Court Determines that Stepchild Does Not Fall Under Definition of Child

The Ninth Circuit upheld the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of the petitioner’s claim that he derived citizenship under INA §320(a) from his U.S. citizen stepfather, who married his non-citizen mother after he was born and never adopted him.  This decision finds that the definition of “child” in INA §101(c)(1), the part of the Immigration and Nationality Act that applies to citizenship, does not encompass stepchildren. The court also found that Congress did not intend for INA §101(b)’s definition of child, which does include stepchildren, to apply to INA §320(a).