US federal prosecutors have filed a civil lawsuit seeking to revoke the citizenship of an India-born man accused of obtaining naturalisation through a false identity and misleading immigration records.
The complaint, filed in the District of Oregon, targets Jaswinder Singh, 54, who is accused of unlawfully obtaining US citizenship by concealing his immigration history and providing false information about his identity.
According to court documents, Singh first applied for an immigration benefit in August 1990 under the name Balwinder Singh. His application was denied by an immigration judge later that year, and he was ordered to leave the United States.
After an unsuccessful appeal, Singh was directed to surrender to immigration authorities in July 1993 but allegedly failed to comply with the order.
Prosecutors allege that in November 1994, Singh filed a second immigration application using the name Jaswinder Singh and provided a different date of birth, identity, and date of entry into the United States.
The application was approved in August 2003, allowing him to obtain lawful permanent resident status after he certified, under penalty of perjury, that the information he submitted was accurate.
On 3 June 2013, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services approved Singh’s application for US citizenship. Prosecutors claim he again signed documents under penalty of perjury affirming that the information in his application and supporting materials was truthful.
The government alleges that Singh was not legally eligible for permanent residency and later citizenship because of the false information provided during the immigration and naturalisation processes.
The complaint further claims that his citizenship was obtained through the concealment of material facts and deliberate misrepresentation.
Under the US Immigration and Nationality Act, a federal court may revoke a person’s naturalised citizenship if the government successfully proves its allegations.
The case is being investigated by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the US Department of Homeland Security.
The allegations remain unproven in court, and Singh has not been found liable.