The Department of Justice announced on Monday, 8 June, that it filed denaturalisation actions in various U.S. district courts against 17 individuals accused of serious offenses, including sexual abuse of a minor, wire and bank fraud, and drug trafficking.
Who is Neeraj Sharma?
According to the Justice Department, Neeraj Sharma, a 50-year-old businessman originally from India, owned and held a position as the CEO of Magnavision LLC, a staffing company located in New Jersey.
Why is his citizenship being revoked?
The Justice Department reported that Sharma signed and filed eleven fraudulent H-1B visa petitions with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Each petition included false representations that the visa beneficiaries would be employed with a particular global financial institution. These applications also included forged signatures and falsified documents.
In 2017, Sharma applied for naturalisation and falsely asserted that he had never committed a crime, given any U.S. Government officials any information or documentation that was false or misleading, or lied to any U.S. Government official to gain immigration benefits. Based on these material falsehoods, USCIS approved his application, and he gained U.S. citizenship in December 2017.
What law says?
Denaturalisation is the legal process by which a government revokes the citizenship of a naturalised immigrant. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalised U.S. citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and the certificate of naturalisation cancelled, if the naturalisation was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by wilful misrepresentation.
The Justice Department is currently pursuing the revocation of his citizenship, contending that he concealed illegal activities and acquired naturalisation through significant misrepresentations.
