Interim Decision #2154 

MATTER OF YOUNG 

In Visa Petition Proceedings 

A-18505403 

Decided by Board June 15, 1972 

The holdings in Matter of Ng, Interim Decision No. 2147, and Matter of Poon, 

Interim Decision No. 2153, are extended to recognize as valid for immigration 

purposes the adoption in mainland China in 1926 or 1927 of a male child, even 

though not related by blood, not of the same clan, and not of the same 

surname. [Matter of Chin, 12 I. & N. Dec. 240, reaffirmed.] 

ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 

Gerald L. McVey 

30 Hotaling Place 

San Francisco, California 94111 

(Brief filed) 

ON BEHALF OF SERVICE: 

R. A. Vielhaber 

Appellate Trial Attorney 

(Brief filed) 

The United States citizen petitioner applied for preference 

status for the beneficiary as his married adopted son under section 

203(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The District 

Director denied the petition in an order dated April 7, 1971. The 

District Director based his denial upon this Board's precedent 

decision in Matter of Yiu, 13 L & N. Dec. 624 (BIA, 1970). The 

petitioner appeals from the denial. The matter will be remanded 

for further proceedings. 

The beneficiary is a married male, who was born in mainland 

China in 1924. He was purportedly adopted in either 1926 or 1927 

by petitioner's spouse, with petitioner's consent. 

The law governing the validity of an adoption in mainland China 

in 1926 or 1927 was the Ching Code, along with Chinese customary 

law. The provisions of the Ching Code remained in effect following 

the establishment of the Nationalist Republic of China in 1911. 

The portions of the Ching Code dealing with adoption continued in 

force until May 5, 1931, when they were replaced by an adoption 

law enacted by the Nationalist Government. 

At the time he made his decision in this case, the District 

Director was not incorrect in making reference to our decision in 

the Yiu case. Although the Yiu case dealt with an adoption in 

Hong Kong, the same principles are present, inasmuch as the 

Ching Code and Chinese customary law also govern the validity of 

Chinese adoptions in Hong Kong. 

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Interim Decision #2154 

In Matter of Yiu, supra, which was concerned with the validity 

of the adoption of a female, we noted that (1) "Chinese customary 

law permits adoption only for purposes of succession to the family 

[cult] and is limited to males," (2) "the adoption of strangers is 

prohibited and allowed only when a person has exhausted all his 

kindred," and (3) "the adopted child must be of the same surname." 

The District Director denied the petitioner's application because 

the petitioner had not established that the purported adoption met 

the criteria set forth in the Yiu case. 

As we stated in Matter of Chin, 12 I. & N. Dec. 240 (B IA, 1967), 

the Ching Code provided for two kinds of adoption: (1) adoption of a 

male child for the purpose of instituting him as an heir for 

perpetuation of the ancestral cult, and (2) adoption of a child, 

whether male or female, without intending to institute it as an 

heir. In the Chin case we noted that the Ching Code provided a 

number of restrictions with respect to the first type of adoption, 

namely that the child must be male and come from the same 

kindred, but that these restrictions did not apply to adoptions of 

the second type. 

Subsequent to the District Director's decision in the present 

case, we had occasion to reconsider the principles enunciated in 

the Yiu decision. As a result, in Matter of Ng, Interim Decision No. 

2147 (BIA, April 28, 1972), we receded from our holding in the Yiu 

case and recognized the adoption of a female in Hong Kong. In 

Matter of Poon, Interim Decision No. 2153 (BIA, June 12, 1972), we , 

extended our holding in Ng to recognize the validity in Hong Kong 

of an adoption of a male child, even though not related by blood, 

not of the same clan, and not of the same surname. 

The issue in the present case is whether we should apply the 

same reasoning used in Matter of Poon, supra, to a similar 

adoption occurring in mainland China prior to May 5, 1931. We 

believe that we should extend our ruling in -the Ng and Poon cases 

to cover the present case. Our holdings in those two cases are 

accordingly extended. We also reaffirm our earlier decision in the 

Chin case, supra, in which we recognized the validity of the simple 

adoption of a male of a different family under the Ching Code. 

In the present case the District Director never reached the 

factual issue of the validity of the adoption. In the absence of any 

findings in that regard we have no choice but to remand the 

matter for further proceedings. The following order will, therefore, 

be entered. 

ORDER: The matter is remanded for further proceedings not 

inconsistent with the foregoing. 

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