Interim Decision #2355 

MATTER OF WONG 

In Visa Petition Proceedings 

A-17962992 

Decided by Board March 18, 1975 

Petitioner, a native of China and lawful permanent resident of the United States applied 

for classification of the beneficiary as his spouse under section 203(aX2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. At the time petitioner took the beneficiary as his concubine, he 

had a wife and another concubine. After petitioner's wife died and his first concubine 

obtained a divorce, petitioner and beneficiary were married, in 1956, in Hong Kong, by 

a priest, before two witnesses. However they had obtained no marriage license nor did 

they register the marriage. 'In view of the enactment, in 1971 of the Hong Kong 

Marriage Reform Ordinance (Chapter 178 of the Laws of Hong Kong, Revised Edition 

1971), it is not necessary to look to Chinese law and custom obtaining prior to 1956 to 

determine the validity of this marriage. It was valid under section 8 of the 1971 

Marriage Reform Ordinance because it was celebrated in an open ceremony prior to 

October 7, 1971, both parties were free to marry and were over the minimum age for 

marriage. The marriage is considered valid IL saa the date of ite celebration, notwithstanding that it was not under and in accordance with the Marriage Ordinance. 

Therefore the beneficiary spouse was eligible for second preference classificiation. 

ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: ON BEHALF OF SERVICE: • 

Charles J. Wong, Esquire Charles Gordon 

755 Commercial Street General Counsel 

San Francisco, California 91108 

The Service has moved for reconsideration of our decision of 

November 21, 1969 in which we sustained the petitioner's appeal from 

the decision of the district director, and we approved the visa petition 

filed by the petitioner. 

The petitioner is a native of China and a lawful permanent resident of 

the United States. He is applying to have the beneficiary classified as his 

spouse under section 203(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

The beneficiary was taken by the petitioner as his concubine in China 

in 1945. At that time, the petitioner already had a wife and another 

concubine. In 1950, the petitioner left China and entered Hong Kong 

with the beneficiary. The petitioner's wife died in China in March 1953, 

and the petitioner's first concubine obtained a divorce from the People's 

Court of Toyshan District, Kwantung, China, in 1952. 

On May 20, 1956, the petitioner and the beneficiary were married 

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before two witnesses in a ceremony performed 6S,a priest at St. 

Teresa'sChurch, Kowloon, Hong Kong. A marriage certificate issued by 

the church is contained in the record. The petitioner has stated that no 

marriage license was obtained for that marriage, and that the marriage 

was not registered with the civil authorities in Hong Kong. 

The district director held that the failure to obtain a marriage license 

resulted in a void marriage under section 28 of the Hong Kong Marriage 

Ordinance, Chapter 181 of the Laws of Hong Kong, Revised Edition, 

1950. Upon appeal, we held that the beneficiary had acquired the status 

of "principal wife" under Chinese law and custom in Hong Kong by 

virtue of the death of the petitioner's original wife and the divorce 

obtained by his first concubine. We also held that the Hong Kong 

Marriage Ordinance was inapplicable because of the exception for marriages in accordance with Chinese law and custom. We found it unnecessary to pass on the validity of the 1956 church marriage because of our 

conclusion that the parties were already married under Chinese law and 

custom. Tile Service has requested that we reconsider our conclusions 

regarding Chinese law and custom in Hong Kong. However, recent 

developmenis in the law of Hong Kong have mooted the issue raised by 

the Service in this motion. 

Since the time of our original decision in this case, the Hong Kong 

Government has enacted the Hong Kong Marriage Reform Ordinance, 

Chapter 178 of the Laws of Hong Kong, Revised Edition, 1971. Section 

8 of the Marriage Reform Ordinance states: 

Subject to section 14, 1every marriage celebrated in Hong Kong before the appointed 

day [October 7, 1971] as a modern marriage by a man and a woman each of whom, at the 

time of the marriage, was not less than sixteen years of age and was not married to any 

other person shall be a valid marriage, and shall be deemed to have been valid since the 

time of celebration, notwithstanding— 

(a) that the proper personal law and religion of the parties, or one of them, was 

Chinese kill and custom, and the marriage was prohibited by or failed to comply with 

the requirements of Chinese' law and custom;. or 

(b) that the marriage was not under and in accordance with the Marriage Ordinance. 

(Emphasis supplied.) 

Section 2 of the Marriage Reform Ordinance defines the term "modern 

marriage" as "a marriage celebrated in Hong Kong before the appointed 

day [October 7, 1971] by open ceremony as a modern marriage and in 

the presence of two or more witnesses." Section 2 also defines a "validated marriage" as "a modern marriage made valid by section 8." 

The petitioner's 1956 marriage to the beneficiary was celebrated by an 

open ceremony before two witnesses prior to the "appointed day." Both 

parties were free to marry and were over the minimum age for marriage. 

Section 1,1 deals with dissolution of marriages. 

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The petitioner's 1956 marriage to the beneficiary qualifies as a "validated marriage," made valid by section 8 of the Hong Kong Marriage 

Reform Ordinance. 

Consequently, the issue as to whether the petitioner and the beneficiary 

had a valid marriage under Chinese law and custom in Hong Kong prior 

to 1956 has become moot in the context of this case. The issue of the 

effect on the 1956 marriage of the failure to comply with the prior 

Marriage Ordinance has also become moot. Regardless of the correctness of our discussion of Hong Kong law in our earlier decision, our 

order sustaining the appeal from the district director's denial, and our 

order approving the visa petition are clearly proper at this point in time. 

Consequently, the Service motion for reconsideration will be denied. 

ORDER: The Service motion is denied, and our order staying the 

execution of our November 21, 1969 order is vacated; however, our 

November 21, 1969 order is corrected by the deletion of the words "for 

immediate relative status." 

Louis P. Maniatis, Board Member, dissents, without opinion. 

Irving A. Appleman, Board Member, abstained from consideration of 

this case. 

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