Ds 7656 Form – Fill Out and Use This PDF

4. Where Do You File This Form?

The DS-7656 is prepared by you with assistance from a local resettlement agency participating in the Department of State's Refugee Reception and Placement Program, and submitted to the U.S. Department of State by the agency's national headquarters office. AORs submitted directly to

Resettlement Support Centers (RSCs) or by you to the U.S. Government will NOT be accepted.

5. What Additional Information Must Be Provided With the DS-7656?

You must attach copies of documents that provide proof of your current legal immigration status in the United States. AORs submitted without such

document(s) will NOT be accepted.

Acceptable Proof of Legal Status:

a.Refugees and Asylees: Legible copy of both sides of your I-94, or a copy of your asylum grant letter, or immigration judge grant decision.

b.Permanent Residents: Legible copy of both sides of I-551(Permanent Resident Card - Green Card), or any temporary proof of permanent resident status issued by the Department of Homeland Security's USCIS (or documents that were formerly issued by the Immigration and

Naturalization Service.)

c.U.S. Citizens: Legible copy of your U.S. Passport or Naturalization Certificate (Note: it is now legal to make a copy of this document for

immigration purposes.)

If you are filing for an adopted child, please provide a copy of the adoption papers, if available.

6. What Additional Information May Need to be Provided to Establish a Family Relationship?

You and your biological parents and children listed in Section II of the AOR will be required to provide a DNA sample at a later date to establish your relationship. By signing your name on the AOR, you are agreeing to provide the DNA sample when requested by an official of the U.S. Government, or its designated representatives. Further, by signing the AOR you are expressing your understanding that DNA testing could be requested between your Qualifying Family Member(s) and their derivative beneficiaries. Please note that if you or your claimed family members fail to submit DNA evidence upon request, your family members may be considered ineligible for refugee resettlement.

An officer of USCIS will make the final determination regarding whether a bona fide relationship exists between you and your relative(s) at the time of the interview for refugee status.

7. Who will Pay the Costs of DNA Testing?

You and/or your Qualifying Family Member(s) must pay all costs associated with DNA testing of both you and your Qualifying Family Member(s). In addition, you and/or your Qualifying Family Member(s) will be expected to pay the costs of any additional testing between your Qualifying Family Member(s) and their derivative beneficiaries. The U.S. Government will reimburse the cost of DNA testing if such tests confirm claimed biological relationships.

8. What Are the General Instructions for Completing the AOR?

The DS-7656 must be completed in English. Please complete using Cerenade fill program. Handwritten applications will be returned. If you need extra space to complete any item, attach a separate continuation sheet. Indicate the item number, and date and sign each sheet.

Answer all questions fully and accurately. If you do not know the answer to a question, please write "Unknown". If questions asked do not apply to you, please state "N/A", meaning Not Applicable. For all persons, where the Date of Birth is not known, please provide an estimate and check the box; if the City/Country of Birth is not known, please provide the best guess and then explain in Section IV.

Please use the relationship codes provided at the end of this document to indicate relationships between persons, as requested on this form.

Please upload a passport style photo for each Qualifying Family Member listed in Section II. Frame the photo as a front view of the applicant’s full face, from the top of the head to the shoulders with eyes open. Upload the photo in a .bmp or .tif format.

You are responsible for providing detailed information to the best of your knowledge. If you do not have all the information required BUT you can obtain the information needed, please wait to complete the AOR until all of the information is received.

Ages and other dates: Always give exact dates of birth and of significant events, like marriage, if they are known. If you can give a best-estimated date, please provide the best-estimated date and check the appropriate box.

Each Section of the AOR must be fully completed. The address of your relatives overseas must be as complete as possible. Provide the name of the refugee camp if applicable. Provide a phone number if it is known.

If a family member is deceased or the present location of the family member is unknown, please indicate, and give the date of death or last contact in the "Current or Last Known City/Country" column.

Be sure to include all relatives requested by the AOR form anywhere in the world, whether living, deceased or missing, in Section III. Use Section IV Additions/Explanations to explain any non-biological relationships, including adoptive or foster relationships.

SECTION II: INFORMATION ABOUT QUALIFYING FAMILY MEMBERS SEEKING ACCESS TO THE USRAP

This section is for the Qualifying Family Members you are claiming a relationship with to support their access to the USRAP so they may apply for admission to the United States as a refugee. Other relatives should be listed in Section III.

Please use a separate page for each Qualifying Family Member you are claiming. List the Qualifying Family Member's dependents and any members of household/economic unit on that page. You may use as many pages as necessary to include each Qualifying Family Member you are claiming.. Please use the List of Relationship Codes to indicate the requested relationships in the "Relationship to Anchor" and "Relationship to Qualifying Family Member Listed Above" columns.

Line 1: Please provide the requested information only for a spouse, parent, or unmarried child under age 21. If the Date of Birth is not known, please estimate and check the box; if the City/Country of Birth is not known, please provide the best guess and then explain in Section IV. If the answer to other questions is not known, please write "unknown." If a question is not applicable, please write N/A.

Please provide the contact information for the person listed on Line 1 where requested.

Line 2-20: Please list from oldest to youngest, the spouse and/or unmarried children under age 21 of the qualifying family member named on line 1 who wish to be considered for resettlement at this time. Please enter "B" in the box under "Type" to specify that this person is a derivative of the qualifying family member. If applicable, please also include individuals who were part of the same household/economic unit of the qualifying family member named on Line 1, and explain the exceptional and compelling circumstances justifying the inclusion in the AOR in the Comments box. For these individuals, enter "C" in the box under "Type" to specify that this person is a member of the same economic unit as the qualifying family member named on line 1. If the Date of Birth is not known, please estimate and check the box; if the City/County of Birth is not known, please provide the best guess and then explain in Section IV.

SECTION III: INFORMATION ABOUT ALL OF YOUR RELATIVES NOT PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED IN SECTION II

This section is for all your relatives anywhere in the world, whether living, deceased or missing, that were NOT previously listed in Section II. Please remember that these relatives are not being considered for access to the USRAP.

Please use the List of Relationship Codes to indicate the requested relationships in the “Relationship to Anchor” columns.

(A)Please provide information about your biological parents that was NOT previously provided in Section II.

(B)Please provide information about all your adoptive parents, stepparents, or foster parents that was NOT previously provided in Section II

(C)Please provide information about your spouse and all previous spouses that was NOT previously provided in Section II.

(D)Please provide information about all your children (including biological, adopted, step and foster children) from oldest to youngest that was NOT previously provided in Section II.

(E)Please provide information about all your brothers and sisters (including biological, adopted, step and foster brothers and sisters) from oldest to youngest that was NOT previously provided in Section II.

SECTION IV: ADDITIONS/EXPLANATIONS

Please use this section to elaborate on any extended or non-traditional relationships that may require further explanation (including adopted, half, and step relatives), any unusual name patterns, any aliases, or any unusual circumstances that you wish to address. Please also use this section as a continuation page for any other sections that had insufficient space.

SECTION V: SIGNATURES

Please read the certification and then sign your name, print your name, and fill in the date. You will be asked to provide valid identification to the resettlement agency representative who assisted you to fill out this form. The resettlement agency representative will then sign the form, print his/her name, date the form, and provide the affiliate name, address and telephone number.

By Submitting this Affidavit of Relationship I understand that I and Qualifying Family Members (parents, spouse, unmarried children under age 21) will be requested to submit DNA evidence. I further understand that DNA testing could be suggested between my Qualifying Family Member(s) and their derivative beneficiaries. I also understand that my family members may not be considered qualified to apply for refugee resettlement if I, or they, fail to submit DNA evidence upon request.

LIST OF RELATIONSHIP CODES

IMPORTANT NOTICE: By completing this form you are claiming a relationship with family members overseas in order to assist the U.S. Government in determining whether those family members are qualified to apply for admission to the United States under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The AOR itself is not an application on behalf of your family members for admission to the U.S. as a refugee under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program or a petition for any immigration benefit under U.S. law. Completion of this AOR does not guarantee that your family members will be found qualified to apply for refugee admission or that they ultimately will be admitted to the United States. Additionally, the information listed in this AOR may be used and disclosed by the U.S. Department of State as described in the Privacy Act statement below. The U.S. Government investigates claimed family relationships and verifies the validity of documents. Criminal prosecutions may be sought when family relationships are falsified to obtain immigration benefits.

SECTION I: INFORMATION ABOUT YOU, THE ANCHOR

Privacy Act Statement

The U.S. Department of State requests the information on this form, including the agreement of the anchor relative to provide a DNA sample at a later date, to carry out the immigration laws contained in Title 8, United States Code, Section 1157. The U.S. Department of State requests this information to assist in determining whether a family member claimed on this form is qualified to apply for access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for purposes of family reunification. The information you provide may also be disclosed to a) the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for purposes of determining whether your relatives are eligible for admission to the United States and for verifying information provided by the family members listed on this form in any application they may make for admission to the United States under the USRAP or for any other immigration benefit under U.S. law; b) Members of Congress or other Federal, State, and local government agencies having statutory or other lawful authority, as needed for the formulation, amendment, administration, or enforcement of immigration, nationality, and other laws of the United States; and, c) international organizations and resettlement agency partners that work with the USRAP to enable them to coordinate and manage refugee processing overseas and resettlement in the United States. You do not have to complete this form and provide the requested information; however, if you refuse to give some or all of it, your relative's access to the USRAP for refugee resettlement consideration may be denied.

Paperwork Reduction Act

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 60 minutes per response, including time required for searching existing data sources, gathering the necessary documentation, providing the information and/or documents required, and reviewing the final collection. You do not have to supply this information unless this collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. If you have comments on the accuracy of this burden estimate and/or recommendations for reducing it, please send them to: U.S. Department of State, PRM/A, 2025 E Street, NW Washington DC, 20520. OMB No. 1405-0206.

Comments

ADD ADDITIONAL PAGES AS NEEDED FOR EACH ADDITIONAL QUALIFYING FAMILY MEMBER YOU ARE CLAIMING.

SECTION III: INFORMATION ABOUT ALL OF YOUR RELATIVE(S) NOT PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED IN SECTION II

In this section please provide information about your parents; adopted parents/stepparents/foster parents; current and former spouses; children (including biological, adopted, step and foster children); and, brothers and sisters (including biological, adopted, step and foster brothers and sisters) if you have NOT previously provided this information under Section II. Please list whether living (L), deceased (D), or unknown (U). If the relative is deceased, please indicate the date of death in the Current or Last Known City/Country column.

(B) ADOPTIVE PARENTS/STEPPARENTS/FOSTER PARENTS

(C) SPOUSES (CURRENT AND FORMER)