Kansas Man Faces Loss of Citizenship Over 1990s Identity Switch
Federal prosecutors have filed a civil case in Kansas to strip a naturalized citizen of his citizenship, alleging he assumed a new identity after being ordered deported in 1995 and never disclosed it on later immigration applications.
What Happened
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas, working with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has filed charges to denaturalize Harinder Singh of Olathe, Kansas, who also went by the names Harinder Singh Sanghera and Rushpal Singh.
According to USCIS, immigration authorities first encountered the man in 1991 at JFK International Airport, where he identified himself as Rushpal Singh. In 1995, an immigration judge ordered him deported, but the government has no record that he ever left the country.
The following year, he filed an application for an immigration benefit under a different name, Harinder Singh, changing his stated date of birth, date of entry, and the factual basis for the claim. That application was approved. He went on to obtain a green card under the Harinder Singh identity in 2000 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen under that same identity eight years later, without disclosing his earlier immigration history under a different name.
The government is now asking a federal court to revoke his citizenship and cancel his certificate of naturalization.
The Legal Basis
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized citizen's status can be revoked if it was "illegally procured" or obtained through concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation. Denaturalization cases like this one are civil, not criminal, proceedings, though they can carry criminal charges alongside them in some cases.
Why It Matters
This case is a reminder that naturalization is not always the final word on someone's immigration status. If USCIS or the Department of Justice later determines that an application contained a material misrepresentation — even one made decades earlier — citizenship can still be challenged in court.
It also reflects a broader emphasis by USCIS's fraud detection units on cross-referencing identity records across different immigration encounters, including old deportation orders, to catch inconsistencies that predate today's more integrated recordkeeping systems.
For applicants, the practical lesson is straightforward: full and accurate disclosure of prior immigration history — including any past encounters with immigration authorities under a different name or identity — is essential on every application. Gaps or misstatements, even ones that go unnoticed for years, can resurface with serious consequences.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Individuals with questions about their own immigration history should consult a qualified immigration attorney.
Source
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