United States Immigration DNA Test Information

Do You Need a DNA Test for Immigration?

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security oversees the agency that administers naturalization and immigration services. which is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) grants citizens and legal permanent residents the benefit of petitioning for certain relatives to immigrate to the U.S. Immediate family members, such as children, spouses, parents, and siblings, account for almost 69% of immigrants who apply for lawful permanent resident status (commonly referred to as “green cards”)in the United States do so by petitioning through a family member.

Often, when the paperwork needed to prove that two people are related is destroyed, or cannot be found, the immigration case worker will require the parties involved to take a DNA paternity or family relationship test. DNA testing offers the benefits of reducing immigration fraud, and making the process easier for those immigrants applying for status that are without documentation. 

Our test can be used for immigration and Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) or U.S. Passport purposes to prove a biological relationship as requested by an embassy or USCIS.

USCIS Immigration Requirements

To convey U.S. citizenship to a child born abroad, the parent, or parents, who hold U.S. citizenship need to establish the biological relationship with their child or children. Legal documents that are typically used to prove this relationship include marriage and birth certificates, and adoption papers. DNA testing is used primarily when other sufficient evidence isn’t available to establish the biological relationship. 

Since 2018 the USCIS doesn’t have regulatory authority to require DNA testing, and an immigration worker can only suggest that a person go through the DNA testing process. This is often, however, the quickest way to resolve some identification concerns that the USCIS has raised. If a test is done, only results of DNA testing done through an AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) accredited lab are accepted. DNA tests used in citizenship cases may be of the following relationships: 

• Father-child (Legal Paternity Test)
• Mother-child (Legal Maternity Test)
• Child and full or half brother or sister (Legal Sibling Test)
• Grandparent(s) of the child (Legal Grandparent Test)
• Child’s paternal aunt/uncle (Legal Avuncular Test)

The DNA Immigration Test Process 

Immigration DNA testing in the United States follows the required steps listed below.

Requirements prior to testing

1. Receive paperwork from USCIS or other agencies requesting DNA evidence of a relationship between the petitioner and beneficiary. Ordering a test prior to having USCIS paperwork can result in delays and possibly paying for another test.
2. Call us at 1-855-362-5224 to initiate the beginning steps of a DNA test. You will need to provide contact information for each person to be tested. USCIS generally gives a deadline of about 90 days for the testing to be completed, so do this as soon as possible.
3. We will have you scan, attach, and upload a copy of the USCIS document, or other paperwork, requesting the testing to the email address we will give you at the time of your consultation. All information should be provided at the same time to avoid delays.
4. After receiving this information, we will schedule a final consultation with our partner lab on your behalf.

The AABB process for DNA immigration testing 

1. The petitioner has an appointment scheduled for a DNA collection appointment in the USA.
2. The petitioner’s DNA sample is collected.
3. Our partner lab ships a DNA collection kit to the U.S. embassy/immigration office in the beneficiary’s home country.
4. The embassy/immigration office collects the beneficiary’s DNA sample and ships the samples back to the lab.
5. Once testing is complete, our partner lab sends the legally defensible (chain of custody) test results and a clear explanation of the results to the proper immigration authorities and the U.S. petitioner.
6. If all parties are already within the United States, the process will proceed as a regular legal DNA test as explained on this website.