Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

To be able to petition a step-child, a US citizen step-father had to be married to a mother before a child turned 18.

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Your question asks for when your father may apply for citizenship of the step-child. Perhaps you mean to ask whether the step father may apply for legal permanent residence for the step-child and not the citizenship? They are 2 different things. If the US citizen father married the mother before the child was 18, then he may apply for a visa petition for permanent residence for the step child. If the step child is already a legal permanent resident, then there are other factors to look into in acquiring or deriving citizenship. For further questions, you may email: [email protected] or phone 415-387-1364.