Travel.State.Gov >
Legal Resources > Legal Resources > U.S. Citizenship Laws and Policy > Information for Parents on U.S. Citizenship and DNA Testing
To transfer U.S. citizenship to a child born in a foreign country, at least one parent must show a genetic or gestational relationship with the child.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) testing is the only method we accept to prove a genetic relationship if there is not enough evidence to show the relationship.
Relationships to establish paternity or maternity using DNA testing include:
DNA testing is:
When the father or mother is tested, we will only accept results reporting a 99.5 percent or greater degree of certainty of paternity or maternity. When a distant relative of the child is tested because the father or mother cannot be tested, we may ask for more tests or evidence.