---
kind: "section"
citation: "50 U.S.C. § 4215"
title: "50"
title_heading: "War and National Defense"
number: "4215"
heading: "Restitution"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/50/4215"
units:
  - "Chapter 52 — Restitution for World War Ii Internment of Japanese-Americans and Aleuts"
  - "Subchapter I — United States Citizens of Japanese Ancestry and Resident Japanese Aliens"
---

# §4215. Restitution

- (a) **Location and payment of eligible individuals—**
  - (1) **In general—** Subject to [paragraph (7)](#a-7), the Attorney General shall, subject to the availability of [funds](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) appropriated to the [Fund](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) for such purpose, pay out of the [Fund](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) to each [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) the sum of $20,000, unless such individual refuses, in the manner described in [paragraph (5)](#a-5), to accept the payment.
  - (2) **Location of eligible individuals—** The Attorney General shall identify and locate, without requiring any application for payment and using records already in the possession of the United States Government, each [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2). The Attorney General should use [funds](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) and resources available to the Attorney General, including those described in [subsection (c)](#c), to attempt to complete such identification and location within 12 months after August 10, 1988. Any [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) may notify the Attorney General that such individual is an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2), and may provide documentation therefor. The Attorney General shall designate an officer or employee to whom such notification and documentation may be sent, shall maintain a list of all individuals who submit such notification and documentation, and shall, subject to the availability of [funds](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) appropriated for such purpose, encourage, through a public awareness campaign, each [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) to submit his or her current address to such officer or employee. To the extent that resources referred to in the second sentence of this paragraph are not sufficient to complete the identification and location of all [eligible individuals](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2), there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for such purpose. In any case, the identification and location of all [eligible individuals](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) shall be completed within 12 months after the appropriation of [funds](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) under the preceding sentence. Failure to be identified and located by the end of the 12-month period specified in the preceding sentence shall not preclude an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) from receiving payment under this section.
  - (3) **Benefit of the doubt—** When, after consideration of all evidence and relevant material for determining whether an individual is an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2), there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding the merits of an issue material to the determination of eligibility, the benefit of the doubt in resolving each such issue shall be given to such individual.
  - (4) **Notice from the Attorney General—** The Attorney General shall, when [funds](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) are appropriated to the [Fund](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) for payments to an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) under this section, notify that [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) in writing of his or her eligibility for payment under this section. Such notice shall inform the [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) that—
    - (A) acceptance of payment under this section shall be in full satisfaction of all claims against the United States arising out of acts described in [section 4218(2)(B) of this title](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2-B), and
    - (B) each [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) who does not refuse, in the manner described in [paragraph (5)](#a-5), to accept payment under this section within 18 months after receiving such written notice shall be deemed to have accepted payment for purposes of [paragraph (6)](#a-6).
  - (5) **Effect of refusal to accept payment—** If an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) refuses, in a written document filed with the Attorney General, to accept any payment under this section, the amount of such payment shall remain in the [Fund](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) and no payment may be made under this section to such individual at any time after such refusal.
  - (6) **Payment in full settlement of claims against the United States—** The acceptance of payment by an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) under this section shall be in full satisfaction of all claims against the United States arising out of acts described in [section 4218(2)(B) of this title](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2-B). This paragraph shall apply to any [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) who does not refuse, in the manner described in [paragraph (5)](#a-5), to accept payment under this section within 18 months after receiving the notification from the Attorney General referred to in [paragraph (4)](#a-4).
  - (7) **Exclusion of certain individuals—** No payment may be made under this section to any individual who, after September 1, 1987, accepts payment pursuant to an award of a final judgment or a settlement on a claim against the United States for acts described in [section 4218(2)(B) of this title](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2-B), or to any surviving spouse, child, or parent of such individual to whom [paragraph (8)](#a-8) applies.
  - (8) **Payments in the case of deceased persons—**
    - (A) In the case of an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) who is deceased at the time of payment under this section, such payment shall be made only as follows:
      - (i) If the [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) is survived by a spouse who is living at the time of payment, such payment shall be made to such surviving spouse.
      - (ii) If there is no surviving spouse described in [clause (i)](#a-8-A-i), such payment shall be made in equal shares to all children of the [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) who are living at the time of payment.
      - (iii) If there is no surviving spouse described in [clause (i)](#a-8-A-i) and if there are no children described in [clause (ii)](#a-8-A-ii), such payment shall be made in equal shares to the parents of the [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) who are living at the time of payment.

      If there is no surviving spouse, children, or parents described in clauses [(i)](#a-8-A-i), [(ii)](#a-8-A-ii), and [(iii)](#a-8-A-iii), the amount of such payment shall remain in the [Fund](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4), and may be used only for the purposes set forth in [section 4216(b) of this title](/usc/50/4216.md?p=b).

    - (B) After the death of an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2), this subsection and subsections [(c)](#c) and [(f)](#f) shall apply to the individual or individuals specified in [subparagraph (A)](#a-8-A) to whom payment under this section will be made, to the same extent as such subsections apply to the [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2).
    - (C) For purposes of this paragraph—
      - (i) the “spouse” of an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) means a wife or husband of an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) who was married to that [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) for at least 1 year immediately before the death of the [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2);
      - (ii) a “child” of an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) includes a recognized natural child, a stepchild who lived with the [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) in a regular parent-child relationship, and an adopted child; and
      - (iii) a “parent” of an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) includes fathers and mothers through adoption.
- (b) **Order of payments—** The Attorney General shall endeavor to make payments under this section to [eligible individuals](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) in the order of date of birth (with the oldest individual on August 10, 1988 (or, if applicable, that individual’s survivors under paragraph (8)) receiving full payment first), until all [eligible individuals](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) have received payment in full.
- (c) **Resources for locating eligible individuals—** In attempting to locate any [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2), the Attorney General may use any facility or resource of any public or nonprofit organization or any other record, document, or information that may be made available to the Attorney General.
- (d) **Administrative costs not paid from the Fund—** No costs incurred by the Attorney General in carrying out this section shall be paid from the [Fund](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) or set off against, or otherwise deducted from, any payment under this section to any [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2).
- (e) **Termination of duties of Attorney General—** The duties of the Attorney General under this section shall cease 180 days after the [Fund](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) terminates.
- (f) **Clarification of treatment of payments under other laws—** Amounts paid to an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) under this section—
  - (1) shall be treated for purposes of the internal revenue laws of the United States as damages for human suffering; and
  - (2) shall not be included as income or resources for purposes of determining eligibility to receive benefits described in [section 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31](/usc/31/3803.md?p=c-2-C) or available under any other law administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or for purposes of determining the amount of such benefits.
- (g) **Liability of United States limited to amount in Fund—**
  - (1) **General rule—** An [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) may be paid under this section only from amounts in the [Fund](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4).
  - (2) **Coordination with other provisions—** Nothing in this subchapter shall authorize the payment to an [eligible individual](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) by the United States Government of any amount authorized by this section from any source other than the [Fund](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4).
  - (3) **Order in which unpaid claims to be paid—** If at any time the [Fund](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) has insufficient [funds](/usc/50/4218.md?p=4) to pay all [eligible individuals](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) at such time, such [eligible individuals](/usc/50/4218.md?p=2) shall, to the extent permitted under [paragraph (1)](#g-1), be paid in full in the order specified in [subsection (b)](#b).
- (h) **Judicial review—**
  - (1) **Review by the Court of Federal Claims—** A claimant may seek judicial review of a denial of compensation under this section solely in the United States Court of Federal Claims, which shall review the denial upon the administrative record and shall hold unlawful and set aside the denial if it is found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.
  - (2) **Applicability—** This subsection shall apply only to any claim filed in court on or after September 27, 1992.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 100–383, title I, § 105, Aug. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 905; Pub. L. 101–162, title II, § 209(b), Nov. 21, 1989, 103 Stat. 1005; Pub. L. 102–371, §§ 4–6(a), Sept. 27, 1992, 106 Stat. 1167, 1168; Pub. L. 102–572, title IX, § 902(b)(1), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4516.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 1989b–4 of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

### Amendments

1992—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 102–371, § 4(c)(1)(A), substituted “(7)” for “(6)” and “(5)” for “(4)”.

Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 102–371, § 4(a)(2), added par. (3). Former par. (3) redesignated (4).

Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 102–371, § 4(a)(1), (c)(1)(B), redesignated par. (3) as (4) and in subpar. (B) substituted “(5)” for “(4)” and “(6)” for “(5)”. Former par. (4) redesignated (5).

Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 102–371, § 4(a)(1), redesignated par. (4) as (5). Former par. (5) redesignated (6).

Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 102–371, § 4(a)(1), (c)(1)(C), redesignated par. (5) as (6) and substituted “(5)” for “(4)” and “(4)” for “(3)”. Former par. (6) redesignated (7).

Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 102–371, § 4(a)(1), (c)(1)(D), redesignated par. (6) as (7) and substituted “(8)” for “(6)”. Former par. (7) redesignated (8).

Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 102–371, § 4(a)(1), redesignated par. (7) as (8).

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–371, § 4(c)(2), substituted “(8)” for “(6)”.

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 102–371, § 5, substituted “180 days after the Fund terminates” for “when the Fund terminates”.

Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 102–371, § 6(a), substituted “or available under any other law administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or for purposes of determining the” for “, or the”.

Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 102–572 substituted “United States Court of Federal Claims” for “United States Claims Court” in par. (1).

Pub. L. 102–371, § 4(b), added subsec. (h).

1989—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 101–162 added subsec. (g).

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 102–572 effective Oct. 29, 1992, see section 911 of Pub. L. 102–572, set out as a note under section 171 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

Pub. L. 102–371, § 6(b), Sept. 27, 1992, 106 Stat. 1168, provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall be effective as of August 10, 1988.”