Opinion No.

Honorable Chet Brooks Chairman Committee on Health and Human Services Texas State Senate P.O. Box 12068 Austin, Texas 78711

Re: Whether Texas procedure whereby a man voluntarily can establish paternity of a child born out of wedlock "Legitimates" the child (RQ-178)

Dear Senator Brooks:

Prior to its amendment in 1986, section 309(a) of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 provided that a child born outside of wedlock outside of the United States to a father who is a citizen of the United States and a noncitizen mother was deemed a citizen of the United States from birth if,…