Although most of us are familiar with a paternity test as it relates to proving the relationship between an alleged father and child, there are many other areas of DNA testing, including but not limited to, immigration testing. More and more the USCIS (United States Immigration Service) is requesting DNA proof of family relationship from people wishing to migrate to the United States. Because U.S. Embassies are located in most countries globally this procedure is fast becoming a global initiative.
Generally collecting the DNA samples does not present much of a problem as many of the larger, more accomplished DNA testing companies have established long standing relationships with collection centers and laboratories worldwide, and most embassies will even provide a list of approved doctors in their correspondence with a petitioner. In some cases a USCIS Officer goes to the collection site or doctor's office to witness and sign off on the sample collection process. Collected samples are then remitted to an AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) approved laboratory in the United States which then processes those samples and issues a report. The resulting report must be sent directly back to the requesting Embassy as the embassies will not accept results from a petitioner; although the petitioner is also provided with a copy of the report for their records. Because timing is of the essence, the entire process from initially sending collection kits to a requesting Embassy to the return of a report is handled by courier service thus expediting the process.
Cheek Swab
A cheek swab (also known as a "buccal" or "buckle" swab) is most commonly used to collect DNA samples. For immigration cases, sample collection kits are sent to a requesting Embassy for routing to their approved doctors and/or laboratories that do the sample collection.
The term immigration testing and paternity testing or maternity testing is often used interchangeably to mean a paternity, or maternity test, respectively. DNA ("Deoxyribonucleic Acid") is the genetic material that a person inherits equally from both parents. It is the chemical blueprint that makes each person unique; identical twins are the universal exception. DNA tests routinely provide results with an accuracy of greater than 99.99% inclusion and 100% exclusion.
Initially, the DNA testing process was very expensive and time consuming, however, as time elapsed, the paternity testing technology has refined itself and is now more cost effective and stealthily accurate, and because DNA testing is now the most powerful, reliable, method of proving or disproving parentage, it is more commonly used in Paternity and Immigration paternity cases.