The United States today filed civil denaturalization complaints in federal court in the Middle District of Florida, District of Connecticut and District of New Jersey, against three individuals who allegedly obtained their naturalized U.S. citizenship by fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced. Two Pakistan-born and one India-born individuals’ alleged frauds involved concealing their prior orders of exclusion and deportation under different identities than the identity under which they naturalized.

“The Justice Department is committed to preserving the integrity of our nation’s immigration system, and in particular, the asylum and naturalization processes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The civil complaints charge that defendants in these cases exploited our immigration system and unlawfully secured the ultimate immigration benefit of naturalization. The filing of these cases sends a clear message to immigration fraudsters – if you break our immigration laws, we will prosecute you and denaturalize you.”

The three cases, United States of America v. Parvez Manzoor Khan (M.D. Fla.); United States of America v. Rashid Mahmood (D. Conn.); and United States of America v. Baljinder Singh (D.N.J.) were referred to the Department of Justice by USCIS and identified as part of Operation Janus. A Department of Homeland Security initiative, Operation Janus identified about 315,000 cases where some fingerprint data was missing from the centralized digital fingerprint repository. Among those cases, some may have sought to circumvent criminal record and other background checks in the naturalization process. These cases are the result of an ongoing collaboration between the two departments to investigate and seek denaturalization proceedings against those who obtained citizenship unlawfully.

“Naturalization is one of the most sacred honors bestowed by our nation,” said Acting USCIS Director James W. McCament. “USCIS takes great care and responsibility in determining to refer a case for denaturalization proceedings. We do so to send the strong message that individuals who seek to defraud the United States by obtaining naturalization unlawfully will be targeted to have their U.S. citizenship stripped. I am grateful for the USCIS team who devoted countless hours to the painstaking work of uncovering fraud in each of these cases.”

A description of the three cases and the allegations of the United States are:

Parvez Manzoor Khan

Parvez Manzoor Khan aka Mohammad Akhtar and Jaweed Khan, 60, a native of Pakistan, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Dec. 7, 1991, bearing a Pakistani passport in the name of Mohammad Akhtar. Immigration officials determined that the photo in the passport had been altered. Khan then applied for asylum, claiming his true name was Jaweed Khan. Khan failed to appear in immigration court and was ordered excluded and deported on Feb. 26, 1992. He subsequently failed to surrender for deportation. After having married a U.S. citizen, Khan, using the alias Parvez Manzoor Khan, was granted permanent resident status in 2001. He naturalized on July 3, 2006. Khan has been residing in Branford, Florida.

This case was investigated by USCIS and the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Section (OIL-DCS). The case is being prosecuted by Counsel for National Security Aaron Petty of OIL-DCS’s National Security and Affirmative Litigation Unit (NS/A Unit), with support from USCIS Office of the Chief Counsel, Southeast Law Division.

Rashid Mahmood

Rashid Mahmood aka Rashid Mehmood, 44, a native of Pakistan, arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on July 9, 1992, and presented a fraudulent U.S. temporary resident card. He claimed his name was Rashid Mehmood. He was placed in exclusion proceedings, but failed to appear for his immigration court hearing and was ordered excluded and deported on Oct. 13, 1992. Three years later, on Oct. 10, 1995, he filed for adjustment of status under the surname Mahmood based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen, who filed a visa petition on his behalf. He naturalized under the name Rashid Mahmood on June 3, 2005. He also lied on his naturalization form failing to disclose that he claimed he was a member of the Pakistan People’s Party when he applied for entry into the United States in 1992. Mahmood has been residing in New Britain/Hartford, Connecticut.

This case was investigated by USCIS and OIL-DCS. The case is being prosecuted by Counsel for National Security Joseph F. Carilli, Jr. of NS/A Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Ikari for the District of Connecticut, with support from Associate Counsel Cortney V. Price of USCIS Office of the Chief Counsel, Central Law Division.

Baljinder Singh

Baljinder Singh aka Davinder Singh, 43, a native of India, arrived at San Francisco International Airport on Sept. 25, 1991, without any travel documents or proof of identity. He claimed his name was Davinder Singh. He was placed in exclusion proceedings, but failed to appear for his immigration court hearing and was ordered excluded and deported on Jan. 7, 1992. Four weeks later, on Feb. 6, 1992, he filed an asylum application under the name Baljinder Singh. He claimed to be an Indian who entered the United States without inspection. Singh abandoned that application after he married a U.S. citizen, who filed a visa petition on his behalf. Singh naturalized under the name Baljinder Singh on July 28, 2006. Singh has been residing in Carteret, New Jersey.

This case was investigated by USCIS and OIL-DCS. The case is being prosecuted by Counsel for National Security Aaron Petty of NS/A Unit, with support from Deputy Chief Patrice Rodman of USCIS Office of the Chief Counsel, Northeast Law Division.

The civil complaints contain charges against defendants that include illegal procurement of naturalization by not being lawfully admitted for permanent residence (fraud or willful misrepresentation), illegal procurement of naturalization due to lack of good moral character (false testimony) and procurement of U.S. citizenship (concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation; false testimony).

The claims made in the complaints are allegations only, and there have been no determinations of liability.