The United States has filed a complaint in the Federal Court in the District of New Jersey to revoke the citizenship of an Indian American over charges of fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) alleges that Baljinder Singh alias Davinder Singh obtained his naturalized U.S. citizenship through fraudulent means.
A similar complaint was filed by the USCIS against two men of Pakistani origin. All three are alleged to have concealed prior orders of exclusion and deportation under different identities than those under which they naturalized. The cases were referred to the Department of Justice by the US Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) and identified as part of Operation Janus, an initiative by the Department of Homeland Security that has identified about 315,000 cases in which fingerprint data was missing from the centralized repository.
If convicted, Singh, as well as the two Pakistanis, Parvez Mansoor Khan and Rashid Mahmood, would be deported to their home countries. The complaints were filed against Singh, Khan and Mahmood in the federal court in the District of New Jersey, Middle District of Florida, and District of Connecticut, respectively.
“The Justice Department is committed to preserving the integrity of our nation’s immigration system, and in particular, the asylum and naturalization processes,” Chad A. Readler , the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said.
“The civil complaints charge that defendants in these cases exploited our immigration system and unlawfully secured the ultimate immigration benefit of naturalization. The filing of these cases sends a clear message to immigration fraudsters – if you break our immigration laws, we will prosecute you and denaturalize you,” Readler added.
Baljinder Singh alias Davinder Singh
According to the complaint, Baljinder Singh aka Davinder Singh from India arrived at the San Francisco International Airport on Sept. 25, 1991, without any travel documents or proof of identity. He claimed that his name was Davinder Singh and was placed in exclusion proceedings. Failing to appear for his immigration court hearing, Singh was ordered excluded and deported on Jan. 7, 1992.
The complaint alleges that on Feb. 6, 1992, Singh filed an asylum application under the name of Baljinder Singh, and claimed to be an Indian who entered the United States without inspection. Following his marriage to a U.S. citizen, Singh abandoned his application for asylum. His wife filed a visa petition on his behalf and he was naturalized under the name Baljinder Singh on July 28, 2006. He has been living in Carteret, New Jersey, since.
The complaints against Singh include charges of illegal procurement of naturalization by not being lawfully admitted for permanent residence (fraud or willful misrepresentation), illegal procurement of naturalization due to lack of good moral character (false testimony) and procurement of U.S. citizenship (concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation; false testimony).
Denaturalization cases are quite rare and usually pursued against those accused of involvement in war crimes or individuals who secured citizenship through fraud. Singh’s case will be tried in federal court, a process that can take years, which will determine whether his citizenship should be revoked.