Magnuson Act

The Magnuson Act was an immigration law signed December 17, 1943 in the United States. It allowed Chinese immigration for the first time since the Chinese Exclusion Act (United States) of 1882, and allowed Chinese nationals already residing in the country to become to become naturalized citizens. This marked the first time since the 1795 Naturalization Act that any Asians were permitted to be naturalized.

It was passed during World War II, when China was a welcome ally to the United States. The Chinese Exclusion Act had beome an embarrassment in China/US relations.

However the Magnuson Act did not create an open door. It limited Chinese immigrants to 105 persons to be selected by the US government. Equality with other nations did not come until the Immigration Act of 1965, which removed all national quotas and permitted immigration from Asia on an equal footing for the first time.