This short guide discusses what happens when USCIS finds that you have committed fraud in a prior application, denies your citizenship application and places you in immigration court proceedings.
Introduction
These days many people who apply for citizenship are being denied because the government says they committed fraud when they applied for permanent residency. The alleged fraud could be as simple as failing to disclose something on any prior immigration form to outright omission of prior crimes or deportations. Instead of getting their citizenship, people are then placed in immigration court proceedings. Most often, the alleged fraud was committed decades ago.
How can USCIS use alleged prior fraud to deny US citizenship?
The government uses the prior alleged fraud to state that because you were never a lawful permanent resident and therefore you do not qualify for citizenship. Citizenship applicants do not qualify if they were not lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the law because permanent residency status was obtained by fraud, willful misrepresentation, or if the admission was otherwise not in compliance with the law.
USCIS issued a new policy alert on November 18, 2020 which states that people are ineligible for naturalization in cases where they did not obtain LPR status lawfully “including cases where the U.S. government was unaware of disqualifying material facts and had therefore previously granted adjustment of status to that of an LPR or admitted the applicant as an LPR”. This means the government will scrutinize cases even more.
The government may say you lied on a previous application (such as a tourist visa application or a green card application) and therefore you are guilty of fraud and/or misrepresentation. If you fail to put the truth down on the citizenship application, then USCIS will say you have misrepresented during the citizenship process and you lack good moral character. Good moral character is necessary in order to become a U.S. citizen. Generally, you must show that you are a person of good moral character for the 5 years immediately preceding the filing of the naturalization application.
Examples of USCIS erroneous fraud findings
For example, the government can base the fraud finding on a document they believe is fake when in fact the document is perfectly legitimate.
The government may state that a name or fingerprint matches those on another case when in fact they do not.
The government may say you were deported before when in fact, it is a case of mistaken identity.
The most important thing to remember is to submit proof that USCIS is mistaken. If you are in immigration court, the government must submit proof. That will be the subject of a different guide.
Additional resources provided by the author
https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-updates-policy-guidance-on-naturalization-applicants-who-did-not-properly-obtain-lawful