An Immigration Story

It was in early 2006 when, as he stood on the Lake Tahoe shore, it suddenly dawned on Edilberto Bollozos that the seemingly impossible had actually taken place for his family. He and wife Brenda watched on as Mark Jason, 12, aimed his first snowball at Edilberto, 9, who had dashed away toward their snow-covered van. It seemed like only days ago that the couple received word from the American Embassy in Manila that the boys' visa application had been denied.

The matter-of-fact letter, citing a lack of "documentary evidence [to] sufficiently establish the parent-child relationship," was a heart-rending obstacle to Bollozos' desire to reunite his family in the States. The notice recommended DNA testing as a means of officially gathering the necessary evidence of maternity or paternity. The couple was initially concerned.

What to Do?

"We were a little unsure about the idea of DNA testing," Bollozos admitted, "but we realized that if this was what the government wanted, it was something we wanted too."

It was mid-July, 2005 when the couple started to look into the handful of genetics laboratories the U.S. embassy had literally circled as recommended American Association of Blood Banks' (AABB) accredited administrators. After selecting one, they immediately began the process to test for kinship that would ultimately reunite their family.

Easy Process

"We just called the 800 number, answered a few questions and set up an appointment." Within a few days, a collection specialist was in their home, guiding them through the specimen gathering and documentation process. "They were very friendly and helpful, and the whole process was actually extremely easy."

Meanwhile, the lab's client services team coordinated the collection of the boys' genetic specimens with the American embassy in the Philippines. The couple was told to expect a few weeks for test results to be gathered and processed by the US government.

"I was never afraid," said Eddie. "I always knew in my heart that they were my children. But you can't help but worry when there are so many little pieces to the puzzle."

A Happy Ending

Despite being assured that he would be contacted as soon as all results were available, Eddie could not help calling the laboratory twice, "just to check". Within a few days, the parents' genetic fingerprint information was on its way to the Philippines; it was on a morning in late July that the official word arrived from the U.S. embassy in Manila: the visas had been granted.

"We were so happy," Eddie explained. "We couldn't wait for the boys to come over, so we bought tickets and flew to the Philippines to meet them." There, the Bollozos family spent more than a month together, before the four of them departed for the United States, and the boys' new Hayward, CA home.

Stay tuned for the second part of DNA Testing in Immigration. For more information about reliable, legitimate DNA testing, check out GeneTree.