Rogers v. Bellei

Bellei (plaintiff) was born in Italy to an Italian father and an American mother and was granted citizenship at birth under a federal statute, but that same statute required him to live in the U.S. for at least five years between ages 14 and 28 or lose citizenship. He visited but never lived in the U.S., failed to satisfy the residency requirement despite written warnings, and was informed in 1964 and 1966 that he had lost his citizenship. Bellei challenged the statute's constitutionality, arguing it violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment Citizenship Clause.