(Image source from: Businesstoday.in)
A businessman of Indian descent is one of 17 naturalized American citizens at risk of losing their citizenship as the Trump administration starts what officials call a significant denaturalization initiative. On Monday, June 8, the US Department of Justice revealed it will take legal steps against this group, claiming they gained US citizenship fraudulently, by concealing information, or by providing false details during the naturalization process. Those involved include individuals accused or found guilty of severe crimes such as child sexual abuse, drug trafficking, wire fraud, and immigration fraud. One individual at the center of this is Neeraj Sharma, a 50-year-old businessman from India who led a staffing company called Magnavision LLC located in New Jersey. The Justice Department states that Sharma filed 11 fraudulent H-1B visa applications that incorrectly stated foreign workers would be employed at a large worldwide financial firm. Officials assert that these applications included forged signatures from company executives and falsified documents.
Additionally, the department claims that when Sharma requested US citizenship in 2017, he denied committing any crimes for which he had not been arrested, providing incorrect information to the authorities, or lying to benefit from immigration. He became a US citizen in December 2017 after the USCIS accepted his application. Nevertheless, Sharma was later found guilty in a visa fraud case related to actions between 2015 and 2017. The Justice Department is now looking to revoke his citizenship, arguing that he concealed his wrongdoing and achieved naturalization by giving false information. Sharma's case is part of a wider initiative by the US government aimed at naturalized citizens accused of serious offenses. The Justice Department mentioned that the 17 people involved, include those convicted of violent crimes, offenses against minors, fraud, and immigration violations. Officials are describing this action as one of the largest efforts at denaturalization in the history of the US.
