MATTER or J— 

In VISA PETITION Proceedings 

A-11841872 

A-11841873 

A-12001860 

Bedded by Board April 04, 1961 

Illegitimate child—British Guiana—Legitimation requires marriage of natural 

parents. 

Under the law of British Guiana, acknowledgment or recognition by the natural father of a child born out of wedlock does not result in legitimation. 

The marriage of the natural parents is the only means of legitimating such 

a child. 

BEFORE THE BOARD 

DISCUSSION: The case comes forward on appeal from the order 

of the District Director, Boston District, dated December 12, 1960, 

denying the visa petitions on the ground that it has not been established that the beneficiaries qualify as a son, daughter or child of 

the petitioner for the purpose of according them quota preference 

or nonquota status. 

The petitioner, a native of British Guiana, 46 years old, male, was 

admitted to the United States for permanent residence in 1952 and 

became a naturalized citizen on January 12, 1959. lie married his 

wife, a native of Canada and a naturalized citizen of the United 

States, on December 17, 1949. The petitioner's wife is not the mother 

of the beneficiaries. 

The petitioner has filed a petition to classify the status of the 

beneficiaries for preference quota or nonquota status as their parent. The male beneficiaries were born on June 9, 1939, and September 28, 1940, respectively, and the female beneficiary was born October 23, 1936. All were born in British Guiana. The documents 

submitted indicate that they were born out of wedlock, the surnames 

on the birth certificate being "McL—" and the mother being shown 

RS 

The record contains a sworn declaration executed at British 

Guiana on June 17, 1959, by the mother of the beneficiaries. This 

declaration states that she has been married but one time, on May 

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28, 1049, to a person who is not the father of the beneficiaries. 

However, she declares that she is the natural mother of the beneficiaries and that the petitioner is their natural father. The petitioner by affidavit dated October 3, 1960, likewise declares that the 

beneficiaries are his natural blood children, the issue of his relationship with I—McL--; that he has always recognized his responsibility as the legal father and has assumed such responsibility by 

providing for their support. In addition, there have been submitted 

two Deed Polls which show that the mother appeared on April 30, 

1956, before a clerk and notary public of the Supreme Court of 

British Guiana and declared her wish that the two sons should 

thereafter assume and adopt the names of C—J— and H—J— and 

renounce the names of F—McL— under which their births were 

rcgietered. This document does riot mention the father and the 

function of these declarations, other than to legalize the change of 

names, is not known. There is no claim that this document constitutes a legal form of legitimation or adoption under the law of 

British Guiana. A private bill, 11.11,. b6-4303, introduced for the 

object of having the beneficiaries considered as the natural-born 

children of the petitioner for the purposes of section 101(a) (27) (A) 

of the Immigration and Nationality Act failed of passage. 

It appears to be the contention of the petitioner that he is the 

"legal" father of the beneficiaries who are his "legal" children and 

thereby qualify for preference or quota status under the immigration laws. However, in order to qualify for the parent-child relationship, the parties must fall within one of the categories set forth 

in section 101(b) (1) and (2) of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act. 

If the petitioner contends that by virtue of his acknowledgment 

or recognition of the beneficiaries as their natural father he has 

thereby effected their legitimation under the law of British Guiana, 

the law of British Guiana does not support his position. The Legitimacy Ordinance' sets forth in section 3 that where the parents of 

an illegitimate person marry or have married one another, whether 

before or after the commencement of the date of the Ordinance, the 

marriage, if the father of the illegitimate person was or is at the 

date of the marriage domiciled in British Guiana, renders that person, if he is or -was living, legitimate from the date of marriage. 

Thus, by the law of British Guiana, marriage of the parents appears 

to be the only method of legitimation. While the recognition by 

the natural father of the illegitimate children may have conferred 

the rights to bear the father's name or given such illegitimate children some sort of status, it is apparent that the status so conferred 

did not amount to legitimation. There is no contention that the 

I Chapter 165, Laws of British Guiana, May 14, 1932. 

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beneficiaries were legitimated under the Jaw of the petitioner's domicile, to wit, the State br: Massachusetts, inasmuch as it is our understanding that the Jaw of Massachusetts likewise, requires the marriage of the natural parents to effect legitimation. 2 

The facts of the case have- also been considered to determine 

whether the beneficiaries qualify as adopted children uYider section 

101(b) (1) (E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Adoption of Children Ordinance provides that adoptions in British 

Guiana are effected by order of the court having jurisdiction for 

sucn purpose and following preliminary arrangements by the duly 

constituted Adoption Board. No evidence has been submitted that 

such a court adoption ever occurred. Therefore, the beneficiaries 

cannot qualify as adopted children within the meaning of section 

101(b) (1) (E) of the immigration and Nationality Act. 

It is, therefore, concluded that the visa petition filed by the citizen father on behalf of the beneficiaries must be denied because the 

beneficiaries never qualified as children, legitimated or adopted, of 

the petitioner for the purpose of making them eligible for quota 

preference or nonquota status under the provisions of sections 

101(a) (27) (A) and 203(a) (2) of the Iminigration and Nationality Act. It is unnecessary to consider whether the beneficiaries 

can be regarded as stepchildren of the petitioner's wife since no such 

petition has been filed by the wife. 

ORDER: It is ordered that the appeal be and the same. is hereby 

dismissed. 

2Chapter 190, section 7, Massachusetts General Laws. 

3British Guiana Ordinance No. 12 of 1955. 

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