http://manila.usembassy.gov/dna-testing.html
Relationship fraud for immigrant visa purposes is a major problem in the Philippines, and the burden of proof is upon the petitioner and/or parent to establish the claimed relationship. We sometimes are compelled to ask applicants to take additional steps to establish relationships. In the absence of any conclusive evidence, Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) testing is the most accurate and widely available technology to establish a biological relationship. DNA testing is entirely voluntary. The petitioner must decide whether to avail of DNA testing.
The U.S. Department of State requires locally administered DNA tests to be processed by a laboratory that is accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB). The preferred specimen collection technique for DNA testing is by buccal (cheek or mouth cavity) swab. Names of AABB accredited labs can be found on
http://www.aabb.org/sa/facilities/Pages ... crFac.aspx . The AABB is located at 8101 Glenbrook Road, Bethesda, MD 20814-2749. The AABB can be reached by telephone at (301) 907-6977 or by fax at (301) 907-6895. The AABB's email address is
aabb@aabb.org.
The petitioner must select an AABB-accredited laboratory and make the necessary arrangements for conducting the DNA test, including payment for all tested parties.
Petitioners should not use third-party vendors to select their laboratory, to arrange appointments or to transport the specimens outside of the laboratory chain-of-custody controls. The DNA samples for the petitioner must be collected at a designated AABB testing site, laboratory or clinic. The AABB laboratory selected by the petitioner will send a test kit, including a pre-paid, pre-addressed return envelope and explicit sampling instructions, directly to the Embassy’s Consular Section:
U.S. Embassy
Consular Section - FPU
1201 Roxas Blvd., Ermita
1000 Manila, Philippines
Attn: DNA-IV
When the kit arrives, the Embassy’s Consular Section notifies St. Luke’s Medical Extension Clinic of the kit’s arrival. St. Luke’s then contacts the applicant to offer an appointment. The cost for the collection of the DNA samples is P1,500, which must be paid at St. Luke’s. The applicant must bring his or her passport and a photograph to his or her DNA sample collection appointment.
The applicant’s DNA sample collection will be administered at the Embassy’s Consular Section by St. Luke’s medical personnel. Once the DNA collection is completed, the DNA sample will be shipped by the Embassy to the AABB-accredited laboratory selected by the petitioner in the United States. The AABB-accredited laboratory will send the test results directly to the Embassy’s Consular Section.
As DNA testing reliability has advanced to the industry-accepted standard of 99.5 percent, consular officers may only accept test results reporting a 99.5 percent or greater degree of certainty with respect to paternity/maternity as sufficient to support a biological relationship between a parent and child in visa cases.
If an applicant wishes to present additional evidence to support the claimed relationship, we will include this in our review of the case.
http://www.aabb.org/sa/facilities/Pages ... crFac.aspx
AABB Accredited Relationship (DNA) Testing Facilities
The Relationship Testing Accreditation Program is based on AABB Standards and provides for the assessment and accreditation of laboratories performing relationship testing. The list of AABB Accreditation Relationship Testing Laboratories specifies those laboratories that have attained AABB Accreditation in relationship testing activities.
Relationship Testing Newsletter
Relationship Testing Annual Reports
Relationship Testing Collection Training Module
AABB is not a DNA testing laboratory. For DNA testing, please contact the laboratories listed below.
If there is not a laboratory in your area (city, state, or country), contact any lab on this list to make arrangements for sample collection in your area.
State Organization Name City Country Phone Number
AZ Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Phoenix United States 1(877)434-0292
CA Advanced Immigration Genetics - Universal Genetics Los Angeles United States 1(323)500-0876
CA Andergene Labs Oceanside United States 1 (877) 899-5700
CA LB Genetics Santa Ana United States 1(714)648-0468
FL Advanced Genetics, LLC Miami United States 1(305)902-6990
FL Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Tampa United States 1(800)877-5227 EXT 53418
GA IntelliGenetics, LLC Atlanta United States 1(855)465-9402
IL Independent Forensics of Illinois Lombard United States 1 (866) 434-2400
IN Indiana Blood Center Indianapolis United States 1 (800) 632-4722
MD DDC/DNA Diagnostics Center - Baltimore Baltimore United States 1 (410) 225-9595
MN DDC/DNA Diagnostics Center - Memorial Blood Center Saint Paul United States 1(218)723-8080
MO Paternity Testing Corporation Columbia United States 1 (888) 837-8323
MS Legal Genetics, Inc. Ocean Springs United States 1 (800) 362-4363
NC Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Burlington United States 1 (877) 370-1129
NJ DDC/DNA Diagnostics Center - Ridgewood Ridgewood United States 1 (888) 837-5267
NV Genquest, LLC Sparks United States 1 (877) 362-5227
NY Advanced Genetics New York United States 1(212)392-4282
NY DNA Lab Center Brooklyn United States 1(866)940-4362
OH Cuyahoga Cty Reg. Forensic Sci. Lab./Med. Exam. Office Cleveland United States 1 (216) 698-4271
OH DDC/DNA Diagnostics Center Fairfield United States 1 (800) 310-9742
OH Genetica DNA Laboratories Labcorp Specialty Testing Group Cincinnati United States 1 (800) 433-6848
OK DNA Solutions, Inc. Oklahoma City United States 1 (405) 271-6033
OK Oklahoma State University Human Identity Testing Tulsa United States 1 (800) 299-7919
OR American Red Cross Blood Services Portland United States 1 (800) 922-3998
PA Mitotyping Technologies / Fairfax Identity Laboratories State College United States 1(800)234-2528
PA Universal Forensics Corporation, UFC Lab Somerset United States 1(814)701-2891
RI Rhode Island Blood Center Providence United States 1 (401) 453-8353
TX Bio Synthesis, Inc. Lewisville United States 1 (800) 362-3926
TX Cellmark Forensics Richardson United States 1 (800) 362-8378
TX Center For Medical Genetics-Dad Test Houston United States 1 (713) 790-1990
TX DNA Reference Laboratory San Antonio United States 1 (210) 692-3800
TX Gen By Gene DBA DNA Findings Houston United States 1 (832) 381-5410
UT Affiliated Genetics Salt Lake City United States 1 (800) 362-5559
UT Sorenson Genomics-Identigene Salt Lake City United States 1 (888) 404-4363
VA Genetworx LLC Glen Allen United States 1(336)395-8804
St. Luke's Medical Center Quezon City Philippines 63(02)7230101 ext 4106
Laboratorio Clinico Lic. Patria Rivas Santo Domingo Dominican Republic 1 (809) 685-0950
Referencia Laboratorio Clinico Santo Domingo Dominican Republic 1 (809) 2215545
Chengdu New Genegle Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Chengdu China 86-4008-557729
BC GeneTrack Biolabs Inc./Genex Diagnostics, Inc. Vancouver Canada 1 (604) 325-7282
ON Viaguard Accu-metrics Toronto Canada 1(877)842-4827
*Indicates that a facility has received a variance from a specific standard.
Accredited - An AABB assessor has been on the facility's premises and the facility practices were found to conform to AABB standards of practice.
AABB Accreditation Department
Email:
accreditation@aabb.org
Phone: +1.301.215.6492
Fax: +1.301.657.0957
"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor and stoic philosopher, 121-180 A.D.