CRBA required before a visa will be issued

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

This is probably not news to anyone who has had to file a CRBA in Vietnam, but I thought I'd post it for anyone who might be facing this situation.

A friend of mine (not a VJ member) filed for a K1 for his fiancee in Vietnam last spring. He has some red flags, but overall a reasonably good case. Five trips to VN at the time he filed, and a big Dam Hoi ceremony and party (I was there as his family rep, even though we're not related ).

Anyway, his fiancee got pregnant on that trip, apparently another victim of the misguided wive's tales in VN that say you need a baby to get a visa. The baby was due in January this year, and the interview was originally scheduled for a week before the baby was due. After much debate, I finally convinced him to reschedule the interview because of the risk she'd go into labor and miss the interview. The interview was rescheduled for March 14. The baby was born on the day the interview was originally scheduled in January. He's going back to VN in April, so he scheduled an appointment with US citizen services to turn in the CRBA documents in April.

His fiancee had her interview yesterday. Apparently, it went pretty well. I'm still trying to get a list of the questions they asked her.

She got a blue slip. The only thing requested was the CRBA and baby's passport.

Your child may have a claim to U.S. citizenship. Please contact the American Citizen Services Section of the Consulate for more information. Please submit a copy of your child's Consular Report of Birth Abroad and passport, if applicable.

That's it.

Also, he'll be submitting the CRBA after the USCIS field office closes in HCMC. I'll keep in touch with him and find out if this causes any slowdown in the CRBA process.

[ricochet 2]

If he have all his documents ready, the CRBA interview should be a breeze. They'll interview both he and his fiance. If his name is not on the baby's birth certificate they would probably ask him to get a DNA testing. Good Luck to your friend!!

[dtc 1]

congratulation on the baby. my wife and my motherinlaw want a kid so bad

[clayr 35]

Then why the heck do I have to do DNA test after the child is born in Vietnam???????

[ricochet 2]

Then why the heck do I have to do DNA test after the child is born in Vietnam???????

To prove that the child is yours. If you are not married at the time the child is born, your name will not be on the child's birth certificate. If you or your fiance/spouse is not a vietnamese national you will have to go to the So Tu Phap of that province to prove the child is yours also. You will be going through an interview process there also. And since the forms to get the CRBA states that you will need the original birth certificate of the child and if your name is not on the birth certificate then you WILL have to do a DNA testing.

[clayr 35]

Ricochet: Seems like 2 different answers to the same problem

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

The INA says if the child is born out of wedlock to a US citizen father and foreign mother then a blood relationship with the father must be proven by clear and convincing evidence. At most consulates, this means a DNA test. They want proof you're not helping bring someone else's kid to the US as a US citizen.

[decker 1]

I did a CRBA and it was a very simple process. But oddly enough I did not have to do DNA for our son to get CRBA. Our DNA deal came about when Linh went back for round two of the interview and DNA was demanded for all four of us but only actually used for Linh and her daughter. Cost over 1000 bones for that one. Guvmint...

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I did a CRBA and it was a very simple process. But oddly enough I did not have to do DNA for our son to get CRBA. Our DNA deal came about when Linh went back for round two of the interview and DNA was demanded for all four of us but only actually used for Linh and her daughter. Cost over 1000 bones for that one. Guvmint...

How was the DNA test conducted? Where were the DNA samples collected, how, and by whom? I've gotten a lot of questions about this stuff. One member said he was told he would have to go to Hanoi for the DNA test.

[Teacher Mark 53]

How was the DNA test conducted? Where were the DNA samples collected, how, and by whom? I've gotten a lot of questions about this stuff. One member said he was told he would have to go to Hanoi for the DNA test.

This company is claiming that they meet or exceed USCIS standards.

During the immigration application process, a petitioner may be requested to supply additional evidence of a claimed family relationship. To obtain this evidence, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) center or U.S. embassy may suggest DNA testing, which has become recognized around the world as the most accurate and definitive method of verifying biological relationships. The USCIS center or U.S. embassy may or may not suggest a specific laboratory to perform the DNA testing. DDC can provide the DNA testing services you need.

• We are AABB-accredited, and we meet and exceed the standards established by the USCIS and U.S. embassies for immigration DNA testing.
• We have a special Immigration Department that is dedicated to serving our immigration clients' needs. This team has worked with immigration agencies, petitioners, and beneficiaries around the world for more than a decade.
• We have the largest network of sample collection sites in the world. Your sample collection appointment will be as convenient for you as possible.

Our credentials and experience show that we can be trusted to carefully handle the DNA testing for your immigration case.

http://www.dnacenter...sy-vietnam.html

Edited March 17, 2011 by Teacher Mark

[Teacher Mark 53]

That company doesn't have an office here, but the do work with the consulate. Here's the flowchart:

http://www.dnacenter.com/international/immigration/getting-started.html

Edited March 17, 2011 by Teacher Mark

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

The Foreign Affairs Manual says the DNA collection must be done in front of a consular officer or other "A" level foreign service officer (i.e., they have to witness the collection). The process they describe seems to involve having a panel physician medical technician come to the consulate and take swabs of the father and child with the consular officer watching.

Which lab the samples are sent to probably isn't important, as long as they are acceptable to the consulate. I'm more concerned with when and where the samples are taken. My friend is hoping he won't have to go to Hanoi for this as he just started a new job and doesn't have much time to spend in Vietnam on this next trip.

[decker 1]

Jim to answer your question, Linh was given a list of approved DNA collectors by the Consulate. Fairbanks Alaska does not have a DNA clininc so I had to get a company in Seattle named Genelex who is AABB accredited. Genelex contacted a clinic here in Fairbanks who they are affiliated with through the AK court system. I went to the clinic did the swab which was sent to Seattle. Genelex also sent a kit to the Consulate who informed Linh to go to IOM, then the whole thing was put together back in Seattle. Then the Consulate was FEDEX'd the results, Linh went back to finish her interview.

We had to do this for the Visa interview and not the CRBA. Consulate did not even use the test for our son, but for Linh and her daughter.

[quann 26]

She got a blue slip. The only thing requested was the CRBA and baby's passport.

Your child may have a claim to U.S. citizenship. Please contact the American Citizen Services Section of the Consulate for more information. Please submit a copy of your child's Consular Report of Birth Abroad and passport, if applicable.

That's it.

Also, he'll be submitting the CRBA after the USCIS field office closes in HCMC. I'll keep in touch with him and find out if this causes any slowdown in the CRBA process.

did a search and stumbled upon this thread. our blue slip is verbatim to the text above.

my name is not on my son's viet birth certificate. we went into the CRBA appointment and was not requested to do DNA testing. so it's not automatic DNA-testing if both parents' names are not on the birth certificate, just whether the case is believable to the CO.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

did a search and stumbled upon this thread. our blue slip is verbatim to the text above.

my name is not on my son's viet birth certificate. we went into the CRBA appointment and was not requested to do DNA testing. so it's not automatic DNA-testing if both parents' names are not on the birth certificate, just whether the case is believable to the CO.

Yeah, I should have posted a follow-up. My friend was also not asked to get a DNA test. The CRBA was completed in only a few weeks. His fiancee returned to the consulate with the baby's passport and CRBA and got the pink on the spot. She went back the following week to pick up her visa. She's coming to the US with the baby next weekend.