DNA Lady
Say Thank You to a Military Family
Over 1.47 Million men and women are on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces
Over 850,000 men and women are considered Reserve Personnel in the U.S. Armed Forces
Over 500,000 men and women are on active and reserve military duty deployed overseas and afloat.
How can we thank them for their service to our country and sacrifice to their families. Without them, we would not have backyard BBQs, swimming pools and fireworks.
Are you of Irish Heritage? Do you have the telltale freckles and red hair or black hair and blue eyes? Do you call your Mother "ma" and your Father "da"? If so, a recent article in a Dublin newspaper announced the Irish government plans to introduce a certificate of Irish heritage for the up to 70 million people of Irish descent around the world who do not qualify for citizenship.
Michael Martin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said he decided to proceed with the initiative, which was first approved last year by the Global Irish Economic Forum. Leave it to the Irish to come up with such a revenue enhancement program.
The certificates will be issued by a third party agency acting under the licence from the Department of Foreign Affairs, which is considering charging a fee for each document issued. The program is not designed to raise a significant amount of revenue and the price to be charged as yet to be determined.
The exact size of such a market for heritage certificates is unknown but it is anticipated that many Irish emigrants would wish to buy one to display in their homes or as a gift to another family member. Irish heritage and/or ancestral origins can be determined by a simple DNA Test at your local DNA collector's office. In addition to Paternity and other biological test confirmation, your local DNA collector also participates in today's growing hobby of genealogical tracing and ancestral root discovery via non-invasive DNA test. If you contact your local DNA collector, be sure to ask for your ancestral map along with your DNA test to confirm your Irish heritage.
Some members of the Irish government were critical of the disconnection between Ireland and the members of the diaspora, particularly those unable to qualify for citizenship by virture of having a parent or grandparent born in Ireland. The forum also highlighted the role that the emigrant network could play iin helping Ireland improves its economic fortunes and global competitive edge. The Irish do know how to unite to benefit themselves.
The Irish diaspora is not limited to Irish citizens living in Ireland and abroad but instead should encompass all those who believe they are of Irish descent and feel a sense of affinity with Ireland.
Certificate processing will be available later this year, according to the Minister. One incentive to participate in the certification process is to offer discounts to those holding the certificates while visiting Ireland as tourists.
United States citizens can petition for their spouses, parents, children or silbings to immigrate to the United States and permanent residents can do so for their spouses and unmarried children.
In most cases there are sufficient written records and documents to validate biological relationships claimed on immigration petitions and satisfy the requirements of the U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services or the U.S. Embassy. However, in the event that more evidence of a biological relationship is needed, a voluntary DNA test may be requested. DNA Tests are typically requested for immigations and passports and sometimes for other reasons. It is important to bring all requests for DNA evidence with you to your DNA collection in the United States, so that you collector will know which agency to contact in your beneficiary's country. Your paperwork will also indicate where the original DNA results should be sent.
DNA Testing fees vary by country and by test type. For example, a U.S. citizen who is petitioning to bring his/her mother to the United States will be ask to pay for a Maternity Test as well as all shipping and postage fees from the United States and back to their beneficiary's country. On the other hand, a U.S. citizen petitioning to bring over silbings will pay for a siblingship test - based on the number of siblings involved in the test and the shipping and postage fees. All of the DNA Kits sent to Embassies, panel physicians and USCIS offices in foreign countries are done via DHL or FEDEX so that you can maintain a record of sent/received dates and include that information with your interview paperwork.
The sponsor (or person residing in the United States) will require a government issued photo identification and as mentioned above, a copy of the letter from the USCIS or Embassy asking for a DNA test. If this letter is not available, the minimum requirement will be paperwork that identifies their government issued case number. The beneficiary (or person residing outside of the United States) will be collected either at a U.S. Embassy, an approved panel physician in the foreign country and in some cases at the USCIS offices. Some countries contact the beneficiary in their country with an appointment time, while other countries contact the petitioner with the appointment time. The beneficiary will need to bring a government issued identification with them to the collection appointment.
After all samples are collected, they are sent back to the United States to an American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) accredited laboratory. Test results will generally be available within 3 - 5 business days depending on the test type (paternity, maternity, silbingship etc. ) The U.S. government requires that the final results be received directly from the testing laboratory. Once received, the USCIS typically requires one to two weeks to process once they have received the results package from the AABB accredited laboratory. The sponsor will also receive a copy of the DNA Test results by regular mail from the DNA collection facility.
Since most Embassies and USCIS offices are backed logged with requests - it is important to get the DNA process in motion as soon as you are notified that a DNA test will be required. There are countries that can close out a case as quickly as 5 weeks and then there are countries that can take up to 5 months to complete a DNA test on the beneficiaries.
Yes, I get that question regularly and when I first heard it, I thought that maybe someone needed a short lesson in Biology even though they obviously understood the fertilization part. But then I realized my customers are very smart and they know that DNA can be found on so many different items - that what she was really asking is if we can create a DNA profile from something other than her husband's mouth. The answer of course is yes. We can create a DNA profile of her husband and then submit her children's DNA in order for an experienced and accredited lab analyst to compare the profiles and look for genetic markers indicating paternity.
There are many different items that we can use to create her husband's DNA profile in order to determine if he is the biological father of the two children involved. The reader may find this to be sneaky but you don't always know the circumtances - perhaps she is protecting herself from an abusive individual? Perhaps she is trying to insure that her children are cared for while she searches and confirms who their real father is. Perhaps the children's real father is a U.S. citizen and she wants to have her children legally entered into the United States. You simply can't judge until you've walked in her shoes. In New Jersey, it is the State that automatically assumes the husband to be the father of the children and automatically enters his information on the child's Certificate of Parentage - unless both partners speak up declare that is not the case and another man signs an Acknowledgement of Paternity. At a time when all family members are in the hospital room "oohing" and "aahing" over the new addition to their family - I doubt that any new mother wants to initiate a conversation or place doubt in anyone's mind about the paternity of the child.
Rather than get into the emotions and moral side of this subject, I would like to explain the methods by which we can determine a man is the father, without actually having that man present at the DNA collection. First, only a legal guardian can bring in minor children for collection by a private DNA collector - so in this case, the mother is a legal guardian and can prove it by bringing in either the hospital discharge papers, the birth certificates, her healthcare cards with the children's names plus her own identification, driver's license, passport, any current photo id. We then collect DNA from the children and the mother in the usual manner.
The mother is asked to bring in anyone of the following items belonging to the "alleged" biological father:
Blood - may be obtained from diabetic test strips, band-aids, clothing, tissues;FTA Blood Stain cards (used in deceased alleged father tests)
Clothing - may contain sweat from underarm, bandannas, hats, baseball caps, underwear - tissues and/or handerkerchief with nasal mucous
Dental Floss -must be properly handled and stored
Used Q-Tips - must be properly handled and stored
Razor Clippings - must be properly handled and stored
Gum - preferably sugar fee
Nails - fingers and toes - freshly trimmed
Sperm - air dried on a q-tip or present on underwear
Toothbrush - by far the easiest to provide for DNA analysis
Toothpick - must be handled properly
I don't mention hair, because hair samples must contain the root or follicle and must be the thickness of a pencil eraser head. It would be difficult for anyone to collect hair in that manner without bringing attention to themselves.
An accredited laboratory will have trained personnel able to lift DNA and create genetic profiles and match to the regular samples of the children's and look for any indicative mutations or non-matches.
So - do we need the father present for a DNA test - no, not really. Do we need the mother present for a Paternity Test - no, not really. Having the mother's DNA does allow the laboratory to provide stronger results - because we have definite knowledge of one half of the children's DNA. The cost is not all that prohibitive to do a Paternity Test using any of the above unusual samples. It may take a little longer than the usual 3 person (mother, father and one child) paternity test 3 business day turn around time but considering the importance of the information involved - the wait is worth it.
There are a few different steps involved with a DNA Test to expedite a Family Based Visa. The U.S. sponsor should be familiar with the scheduling process of the U .S. Embassy or US Citizens and Immigration Service (USCIS) office in their country of origin. Here is a snapshot of the process involved in using DNA tests to prove the biological relationship between sponsor and beneficiary(s).
1.) U.S. sponsor receives notice from the U.S. Embassy Consular Section or USCIS that the paperwork submitted as proof of the family relationship is not sufficient to allow entry of the beneficiary into the United States under a Family Based Visa.
2.) The U.S. sponsor is then requested to submit additional evidence of relationship and in most cases - a DNA test - or genetic test is suggested. Today, non-invasive DNA tests can prove maternity, paternity, grand paternity, siblingship and avuncular relationships.
3.) The U.S. sponsor contacts an AABB approved DNA collection facility to set up sponsor's DNA collection in the United States and put into motion the collection of the benefiiciary(s) in your country of origin.
4.) Sponsor's DNA is collected and along with identifying paperwork are submitted to an AABB accredited laboratory.
5.) The AABB accredited laboratory submits a request for DNA collection of your beneficiary along with a DNA kit to the U.S. Embassy or USCIS office in your country of origin.
It is at this point in the process, where the U.S. Sponsor begins to panic. There is no one in the United States that can control the collection process and time frame in U.S. Embassies and USCIS offices in your country of origin. Your DNA collector will know when the DNA kit and request for collection is received at the U.S. Embassy or USCIS facility in your country of origin but will not be able to confirm to you when your beneficiary(s) collection will take place. In very few countries, the U.S. Embassy or USCIS will send a letter to all participants (sponsor, beneficiary and collector) notifying them of the collection date for the beneficiary.
6.) The U.S. Embassy or USCIS in your country of origin contacts the beneficiary(s) based on the address, phone, and email information you supply to the DNA collector in the United States. It is extremely important to provide accurate and complete information at the time of the sponsor's collection as missing or wrong information will delay and/or cancel your beneficiary(s) collection in your country of origin.
7.) Your beneficiary(s) DNA and identifying paperwork will be collected in much the same manner as the sponsor was collected in the United States. Again, your beneficiary must provide proper identification at the time of their collection. There is usually a local collection fee (as low as $15 for China but as high as $50 for Haiti) for the beneficiary paid directly to the U.S. Embassy or USCIS office doing the local collection and in the local currency.
8.) Your beneficiary's DNA is submitted back to the same AABB accredited laboratory in the United States that received your DNA.
9.) The AABB accredited laboratory submits the original results directly to the U.S. Embassy or USCIS office in the United States that requested you to do the DNA test.
10.) The DNA collector receives a copy of your results and mails them to you at the U.S. address you provide at time of collection.
If you have a lawyer or an immigration counselor working with you, they can be provided with the status of your case, only with your written permission.
Depending on the country of origin, some cases process as quickly as 4 weeks while we have seen other countries (West Africa) take up to 6 months just to set up the appointment for the beneficiary. The U.S. sponsor must be mindful of dates that the USCIS or U.S. Embassy impose on their paperwork. In some cases, you may submit evidence that the genetic testing is in progress - but by all means make sure you respond to the agency in a timely manner. Failure to submit your requested documents in a timely manner can and will result in denial of your petitions.
