citizenship and trouble

R

Razkolnikov

Registered Users (C)
Hi everyone, I am here in hope to gain some insight.

This is my paradox, I am applying for citizenship and don't know what to answer in the part on the N-400 that asks "have you ever claimed to be a citizen?" as well as the one that aks "have you ever lied to an immigration officer?"
Unfortunately I am guilty of both. This happened about 15 years ago. I was in my teens and out of control. I had a student visa that I used to cross the border daily to go to highschool (I used to live in a border town). One day I forgot it and decided to claim American citizenship in order to go to school. Yes, that was a bad idea! I got caught in my lie. Long story short, my student visa was suspended for a while. Nevertheless, my dad eventually resolved the acquisition of green cards for the whole family including me. I don't know how he did it, but he did so and I've been living in the states for a while. Now, I am not sure as to whether I should be honest when filling the N-400 and say yes I did these things about 15 years ago. I mean, saying yes to those things is pretty much equal to never acquiring citizenship right?
I understand that some people might feel that it is morally inappropriate to advise me to lie on the citizenship application form. Consequently, the question I am asking here is: does the border patrol actually keeps records of teenagers that intended to cross the border illegally? And if they do so, for how long?
I appreciate any advise that anyone can give me. I would like to form a family here in the states and I need to gain citizenship to be able to marry my Russian girlfriend. Also, money is kind of tight right now and I don’t want to pay a lawyer. Thanks beforehand to anyone for your sympathy and concern.
 
What do you mean you got caught in your lie? Did the border officer look you up in system while you were crossing and you got caught?
 
WOW. Such a Russian user name. Was it before you were 18? You need to know how your father did it. Pull you A-file if anything else fails.
 
The border patrol officer did not believe my claim that I was an American Citizen. So they took me to an office to question me. They asked a lot of questions like what city and hospital was I born in. I had to invent all kinds of things. Then they said they where gonna take a prints from my feet and fax them to the town I claimed I was born in to verify my identity (among other scary things). Eventually, I had to confess that I was born in the state of Coahuila, Mexico. I also confessed the whole thing that I was going to school with a student visa that I just forgot. The IO became upset. I had to call my dad to come and get me. So they suspended my visa and I could not go to the same school for a while.
 
acr said:
WOW. Such a Russian user name. Was it before you were 18? You need to know how your father did it. Pull you A-file if anything else fails.
Click to expand...

Yep, I got this username from "Crime and Punishment."

Anyway, how do I pull my A-file?
 
A good reading. File I-639. Would take a year, perhaps the dad has kept some copies. The feet prints are routinely taken in the USA those are not to scary.:)
 
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Can't you just ask your dad how he got all of you green cards?
or is there a reason (that i somehow missed) that you can't do that?
 
Washburn27 said:
Can't you just ask your dad how he got all of you green cards?
or is there a reason (that i somehow missed) that you can't do that?
Click to expand...

I don't know what form he used to apply for residenship. I guess I should ask him but I don't think he still has copies of that. All I know is that he was working as a volunteer in a company in the US, and he got the director of the company to write a letter of recomendation to be submitted together with the application for green cards.

By the way, my dad suggested me to claim in the n-400 that I have never lied to an IO, but I am nervous about that. I mean, if they are immigration, they most likely have records. I am afraid that if I get cought lying again I might even get deported. I don't know what to do. What do you think?
 
Given that they suspended your visa for lying, they almost surely have a record of the suspension and why it was done.

There are three things that might save you:

1. It happened before you were 18.
2. It happened before you got a green card. Was this disclosed on your green card application?
3. If your parents are now US citizens, you may already be a citizen if they were citizens before you turned 18 and you went to live with them while under 18 with a green card.

A false claim to US citizenship is a deportable offense and you are risking deportation by applying for citizenship. If you admit it, they may use their discretion to decide against deporting you, but you will surely be deported if you lie about it and get caught. If you can't afford a lawyer (preferably two or three, given the serious nature of the situation) at least for a one-time consultation for a few hundred dollars to evaluate your situation against the applicable laws and precedents, be happy that you were able to obtain and maintain the green card, and forget about applying until you can afford a lawyer.
 
Jackolantern said:
2. It happened before you got a green card. Was this disclosed on your green card application?
Click to expand...

Does I485 form have such a question? We leanred from Masloj's case on I485
there is no question asking the applicant ever registered to vote or voted.
 
WBH said:
Does I485 form have such a question? We leanred from Masloj's case on I485
there is no question asking the applicant ever registered to vote or voted.
Click to expand...

In OP's case it's not about voting or registering to vote, but willful misrepresentation of a material fact (claimed to be US citizen) in order to gain entry the US.
See question 10, part 3 of I-485 application:

...or have you, by fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact, every sought to procure, or procured, a visa, other documentation, entry into the United States, or any immigration benefit?
 
Bobsmyth said:
In OP's case it's not about voting or registering to vote, but willful misrepresentation of a material fact (claimed to be US citizen) in order to gain entry the US.
See question 10, part 3 of I-485 application:

...or have you, by fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact, every sought to procure, or procured, a visa, other documentation, entry into the United States, or any immigration benefit?
Click to expand...

The issue is that, as sugested by Jackolantern, if he disclosed it in the process to get the GC. I don't know if children need to file a seperate I485
or not or they just get GC if they are listed on their parents I485.
If the later is true, then whether dislcosing such thing or not is
not even applicable
 
Razkolnikov said:
This is my paradox, I am applying for citizenship and don't know what to answer in the part on the N-400 that asks "have you ever claimed to be a citizen?" as well as the one that aks "have you ever lied to an immigration officer?"
Click to expand...

I think you are missing something here. There may seem to be a paradox, but the real issue is quite clear. You sign the N-400 application Oath on the last page before sending it in. At your interview you will be physically sworn in under Oath. So, twice you will have affirmed to tell the truth and nothing but.

If you answer the questions on the N-400 truthfully and they have the earlier information available, you risk deportation. It may be a discretionary call on the IO 's part or their supervisor, but a risk is there.

If you lie with the questions on the N-400 and are caught out at the interview, you risk deportation for lying under Oath.
 
WBH said:
The issue is that, as sugested by Jackolantern, if he disclosed it in the process to get the GC. I don't know if children need to file a seperate I485
or not or they just get GC if they are listed on their parents I485.
If the later is true, then whether dislcosing such thing or not is
not even applicable
Click to expand...

Yes, they need, but some deportable provisions might no apply.
 
WBH said:
The issue is that, as sugested by Jackolantern, if he disclosed it in the process to get the GC. I don't know if children need to file a seperate I485
or not or they just get GC if they are listed on their parents I485.
If the later is true, then whether dislcosing such thing or not is
not even applicable
Click to expand...


WBH,

You are correct on the I-485. Children are normally listed as dependent in the principal's application for GC, and hence they don't fill out a completely different or new I-485.

The OP need to find out how his dad got them these GC. Since he was detained by CBP, then he need to have access to this records as well. Claiming US citizenship has serious implications in the eyes of USCIS, do maybe if might need to wait a little while to apply for N400. Also, are his parents USC? If so, when did they become USC?
 
Al Southner said:
The OP need to find out how his dad got them these GC. Since he was detained by CBP, then he need to have access to this records as well. Claiming US citizenship has serious implications in the eyes of USCIS, do maybe if might need to wait a little while to apply for N400.
Click to expand...

If it is so serious, why didn't USCIS take any action at that time when he
was caught?
 
I think the OP has to dig deeper on what happened to his case back then and if it was disclosed on his GC application and what came out of that....You have to disclose it on your application, Im sure there is something on your file regarding this and it would look really bad if you don't disclose it and you might be denied your citizenship and maybe your stay in US.
 
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