VP 3-51809.
Decided by Board June 23, 1954.
Preference quota status — Section 203 (a) (4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act — Brothers and sisters through adoption not eligible.
Brothers and sisters through adoption are not "brothers" or "sisters" within the meaning of section 203 (a) (4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and are not eligible for preference quota status under that section. (Note: 5 IN Dec. 438, holding that adopted "sons" and "daughters" are eligible for fourth preference status.)
BEFORE THE BOARD
Discussion: The petitioner, a naturalized citizen of the United States, seeks a preference status on behalf of the beneficiary under the provisions of section 203 (a) (4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This section provides a preference on behalf of qualified quota immigrants who are brothers or sisters of citizens of the United States.
Documents submitted in connection with the petition establish that the petitioner and the beneficiary did not have common parents, but that the beneficiary was adopted by the parents of the petitioner at Kapuvar, Hungary, on November 20, 1912. The beneficiary was born at the same place on August 9, 1904, and was adopted by the parents of the petitioner after his mother died. The issue is whether the term "brother" in section 203 (a) (4) includes a brother through adoption.
The words "brother" or "sister" as used in section 203 (a) (4) are not defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act. In construing the word "sons" or "daughters" of United States citizens, who are also eligible for a preference status under section 203 (a) (4), it has been held that adopted sons or daughters were included within the provisions of section 203 (a) (4). This holding was predicated upon authoritative precedent under the immigration laws to warrant the conclusion reached.
Matter of R----, VP 3-18004, 5 IN Dec. 438 (1953).
However, authority is lacking to extend a collateral relationship such as brother and sister to include a brother or sister by adoption. The terms as used in the Immigration and Nationality Act present a question of Federal law and are to be taken and understood in their plain, ordinary and popular sense. In construing similar terms as used in section 602 (g) of the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940, it has been held that the term "brother" includes a brother by the whole blood and a brother by the half blood, but does not include a brother through adoption. The phrase "brothers and sisters" as used in statutes of descent and in inheritance tax statutes, is commonly construed to include half brothers and half sisters, but no mention is made of brothers or sisters through adoption.
Woodward v. United States, 167 F. (2d) 774 (C.C.A. 8, 1948); Droney v. United States, 59 F. Supp. 154 (D.C., 1945); Carpenter v. United States, 72 F. Supp. 510 (W.D. Pa., 1947).
Black's Law Dictionary, Third Edition, p. 253-254; Words and Phrases, Perm. Ed., Vol. 5, p. 845.
It is accordingly concluded that a brother through adoption is not eligible for a preference status under section 203 (a) (4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The petition will, therefore, be denied.
Order: It is ordered that the appeal be and the same is hereby denied.