A USCIS DNA letter is a notice suggesting that you consider DNA testing as a way to support a claimed biological relationship in an immigration case. According to USCIS’s August 2026 policy update, the suggestion is optional and applies when the required primary evidence is unavailable, unreliable, or not enough on its own. The letter is not a denial and not an order, but it does tell you the officer wants stronger proof of the relationship. How you respond matters, and the testing itself has strict rules that a standard home kit does not meet.
TL;DR
- A USCIS DNA letter suggests optional testing to help prove a genetic relationship when other evidence is missing or insufficient.
- DNA collection is voluntary under USCIS policy, but declining means your case must be supported by other evidence.
- Immigration testing must go through an AABB-accredited laboratory, with results sent directly from the lab to the embassy or consulate.
- The petitioner or beneficiary pays the laboratory in advance. The embassy does not set or adjust fees.
- Our home kits are designed for personal knowledge, not immigration use.
Table of Contents
- What a USCIS DNA letter means
- Is DNA testing required?
- What to check in the letter before you act
- How immigration DNA testing is arranged
- Accreditation and chain of custody
- Costs and timing
- Our perspective
- If a relative cannot attend, you disagree, or you need more time
- After the results are sent
- Where our home kits fit
- FAQ
- Sources
What a USCIS DNA letter means
Immigration cases built on a family relationship, such as a parent petitioning for a child or a sibling petitioning for a sibling, depend on documents that show the relationship exists. Birth certificates, marriage records, school and medical records, and sworn statements are the usual primary evidence. When an officer finds those documents missing, unreliable, or insufficient, and more evidence is needed, USCIS may suggest DNA testing. The agency describes this in its August 5, 2026 Policy Alert.
The same alert points to Executive Order 14165, signed on January 20, 2025, which directs the Department of Homeland Security to use available technologies and procedures to determine whether a claimed family relationship is valid. In practice, that means officers may mention DNA more often than they did in the past. A letter that mentions DNA therefore does not by itself signal that your documents were found false. It signals that the officer sees a gap.
U.S. embassies describe DNA testing in similar terms. The U.S. Embassy in Honduras explains that testing is optional and can be useful for proving a biological relationship when other sufficient proof is absent. The same logic applies to petitions processed in the United States.
Is DNA testing required?
No. USCIS’s Policy Manual states that DNA collection is voluntary and that USCIS cannot require DNA test results. It also says that testing is not required by any statute or regulation, and that a decision not to provide DNA evidence should not be the sole basis for denying a petition.
That last point deserves careful reading. Declining does not mean automatic denial, but it also does not make the officer’s concern go away. If you decline, the burden remains on the petitioner to prove the relationship with other credible evidence. Families who have few civil records, who were born in places where records were not kept or were lost, or whose documents contain inconsistencies often find DNA the most direct way to resolve the question. Families with strong documentation may prefer to respond with additional records instead.
Because the stakes are high and every case is different, if you are unsure whether to test, consider speaking with an immigration attorney or a Department of Justice accredited representative before you decide.
What to check in the letter before you act
Read the entire notice slowly before you spend any money. A few items determine what you do next.
- Who sent it and from which office. A notice from USCIS in the United States leads to a different path than instructions from a consulate abroad.
- The receipt number and petition type. Confirm that it matches your case, for example an I-130, and that names and dates of birth are correct.
- Whether DNA is suggested or whether other evidence is also requested. Some notices ask for several things at once, and DNA may be only one option.
- Any response deadline. Deadlines in your notice are specific to your case and can be strict. Note the date and the way to respond, and ask for guidance well before it arrives if you may need more time.
- Which relationships need testing. The letter should identify the claimed relationship, such as parent and child, and which people would be tested.
- Instructions for contacting the right lab or office. Do not assume a lab is acceptable because a website says so. Confirm the accreditation yourself.
If anything in the letter does not match your records, such as a misspelled name or an incorrect relationship, write that down and raise it in your response rather than testing first.
How immigration DNA testing is arranged
The process is more formal than ordering a kit online. The State Department’s DNA relationship testing procedures set out the steps for cases processed through an embassy or consulate abroad:
- The petitioner selects an AABB-accredited laboratory in the United States and contacts it to start the process.
- The laboratory sends the test kit directly to the U.S. embassy or consulate that is handling the case. Kits are not shipped to the family.
- The embassy or consulate contacts the applicant to schedule a collection appointment.
- Samples are collected under supervision by embassy-designated medical staff.
- The laboratory sends the results directly to the embassy or consulate, which then contacts the applicant to continue visa processing.
The petitioner in the United States is usually the one who deals with the lab, while the relative abroad appears for collection. Families who bring a petitioner and beneficiary together in the U.S. should ask the office that sent the notice which collection method it accepts, because requirements differ by case. Our guide to the embassy DNA process for U.S. at-home tests explains why a kit that arrives at your door cannot be used for this purpose.
Accreditation and chain of custody
Two rules separate an immigration test from a private one.
Accreditation. The State Department requires testing through an AABB-accredited laboratory. Before you pay anyone, confirm the lab’s status directly with AABB rather than relying on a claim made on a website. This walkthrough on how to verify an AABB lab shows how.
Chain of custody. Only results sent directly by the accredited laboratory to the embassy or consulate are accepted. Results that a family forwards, scans, or uploads themselves do not meet that standard. Chain of custody means every step is documented: who collected the sample, who verified identity, how the samples traveled, and who received the results. We explain the idea in more detail in our article on immigration DNA chain of custody.
This is why a home kit, where you swab at your kitchen table and mail the sample back, cannot support an immigration petition. Nobody independent has verified who provided the sample. A home test can be accurate for personal knowledge, but it does not create evidence an embassy or USCIS will accept.
Costs and timing
The State Department states that all testing costs and related expenses must be paid by the petitioner or beneficiary, and paid to the laboratory in advance. The Honduras embassy adds that embassies have no role in setting the price and will not intervene with a lab to request adjustments. Our explainer on who pays for immigration DNA covers the advance payment rule in more detail.
Prices vary between accredited labs, and they also depend on how many people are tested and the cost of the collection at the embassy, which may be billed separately. Ask each lab for a written quote that lists every charge, including the collection fee, before you commit. Because current schedules and charges change, check the official State Department page and the instructions from your own consulate for the latest process.
Timing has three parts: the time to arrange the kit with the lab, the time to schedule and attend a collection appointment, and the laboratory’s processing time after samples arrive. The slowest part is usually the appointment, since it depends on the embassy’s calendar and on how far the relative lives from it. A lab’s quoted turnaround covers only processing. Plan the full timeline with your response deadline in mind.
Our perspective
Every week we hear from families who have been told they need DNA proof of a relationship, and the first question is almost always whether a home kit will do. For immigration, the honest answer is no. The relationship has to be verified through an AABB-accredited lab with supervised collection and direct delivery of results to the embassy or consulate. Our home kits are designed for personal knowledge, not immigration use, and we will not suggest otherwise.
What we can say is that the letter is a request for evidence, not a verdict. Families do best when they read the notice calmly, confirm who needs to be tested, ask for written quotes, and verify accreditation directly. We also encourage families to talk to an immigration attorney or accredited representative, because a DNA decision is also a legal one.
Where we help is with the personal side of the same questions. Many families want to know the answer privately before starting a formal process, or have a separate family question about paternity, siblings, grandparents, or an aunt or uncle. Our home kits test up to 28 markers, include a prepaid return shipping envelope, and are processed by the lab in 2 to 3 business days, with 7 to 10 business days typical from order to results. They are designed to give you a clear answer for your own use, not evidence for a government agency.
Dr. Todd Lewis
If a relative cannot attend, you disagree, or you need more time
These situations come up often, and none has a single right answer. The general approach below is practical, not legal advice, and your notice and your consulate’s instructions come first.
A relative cannot attend collection. Contact the embassy or consulate that scheduled the appointment as soon as you know, and explain the reason in writing. Do not send someone else in the person’s place or arrange your own collection elsewhere, because identity must be verified by the designated staff. Ask whether the appointment can be moved and whether a different location is possible.
You disagree with the request. You are allowed to decline testing, as the Policy Manual makes clear. If you believe the request is mistaken, for example because your documents already prove the relationship, respond in writing by the stated method and include the strongest primary evidence you have: civil records, medical and school records, and statements from people who know the family. An immigration attorney can help you decide how to frame that response.
You disagree with a result. An unexpected result is stressful, but check first before acting. Confirm that the names, dates, and relationships on the report match the people tested and the relationship claimed, and that the right people were sampled. Our checklist for an immigration DNA mismatch walks through these checks. Speak with an attorney before retesting, since a second test can have consequences for the case.
You need more time. If you cannot meet a deadline because of an appointment delay, a records search, or document authentication, ask the office that issued the notice in writing before the deadline passes, and keep proof you did so. Civil documents from abroad can add time, especially when authentication is needed. Whether a country takes part in the apostille system affects that step, and this overview of countries without apostille shows how long delays can run for documents that need extra authentication.
After the results are sent
Once the laboratory has your results, it sends them directly to the embassy or consulate. The office then contacts the applicant to continue the visa process. DNA testing is used to verify the claimed biological relationship, so what it can establish is limited to that question. It does not replace other eligibility requirements for the visa or petition.
For updates, the answer depends on where the case sits. If the results went to a consulate, follow its instructions. The U.S. Embassy in Ghana and other posts tell families to contact USCIS about cases that USCIS handles. Petitioners can check the status of a USCIS petition using their receipt number on the agency’s website. Keep copies of the lab’s confirmation, your payment receipt, and every message with the embassy or consulate.
Where our home kits fit
If your goal is an immigration filing, you need an AABB-accredited lab and the supervised process above, and we are not that provider. If you want a private answer for yourself about a family relationship, our home kits can help. Our Home Paternity Test Kit is $79, the Home Maternity Test Kit is $129, and the Home Sibling, Grandparent, and Aunt/Uncle kits are each $139. They are for personal knowledge and are not accepted for court or immigration use.
To see which kit matches your situation, browse our home DNA test kits or use the guided selector on our site. For a general explanation of how paternity testing works, read our paternity testing guide.
FAQ
Does a USCIS DNA letter mean my case is being denied?
No. The letter suggests optional DNA testing when the primary evidence in your case is missing, unreliable, or insufficient. It means the officer wants more proof of the relationship. Respond by the stated method, and consider talking with an immigration attorney.
Can I use a home DNA kit for my immigration case?
No. Immigration testing must be performed by an AABB-accredited laboratory, and only results sent directly from that laboratory to the embassy or consulate are accepted. A kit you collect yourself has no verified identity or chain of custody, so it cannot be used for this purpose.
Who pays for immigration DNA testing?
The petitioner or beneficiary pays, and payment goes to the laboratory in advance. The State Department says all testing costs and related expenses fall on the family. Embassies do not set prices or negotiate them with labs.
What happens if I decide not to take the DNA test?
USCIS policy says testing is voluntary and a refusal should not be the only reason for denying a petition. You will still need other evidence that proves the relationship. If you are unsure, an immigration attorney can review your documents and advise you before you decide.
Sources
- USCIS Policy Alert on DNA evidence, August 5, 2026
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1, Part E, Chapter 6: Evidence
- U.S. Department of State: DNA Relationship Testing Procedures
- U.S. Embassy in Honduras: Genetic (DNA) Testing
- Countries without apostille
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