Revocation of Citizenship

[EggMcMuffin 0]

Hi. My friend got a letter today stating his citizenship will be revoked because he "lied during naturalization process" 12 years ago. He obtained citizenship in 1999. In 2005 he was convicted of hiring illegal immigrants to work and money laundering (because he did not pay their taxes or something similar). He spent 5 years in jail. He got out 1.5 years ago, went through probation etc. Today a letter came stating the government is taking him to court to take away his citizenship because he lied on the citizenship application - he was not of "good moral character" because his illegal business begun in 1997. He has 30 days to respond/settle. I assume settle means voluntary deportation.

Does anybody know how long this process will take? How long does he have left if he "settles" or if he tries to fight it? What are his chances of winning the case if he lets INS to take him to court?

He has been living in US for the last 20 years, has a house, wife, 2 kids. He is not a career criminal and he does not have any other convictions.

Does anyone have any experience in this? Please no guessing, I don't want to upset him further.

Thanks in advance...

[Anh map 2,098]

The question is far beyond Visa Journey. Your friend needs guidance from a qualified, experienced immigration attorney.

[soteropolitana 4]

Sorry, I don't have any experience with this but I am an attorney (in another area of law) and know for a fact that these can be some of the worst immigration cases because you have a very short time frame to defend the claims against you. The BEST advice anyone on the internet/VJ will be able to offer your friend is to get an attorney, a good one - who has worked on a revocation of citzenship case SUCCESSFULLY, and do so quickly. The sad truth is that these types of cases are becoming more frequent...

Again, sorry to hear about your friend

[46]

No one here will know. Your "friend" needs to hire an attorney and open a dialogue with the prosecutor.

[EggMcMuffin 0]

Thank you for your responses everyone. My friend made an appointment with an attorney for tomorrow, he knows the case is very serious. He is very upset (who would not be). What hurts even more is that he was hoping to get his life back on track and repay his debt to society. As part of the plea agreement 7 years ago the government removed a requirement to take away his citizenship, so he thought he was ok. But there was nothing that said he can keep it so now, 1.5 years after he got out of jail, the government decided he needs to leave.

No one here will know. Your "friend" needs to hire an attorney and open a dialogue with the prosecutor.

I see what you did there, but it is not me, it is really my friend of 20 years

[ConcordUser 18]

It is sad to hear about your friend. How big of a crime he commited for them to send to jail for 5 years. I still do not beleive they send him to jail for 5 years for hiring illegals when there are 12+ mil illegals working here.

[ConcordUser 18]

You might want to read info at this link.

http://www.justice.gov/olc/ina340.htm

[EggMcMuffin 0]

It is sad to hear about your friend. How big of a crime he commited for them to send to jail for 5 years. I still do not beleive they send him to jail for 5 years for hiring illegals when there are 12+ mil illegals working here.

He committed the biggest crime in the US - he did not pay taxes. Without going into details, he was accused of not paying payroll taxes among other things. The government accused him of money laundering because money employers paid went through his account. The fact that the people he hired were illegal was not that important.

[ConcordUser 18]

He committed the biggest crime in the US - he did not pay taxes. Without going into details, he was accused of not paying payroll taxes among other things. The government accused him of money laundering because money employers paid went through his account. The fact that the people he hired were illegal was not that important.

What is the amount he did not pay? Did business fail and business could not pay? Is his business a corporation or sole owner?

[EggMcMuffin 0]

What is the amount he did not pay? Did business fail and business could not pay? Is his business a corporation or sole owner?

IRS claims he still owes them over $1 mil. The business did not fail, he actually got out of it 2 years prior to his arrest. I think it was a corporation, there were other people accused as well.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

As part of the plea agreement 7 years ago the government removed a requirement to take away his citizenship, so he thought he was ok. But there was nothing that said he can keep it so now, 1.5 years after he got out of jail, the government decided he needs to leave.

The requirement of revocation of USC you're talking about having been removed was due to the crime itself. He's not having his citizenship revoked because of the crime. He's having it revoked because he lied on his form by not admitting that he was doing illegal activity at the time of his N400 and had he admitted it he wouldn't have been granted USC. This is called a "material misrepresentation".

His chances of beating this are quite small. He admitted to the crime. They have evidence of it. Definitely needs a GOOD lawyer. Please come back with the results so other people can be aware.

[EggMcMuffin 0]

The requirement of revocation of USC you're talking about having been removed was due to the crime itself. He's not having his citizenship revoked because of the crime. He's having it revoked because he lied on his form by not admitting that he was doing illegal activity at the time of his N400 and had he admitted it he wouldn't have been granted USC. This is called a "material misrepresentation".

His chances of beating this are quite small. He admitted to the crime. They have evidence of it. Definitely needs a GOOD lawyer. Please come back with the results so other people can be aware.

I will update as this progresses, thank you. Do you know how long this process takes if the government takes him to court? Assuming that he loses the case, he needs time to liquidate whatever assets he has left (not too many, government made him sell all properties he had and give them the money when he went to jail).

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Hi. My friend got a letter today stating his citizenship will be revoked because he "lied during naturalization process" 12 years ago. He obtained citizenship in 1999. In 2005 he was convicted of hiring illegal immigrants to work and money laundering (because he did not pay their taxes or something similar). He spent 5 years in jail. He got out 1.5 years ago, went through probation etc. Today a letter came stating the government is taking him to court to take away his citizenship because he lied on the citizenship application - he was not of "good moral character" because his illegal business begun in 1997. He has 30 days to respond/settle. I assume settle means voluntary deportation.

Does anybody know how long this process will take? How long does he have left if he "settles" or if he tries to fight it? What are his chances of winning the case if he lets INS to take him to court?

He has been living in US for the last 20 years, has a house, wife, 2 kids. He is not a career criminal and he does not have any other convictions.

Does anyone have any experience in this? Please no guessing, I don't want to upset him further.

Thanks in advance...

Yes,

material misrepresentation is grounds for -- not revocation -- but annulment of the naturalization. It's not like they say he's not a U.S. citizen anymore; they say he never was one because he could only naturalize based on a card house of fraud.

There are no statistics on how the federal court will rule, but I would prepare for the worst. It's possible that he'll be granted VD but that also is not guaranteed albeit likely based on his ties to the U.S.

He definitely needs a very competent attorney, no matter the cost.

[EggMcMuffin 0]

Yes,

material misrepresentation is grounds for -- not revocation -- but annulment of the naturalization. It's not like they say he's not a U.S. citizen anymore; they say he never was one because he could only naturalize based on a card house of fraud.

There are no statistics on how the federal court will rule, but I would prepare for the worst. It's possible that he'll be granted VD but that also is not guaranteed albeit likely based on his ties to the U.S.

He definitely needs a very competent attorney, no matter the cost.

Yeah, the cost is also an issue. The guy is broke, the government took everything he had when he was sentenced, even his wife's jewelry was taken.

[BobnCherry 10]

Yeah, the cost is also an issue. The guy is broke, the government took everything he had when he was sentenced, even his wife's jewelry was taken.

Yep the IRS is brutal when yop owe them I know someone who owed a chunk to them, those vultures even took his kids playstation wheel barrow all but the house itself.

Good luck