
It is concluded that the Salvation Army is a religious denomination having a bona fide organization in the United States within the meaning of section 101(a)(27)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and that its commissioned officers are ministers of a religious denomination within the meaning of that section.