ELIGIBILITY REVIEW UNIT
Information on DNA and Parentage Testing
A consular officer may suggest you undergo DNA testing to establish the claimed biological relationship. Unless this claimed relationship is sufficiently established, the Embassy cannot issue you a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) or visa.
When do we suggest DNA testing? DNA testing is a useful tool for verifying an alleged biological relationship and is most commonly used to verify a parent/child relationship in conjunction with a citizenship case or an immigrant visa application. Due to the expense and logistical delays involved, DNA testing is only recommended as a last resort, when insufficient proof of the relationship exists. DNA testing is always voluntary.
Expenses: You must pay all the costs of testing and related expenses directly to the laboratory in the U.S., to the panel physician, and to DHL, the express mailing service available in Dakar.
Outline of the Process: To initiate the process, you must choose an accredited laboratory in the United States to perform the DNA analysis (see Step 1 below). The laboratory in the U.S. will take the DNA sample of the individual living in the U.S., and will mail a DNA collection kit to the U.S. Embassy for use in collecting the DNA of the subject living in West Africa. Once the Embassy receives a collection kit in an applicant’s name, the applicant will be contacted by email and given an appointment to have his or her DNA sample taken at the U.S. Embassy. Before the day of the collection, the applicant must visit the panel physician’s office to pay the fee for the collection, and must obtain a pre-paid DHL envelope for the Embassy to use to send his or her DNA sample to the laboratory in the United States.
Step 1: Select a Laboratory:
The laboratory you select to perform the DNA analysis must be one which is accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB). A list of such laboratories can be found at the Internet at http://www.aabb.org. The laboratory will take the required samples for the individual(s) in the United States, and will send, by courier, a collection kit to the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, to the following address:
U.S. Embassy Dakar
B.P. 49
Dakar, Senegal
Note: Effective immediately, all DNA samples must be taken in the form of a buccal swab (cells taken from the inside of the cheek). Blood samples will no longer be accepted.
Step 2: Embassy Receives DNA Kit and Notifies Applicant:
Once the Embassy receives a DNA kit from an accredited laboratory in the United States, we will email the individual in West Africa who needs to provide a DNA sample, and provide him or her with an appointment to come to the Embassy for the DNA collection. (Note: The Embassy will communicate appointment information by email only, not by phone. If the Embassy does not already have a contact email address on record, the applicant (or petitioner in the U.S.) must establish one by emailing: ConsularDakar@state.gov.)
Step 3: Applicant pays DNA collection fee and obtains courier envelope:
Prior to appearing for the collection appointment at the Embassy, the subject must (a) visit the office of the panel physician who completed the individual’s medical exam to pay 15,000 CFA for the collection procedure; and (b) obtain a pre-paid envelope from DHL for the Embassy to use to mail the DNA sample to the laboratory in the United States. The two panel physicians are:
Dr. Hassan Bahsoun
Clinique Casahous
Rue de Thiong
Dakar
Tel: (221) 33 821 36 14
Dr. Robert Rahmi
123, Rue Joseph Gomis
(Ex Bayeux)
Dakar
Tel: (221) 33 821 04 09
A pre-paid envelope can be purchased at the following DHL offices. Please be sure to inform the DHL personnel that the envelope will be used to mail DNA samples, as special envelopes and rates apply. We strongly recommend that the DHL envelope be purchased in Senegal, rather than the U.S.
DHL Offices :
DHL International Sénégal
Rue Léon Gontran Damas X Rue F
Fann Residence
B.P. 3554 Dakar
DHL
Avenue de la République X Joseph Gomis
Dakar
Please note that, if you appear for your collection appointment without a receipt showing payment of the collection fee or without a DHL envelope sufficient to send the sample to the United States, your DNA will not be collected and you will have to make another appointment.
Step 4: Appear at the Embassy for the collection appointment:
The day of your collection appointment, you must appear at the Embassy with the following documents:
- Your passport, along with two copies of your passport (Asylee and CRBA applicants may bring another form of photo identification)
- Two passport photos
- A child under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian who will sign the required consent form. If neither parent is present, the guardian must present a Power of Attorney from the parent residing in the United States, along with photo identification, and a photocopy of that identification.
- The pre-paid DHL envelope
- A receipt from the panel physician showing payment for the DNA collection
Test Results:
After the DNA collection is taken, the Embassy will mail the DNA sample to the chosen laboratory in the United States. Once the analysis is done, the laboratory will, in turn, send the results directly to the Embassy. Once the Embassy receives the results, we will contact the applicant by email in order to continue processing his or her visa or CRBA application. Please note that the Embassy will not furnish the applicant with a copy of the laboratory results; for copies of the results, please contact the laboratory directly.
