Case of R.J.

US citizen R and his out-of-wedlock 19-year old son J had submitted DNA tests in support of R’s immigrant petition. USCIS approved the petition. Yet when J went to the consulate for his immigrant visa interview, the approval of that petition and the DNA results from an officially accredited laboratory in the US were not sufficient to convince the consular officer to issue the immigrant visa to J. The consul insisted that J change his surname to his father’s surname, and temporarily refused the visa under Section 221(g). After more than 2 years of dealing with local bureaucracy in trying to get his son’s name changed, R contacted us. We brought this to the attention of a consular supervisor and requested reconsideration. Specifically, we pointed to the fact that there is no legal requirement that a petitioned-for child have the same surname as the US citizen. We also presented overwhelming evidence of the father-child relationship and their attempts over 2 years to get J’s surname changed. In short order, the immigrant visa was issued to J.