Establishment of paternity is essential in order to protect a child’s right to obtain immigration benefits based on a father’s status in the future.
- Legitimacy of a father, for immigration purposes, requires:
- An action to legitimate child under the law of the child’s or father’s residence or domicile, AND
- The child must be under 18 at the time of legitimation, AND
- There must be legal custody with the father at the time of legitimation, AND
- The child must be a natural child of the father.
- A child can also benefit from the citizenship or other immigration status of a parent through adoption and/or natural birth.
