PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers intercepted a Nigerian national attempting to enter the United States using a French citizen’s passport November 7 at Philadelphia International Airport.

CBP is withholding the man’s name because he was not criminally charged.

The 39-year-old Nigerian man, who arrived on a flight from Madrid, Spain, presented a legitimate passport belonging to a 24-year-old French citizen to a CBP officer during his arrivals inspection. The officer referred the man to a secondary examination where a biometric check revealed the man’s true identity. The biometric examination also revealed a criminal history, and that he was previously refused admission in Houston for visa fraud in 2003.

The Nigerian admitted to purchasing the French passport. Inadmissible foreign nationals have attempted to use stolen, purchased or “borrowed” passports to illegally enter the United States. CBP officers are trained to identify potential impostors during a traveler’s primary arrivals inspection. Secondary examination officers then will either verify a traveler to be the legitimate holder of the travel document or reveal the traveler to be an impostor.

Posing as someone else when attempting to enter the United States is a serious violation of U.S. immigration law that may result in criminal prosecution. After a thorough investigation, criminal prosecution was ultimately not pursued in this case and the man was ordered removed under administrative U.S. immigration law.

“Impostors pose a potentially significant national security threat to the United States, and Customs and Border Protection officers remain ever vigilant to detect and intercept travelers masquerading as other persons,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Director of the Baltimore Field Office. “Enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is just one way in which CBP contributes to the safety and security of America.”

CBP's border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.

Learn more about what CBP accomplished during "A Typical Day" in 2018, and more about CBP at CBP.gov.