  In [6], D'Angelo introduced the notion of finite type for points $p$ of a
real hypersurface $M$ of $\mathbb C^n$ by defining the order of contact
$\Delta_q(M,p)$ of complex analytic $q$-dimensional varieties with $M$ at $p$.
Later, Catlin [4] defined $q$-type, $D_q(M,p)$ for points of hypersurfaces by
considering generic $(n-q+1)$-dimensional complex affine subspaces of $\mathbb
C^n$. We define a generalization of the Catlin's $q$-type for an arbitrary
subset $M$ of $\mathbb C^n$ in a similar way that D'Angelo's 1-type,
$\Delta_1(M,p)$, is generalized in [13]. Using recent results connecting the
D'Angelo and Catlin $q$-types in [1] and building on D'Angelo's work on the
openness of the set of points of finite $\Delta_q$-type, we prove the openness
of the set of points of finite Catlin $q$-type for an arbitrary subset
$M\subset \mathbb C^n$.
