Immigration Corner | DNA says he’s not my father

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I am a US citizen. I filed for my dad about two years ago, but the DNA results showed that he is not my biological father and he was turned down. He is the only, and the best, father I know. My parents got married when I was nine, after living together for over 15 years. The embassy requested a ton of evidence about our family relationship that proved our parent-child relationship, yet they denied my father a green card.

I know the Trump administration was doing weird things with immigration, so my question is, can I file an appeal? If so, what is the process? My father is 64 and I worry about him getting older or sick in Jamaica.

Thanks in advance.

– AT

Dear AT,

Unfortunately, this happens more often than we would like to admit. In order for a parent-child petition to be approved, there must be a legal relationship between them. In the case of a father who was never married to the child’s mother, US Citizenship & Immigration Services wants to see a parent-child relationship. This standard exists regardless of which administration is in charge in the United States.

So many situations arise in these circumstances, but let us look at your situation. Your father is not your biological father according to the DNA results. However, he married your mother before you were 18 years old and this allows you to have a step-parent relationship for immigration purposes.

You should consider refiling the petition for a step-parent and not a biological parent. While each family’s situation is different, you should examine all the evidence that you can submit to show your parent-child relationship before age 18. It seems to me that you lived with your father for a number of years and should have evidence – circumstantial and direct evidence – to prove this fact.

There is no appeal at this stage, and I do not know if you were issued a Notice of Intent To Deny and given an opportunity to make a legal and factual argument as to why your petition ought to have been approved.

I can understand your not wanting to live without your father as he gets older; a big part of the reason for the immigration laws in America is ‘family reunification’. Maybe you need a US immigration attorney to handle this matter for you and your family. While an attorney cannot give you any guarantees of success, they would have encountered difficult parent-child petitions and be able to pull on their experience.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq, is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator, and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com