What Documentation Is Needed To Perform an Immigration DNA Test?
To perform an immigration DNA test, you must have an office action document from an immigration agency. The most commonly issued request is, USCIS Request for Evidence (RFE), such as an I-130 RFE, or another USCIS office action that specifically requests you submit secondary DNA evidence to be submitted.
In some cases, a request letter may also come directly from a U.S. embassy, consulate, or from the U.S. passport agency suggesting DNA testing as an option to prove your claimed relationship. A RFE document is a requirement to ensure you are compliant with immigration’s evidence submission guidelines.
Receiving an RFE is an essential part of the process to help with the establishment of the chain of custody. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in USCIS or a U.S. embassy not accepting your DNA results based on how the evidence was submitted. This can lead to delays, additional requests for evidence being issued, or even a denial of the case, which may be detrimental depending on your circumstance.
We recommend you wait to begin DNA testing until you receive an RFE office action. If an attorney advises you to complete testing proactively and submit results with a visa application, it’s important to understand the potential consequences if the evidence is not submitted according to USCIS or embassy guidelines so you can make an informed decision for your situation.
What is the difference between an Immigration DNA Test and non-immigration legal DNA test?
Legal DNA Test
When a DNA test is performed without an RFE office action, the result is not considered a immigration DNA test result. Instead, it is a standard legal DNA test. A standard legal DNA test result that is legally admissible for all legal cases like child support or adding a name to a birth certificate. Similar to an immigration DNA test, legal tests require the establishment of a chain of custody, unbiased third-party sample collection, and testing performed by a partner AABB-accredited laboratory.
Immigration DNA Test
An immigration DNA test follows the same criteria as a standard legal DNA test. The key difference is that, as part of the immigration chain of custody, the laboratory is required to send the results directly to the requesting immigration agency. In most cases, immigration agencies do not accept DNA results submitted directly by the petitioner.
This distinction is important to understand when deciding how and when to pursue DNA testing. We do not generally recommend performing a DNA test before receiving an official office action from an immigration agency. In situations when an attorney advises completing a standard legal DNA test in advance, it is important to understand that the laboratory cannot submit those results on your behalf without the proper documentation, as doing so would break the required chain of custody.
immigration agencies often do not accept a standard legal DNA test result before a request has been issued, they may later issue an office action requesting secondary evidence, when this occurs, that would be an ideal opportunity to initiate the immigration DNA testing process.
Ultimately, the decision comes down to whether you prefer to complete DNA testing once or twice, depending on whether the testing is performed in accordance with the documentation and procedures required by immigration agencies for accepting secondary evidence.