How to Prove a Parent-Child Relationship for Citizenship or Immigration Purposes

If you are a foreign-born person allowed to immigrate and live legally in the United States (whether as a U.S. citizen, green-card holder, or almost anything else), there's a good chance your foreign-born biological children are eligible to live here too. (Note that this article does not discuss the eligibility requirements for stepchildren and adopted children.)

In order to be eligible to live in the United States, your children will need to prove that you really are their parent, most likely through official documents (accompanied by English language translations, if they're in another language). This article describes how the U.S. government might allow the child (or you) to prove that relationship—depending on whether you are the child's mother or the child's father.

The stakes are high, with the U.S. government having shown an increasing tendency to deny family petitions without offering second chances. You'll want try to supply the most convincing and appropriate documents with your initial submission rather than waiting for a follow-up request that might never come.

(See the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations at 8 C.F.R. Section 204.2(d).)

How to Prove a Mother-Child Relationship

To prove a mother-child relationship, it is enough to submit evidence of a biological relationship, preferably in the form of an acceptable birth certificate. (This is assuming, of course, that the child has not been permanently adopted by someone else — such adoption would legally terminate any prior parent-child relationship.)

What does "acceptable" mean for this purpose? A birth certificate is usually acceptable if it was registered not too long after the child's birth and it includes, in addition to the child's date and place of birth, the names of the mother and the child (matching their names on other official documents), as well as evidence that the certificate was issued by the appropriate government authority of the child's country of birth (for example, the signature and seal of the appropriate local government official).

Sometimes, a birth certificate is not acceptable or available at all. (If, for example, you are a refugee from Somalia, it is possible that your child's birth record was destroyed during that country's civil war.) In such a situation, you should at least try to find out whether you can obtain from the government of the child's country of birth an official letter (often referred to as a "certificate of nonavailability") explaining why an acceptable birth certificate cannot be issued. Regardless of whether your attempts succeed or fail, however, be prepared to submit as many alternative documents as possible.

Alternative documents might include two or more affidavits of birth (sworn letters written by relatives or other persons with personal knowledge of the facts of a child's birth), as well as medical records, school records, and religious records (such as certificate of baptism issued by a church) showing the names of the mother and the child.

When Blood Testing Might Be Required

If alternative documents are not available or sufficiently credible (believable), the U.S. government might not be willing to approve the case until the mother and child obtain a blood test from a laboratory accredited by the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB). Such a test, though not routinely requested, would at least prove that the mother and child could be directly related.

If the government suggests that you take a blood test, you should know that refusing to do so could be interpreted as evidence of ineligibility, unless you do so for legitimate religious reasons. (The fact that the test is expensive is not reason enough to refuse.)

When DNA Testing Might Be Required

If none of the options above seems conclusive, the U.S. government may suggest that the mother and child obtain a DNA test from a laboratory accredited by the AABB. (There are no "at home" test kits available or accepted for this process.) You will want to tell the lab why you're having this test and have the results forwarded to the U.S. consulate or USCIS office that is handling your case.

A DNA test is described by the government as "voluntary," and USCIS says, "a decision to omit DNA evidence is not factored into an adjudicative decision." (See the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1 Part E Chapter 6, "Evidence.")

Nevertheless, such a test could be the only way to provide definitive proof of a biological mother-child relationship. The test results would, however, need to report a 99.5% or greater degree of certainty of maternity.

How to Prove a Father-Child Relationship

If you're seeking to prove a father-child relationship, providing a birth certificate with your name on it or other evidence of a family relationship will definitely not be enough by itself. Also note that the names of both the father and the mother (not just the father) must appear on any acceptable birth certificate.

The U.S. government will also require you to supply evidence of a biological relationship (remember, we're not discussing stepchildren or adopted children here). You can show your biological link to the child in the same way that a mother would, as described above, including by blood testing or DNA testing (again showing a 99.5% or greater degree of certainty of paternity on the report).

In addition, the U.S. government will require evidence that the child either:

• was legitimated by the father before turning 18, or
• had a familial relationship with the father before turning 21.

Evidence that the parents married or the child was otherwise legitimated before age 18

A child born to unmarried parents is often referred to as "illegitimate" (or, under previous versions of the immigration law, "out of wedlock"). In such cases, the U.S. government will want to see further evidence that the child's father is truly the father. And even if the child was born to married parents, you'll need to prove this fact.

A key element of proving legitimation (at least in acquisition of citizenship cases) is to show that the child was within the father's and physical legal custody. The simplest way for a child to be legitimated is if a marriage took place between the father and mother before the child turned 18, and they are all living in the same household. The best evidence of this marriage would be a civil marriage certificate issued by the appropriate government authority of the place where the marriage was celebrated. If you are the child's father and you did marry your child's mother but are unable to obtain an acceptable marriage certificate, try to obtain a certificate of non-availability in addition to alternative documents (including affidavits of marriage and religious records stating the date when the marriage was celebrated).

If, instead, you entered into a common law or customary marriage, and the law of the place where the marriage occurred does not require that such marriages be registered, then you should not need to worry about obtaining a certificate of non-availability. The U.S. government will likely recognize your marriage if it was already recognized by the country where you celebrated it at the time you celebrated it.

If none of the above apply, you might be able to show legitimation based on having complied with some other rule (such as a requirement to obtain a court order) established by the law of the country where either the child or the father lived before the child turned 18.

However, even if your marriage was legal under the laws of the place where it was celebrated, the U.S. government will not recognize it if it is also in any way contrary to the laws of the United States (for example, if it involved polygamy or incest).

Evidence of a personal relationship between father and child before age 21

If you are the child's father and the child was born outside of marriage (out of wedlock), and you did not legitimate the child before they turned 18, then proving your father-child relationship will require evidence of a personal relationship (also referred to as a "bona fide" relationship) between you and the child.

For example, you might supply evidence that you lived with the child at some point, publicly treated the child as your own, and/or participated in the child's life—especially through financial and/or emotional support, but also through demonstrated concern for the child's well-being, school work, or religious instruction.

Be sure to include copies of any: receipts of money orders you sent to the child; insurance records naming the child as your beneficiary; letters exchanged between you and the child; and affidavits written by persons (perhaps your friends or your child's school officials) who know about the relationship.

Consult an Immigration Attorney

As suggested above, proving a parent-child relationship can become a complicated and expensive process, particularly in cases where a birth certificate is either unavailable or insufficient. Your best bet is to consult an experienced immigration attorney in advance.