Interim Decision' #1570 

MATTER 011 GREEN 

In Visa Petition. Proceedings 

A-14352272 

A-14352273 

Decided by Board October t9, 1965 

Beneficiaries, born out of wedlock during the existence of their putative 

father's marriage to the United States citizen petitioner, are not stepchildren within the meaning of section 101(b) (1) (B), Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, since there is no evidence of the existence of a 

family unit between the parties. 

The cases come forward on appeal from the order of the District 

Director, New York District, dated August 9, 1965 denying the 

visa petitions on the ground that the husband of the petitioner was 

never married to the mother of the beneficiaries and therefore the 

. petitioner has failed to establish that the beneficiaries are children 

within the meaning of section 101(b) (1) of th© Immigration. and. 

Nationality Aot; consequently the beneficiaries are not eligible for 

nonquota classification under section 101(a) (27) (A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

The petitioner is a native of Jamaica, a citizen of the United 

States by naturalization on December 6, 1957, 52 years old, female. 

She seeks nonquota status on behalf of the beneficiaries, Nicolette 

Alicia 'Green and Ann Marie Green, natives and citizens of Jamaica, 

born September 19, 1959 and August 29, 1956, respectively. - 

The petitioner alleges that the beneficiaries are her stepchildren, 

the illegitimate children of her husband, Sydney Oswald Green,. 

-whom she married in Jamaica on September, 1913. The petitioner 

'has submitted the birth certificates of the beneficiaries, showing . 

 their mother to be Marion Charlton, the father not being shown. 

There have also bean presented Baptism certificates relating to the 

beneficiaries showing, they were baptized in Jamaica about 1961, 

-the name of the father being Sydney Green, whom the petitioner 

married in September 1943. The files also contain an affidavit by 

Beatrice Francis, executed June 9, 1965 to the effect she is the 

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grandmother of the beneficiaries and certifies that the father of 

these children is Sidney Green and the mother, now deceased, was 

her daughter, Marion Charlton. There is also in the files the affidavit of Sidney Green, dated May 26, 1965 to the effect that he is 

the father of the beneficiaries who were born out of wedlock.. . 

It appears therefore that the petitioner was already married to 

her husband at the time he sired these- beneficiaries by another 

woman. 'Even under the wording of section 101(b) (1) (B) of the 

Immigration and Nationality Act, as. amended, it is difficult to , 

perceive how the beneficiarRis can be regarded as stepchildren. The 

beneficiaries are adulterine children or adulterine bastards.: By the 

common law, as-it still exists in England and Ireland and In some 

states, bastards cannot be legitimated; but in Scotland and on the 

continent of Europe generally, and by statute in many states, children are now legitimated by the Tfubsequent marriage of their parents, provided the patents might legally have married at the time 

of the child's birth.' Adulterine children are the issue of adulterous 

intercourse and are regarded more unfavorably than the illegitimate 

offspring of single persons? 

Counsel seeks to equate the instant case with the case of Nation V. 

Evenly, 239 F. Stipp. 581 (1965). That case involved a bens- ' 

ficiary who was born out of wedlock on February 12, 1947. He was' 

abandoned in infancy by his natural mother, the plaintiff commenced caring for him in 1949 and married the beneficiary's father 

in 1952 when the beneficiary was five years old. The plaintiff 

immigrated to the United States in 195T and-her husband followed 

a year later. The plaintiff became a naturalized citizen in 1962 

immediately thereafter petitioned for the beneficiary's admittance 

on a nontrota visa. The 'court limn& that the legislative history 

of the amendatory Act of 1957, while tending in the Senate Report 

to sustain tlT government position that it applied only to the illegitimate child of a mother who subsequently married.. a-"United 

States citizen, was not compelling and did not control the interpre- - 

 tation of section 101(b) (1) (B) of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act. Observing that the plaintiff, her husband and the beneficiary 

had been a close family unit since shortly after the beneficiary's 

birth, and that immediately'after citizenship was secured the plaintiff petitioned to unite the family unit, the court applied the "plain 

meaning" rule to the phrase "whether or not born out of -wedlock," - 

in view of the clearly expressed legislative intention to keep together 

Trebater's Unabridged Dictionary (2d.ed.), "legitimate." 

'Bouvier's Law Dictionary (Sd.ed.) ; Matter of D -11.—, 7 1. & N Dec- 441; 

Matter of F—, 71.&N.Dee.448,451. 

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the family unit wherever possible. Finding in that caw that a 

family unit existed, the court held en the fade of the ease that the 

beneficiary was the plaintiff's stepchild. 

In this ease the beneficiaries are adulterine bastards who were born 

out of wedlock during the time their putative father was married 

to the pdtitioner. There is no evidence of the existence of a family 

unit. On the contrary, these illegitimate offspring indicated that 

the existing family unit between the petitioner and her husband 

was adversely affected. The petitioner was naturalized in -1957 and 

not' until approximately eight years later his a visa petition been 

filed on behalf of the beneficiaries. There is no indication that the 

sympathetic factors which existed in the Najd:7, case, and the existence of a family unit which greatly influenced the court's decision, 

are present in the instant case. The appeal will be dismissed. 

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

dismissed. 

648