Interim Decision #2586 

MATTER OF RAMIREZ 

in Visa Petition Proceedings 

A-22139915 

Decided by Board Mcty 25, 1977 

(1) Under Article 279 of the Civil Code of El Salvador, a child born out of wedlock may be 

acknowledged by the parents by the act of registration of the child's birth in the office of 

the Civil Registry. 

(2) Under Article 217, if the child has been acknowledged, the subsequent marriage of the 

parents legitimates him by operation of law. However under Article 225(2), the legitimation is not retroactive from the date of the parents' marriage. 

(3) Petitioner son was recognized by beneficiary father on February 8, 1938, one day after 

his birth. However his parents did not marry until April 13, 1959, when he was 21 years 

of age. Since the beneficiary did not marry the petitioner's mother until after petitioner's eighteenth birthday the petitioner never came within the definition of "child" in 

section 101(b)(1)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and therefore the beneficiary cannot receive immigration benefits as petitioner's "parent," and the petition 

to classify petitioner's father as an immediate relative under section 201(b) of the Act 

was properly denied. 

ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: Michael M. Laufer, Esquire 

307 East 89th Street 

New York, New York 10028 

BY: Milhollan, Chairman; Maniatis, Appleman, and Maguire, Board Members 

The United States citizen petitioner applied for immediate relative 

status for his father tinder section 201(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. In a decision dated February 2, 1977, the District Director 

denied the petition. The petitioner has appealed from that denial. The 

appeal will be dismissed. 

In order to claim benefits for a parent under the immigration laws, the 

-United States citizen petitioner must establish that he would have 

qualified as a "child" under the Act. Section 101(b)(2) of the Act. Since 

the petitioner's parents were not married at the time of his birth and he 

does not claim to have been adopted by the beneficiary, the petitioner 

must establish that he was legitimated before his eighteenth birthday. 

See section 101(b)(1)(C) of the Act. 

The record contains a translation of the petitioner's birth certificate 

-which shows that the beneficiary recognized the petitioner as his son on 

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February 8, 1938, the day after the petitioner was born. On appeal, the 

petitioner has also submitted a copy of a translation of his "parents' " 

marriage certificate which shows that they were married on April 13, 

1959. The marriage certificate also contains a notation stating that at the 

time of their marriage the parties had seven children. The petitioner is 

listed as one of these children. 

We have received a memorandum from the Library of Congress, 

dated May 9, 1977, containing a discussion of the provisions of the Civil 

Cude of El Salvador relating to the legitimation of children born out of 

wedlock. See Appendix A. 

Though two editions of the code, one published in 1926 and one 

published in 1959, were consulted, it appears that no significant changes 

in the governing procedures have been made between 1926 and the 

present time. Under Article 279 of the Civil Code of El Salvador 

(hereafter Civil Code), a child born out of wedlock may be acknowledged 

by his parents, and one, of the ways such acknowledgments may be 

effected is by the act of registration of the child's birth in the office of the 

Civil Registry. 

If a child has been acknowledged by both his parents, then their 

subsequent marriage legitimates him by operation of law. See Article 

217 of the Civil Code. Legitimation also takes place if the child is 

acknowledged by his parents at the wedding ceremony and the recognition is annotated on the record of the marriage. 

Although a child legitimated by his parents' subsequent marriage is 

considered as a legitimate child conceived in wedlock and has the same 

rights and benefits, the legitimation is not retroactive from the date of 

the parents' marriage. Article 225(2) of the Civil Code. 

Although the petitioner's parents took the steps necessary for his 

legitimation, because the beneficiary did not marry the petitioner's 

mother until after the petitioner's eighteenth birthday, the petitioner 

never came within the definition of child in section 101(b)(1)(C) of the Act, 

and therefore the beneficiary cannot receive immigration benefits as the 

petitioner's "parent." We therefore must find that the District Director's 

decision denying the petition was correct. 

ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 

APPENDIX A 

LEGITIMATION OF CHILDREN 

El Salvador 

The letter of inquiry requests information concerning the legitimation 

of children under the law of El Salvador. The facts of the ease may be 

summarized as follows: A child was born out of wedlock in El Salvador in 

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1938. His natural father registered his birth and recognized him as his 

son. The child's parents married approximately 21 years later. There is 

no indication as to whether the child's mother also recognized him as her 

natural son. 

The subject of legitimation of children born out of wedlock is governed 

by the Civil Code of El Salvador. Given the time element in this request, 

two editions of this Code, published in 1926' and 1959, 2were consulted, 

the currency of which was verified using our Index to Latin American 

Legislation. 3According to our research, there have been no significant 

changes in the statutes governing the procedures for legitimation from 

1926 to the present time. 

Pertinent provisions applicable to the instant case state that a child 

born out of wedlock may be voluntarily acknowledged by his or her 

parents. 4Acknowledgment may be effected, among other ways, in the 

act of registration of the child's birth in the office of the Civil Registry. 5 

If a child has been acknowledged by both parents, their subsequent 

marriage legitimates him or her ipso ju,re.6 An ipso jure legitimation 

also takes place when the child is acknowledged by his or her parents in 

the wedding ceremony and this recognition is annotated in the record of 

marriage. Legitimation takes place regardless of the fact that the child 

may be dead.' 

There are two exceptions to the above rules, however, children conceived in an adulterous relationship cannot be legitimated by the subsequent marriage of their parents.° This applies even in those cases 

where the married parent believed in good faith that she or he was no 

longer married at the time of conception.° The second exception concerns putative marriages, -which cause legitimation of children born out 

of wedlock only in those cases where at least one of the spouses was in 

good faith at the moment of contracting marriage.'° 

The Civil Code also provides that, if the father has legally acknowledged the child or his paternity has been established by a court decision, 

and in either case the mother's name is established in the child's birth 

Constitucidn y Cddigos de la Republica de El Salvador [Imprenta Elzeviriana y 

Librerce Cami, S.A. Barcelona, Spain, 1926]. 

2 Ciidigo Civil de El Salvador IC. Civ.] [Instituto de Culture Bispdnica, Madrid, Spain, 

1959]. 

Index to Latin American Legislation 1950-60 [Library of Congress, G.K. Hall & Co., 

Boston, 1961] and Supplements. 

4C. Civ., art. 279. 

IC. Civ., art. 280. 

6C. Civ., art. 217. 

7C. Civ., art. 218(1). 

° C. Civ., art. 216(1). 

° C. Civ., art. 216(2). 

'° C. Civ. art. 215. 

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record, there shall be no need for a formal acknowledgment of the child 

by the mother in order to be legitimated ipso jure by the subsequent 

marriage of the parents." 

If there has been no previous acknowledgment of the child, there is no 

ipso jam legitimation as a result of the parents' marriage, but the 

parents, at any time after their marriage, can legitimate the child by 

means of a public instrument." 

Children legitimated by their parents' subsequent marriage are considered as legitimate children conceived in wedlock and have the same 

rights. 13However, the benefits of legitimation are not retroactive from 

the date of the parents' marriage. 14Also, unless legitimated children are 

expressly excepted, the designation of legitimate children in laws, decrees, wills and contracts shall be understood to include legitimated 

children. 15 

Based on the above paraphrased provisions, we may conclude that in 

the instant case the child was a natural one until apparently legitimated 

ipso jure by the subsequent marriage of his parents, provided that: (a) 

he was nOt conceived in an adulterous relationship between his parents; 

(b) his parents were legally married or at least had contracted a putative 

marriage, with one of them in good faith; and (c) he was acknowledged 

not only by his father but also by his mother, or at least her name was 

included in the birth record signed by his father. 

" C. Civ., art. 218(2). 

120. Civ., art. 219. 

" C. Civ., art:s. 214 and 225(1). 

" C.' Civ., art. 225(2). 

a C. Civ., art. 226. 

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