Claimed to be US Citizen

K

KatyLane

Registered Users (C)
Hi everyone,

Thank you for your time and reading my post.

On my N-400 I answered truthfully and said I have claimed to be a US Citizen. The IO had me write a sentence down on why I did so and made me sign and date it. He also stamped it and signed it himself. The IO also said he could not make a decision today (by the way, I do not have a criminal record or anything bad for that matter … I thought my case was simple). What gives? Has anyone had this happen – what was your outcome?

Thanks in advance
 
It's a felony to falsely claim US citizenship. What were the circumstances of you claiming US citizenship?
 
Why did you claim to be a US citizen before naturalization and where did you claim that? If you can be more specific, may be someone could advice you.
 
Sorry to hear this. You are probably going to get quite a few scary replies to your question in this thread. Not much you can do now but await the decision. There is a fairly big likelihood your application will be denied. There might be other consequences depending on the specific circumstances. I wish you good luck. If you can share the specific details on what you wrote at the interview people might give you a clearer opinion.
 
Depending on the reason why you falsely declared yourself as a citizen, you may want to start to prepare for the financial and personal implications of deportation. Hope that the reason is something that USCIS can find leniency for you, but on the surface, it is a very serious situation and odds would not work in your favor.
 
KatyLane said:
On my N-400 I answered truthfully and said I have claimed to be a US Citizen. What gives?
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Under the Immigration and Nationality Act Section 212(a)(6)(C)(ii) or U.S. Code § 1182(a)(6)(C)(ii) (2006), a false claim of U.S. citizenship to obtain an immigration benefit under the Act is grounds for inadmissability and exclusion. Naturalization is considered a benefit under the Act and as such, USCIS has grounds to consider you inadmissable and now excludable (deportable).

However, before you come to any conclusions, I would seriously consider talking to a good immigration attorney about your situation.

This is a link to at least one lawyer's website example of a favorable resolution to a false claim of U.S. citizenship case. But keep in mind the unique circumstances of the case described in this link. http://www.humanrightsattorney.com/sub/citizen.jsp
 
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NewRunner said:
This is a link to at least one lawyer's website example of a favorable resolution to a false claim of U.S. citizenship case. But keep in mind the unique circumstances of the case described in this link. http://www.humanrightsattorney.com/sub/citizen.jsp
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Agreed, unique circumstance in the article (the person was practically a US citizen already at the time of application).

Unless the OP can prove they were already a US citizen or some other extraordinary reason, then it is time to make preparations for the worst.
 
Oh my goodness, I did not know the ramifications of my answer. I have never claimed it on paper (and that's what I wrote in my reponse) and that is the truth. It was more if some aquaintance had asked me and it was a casual responce. I have been in the US for close to 30 years, have two kids and I am married to the same US citizen I applied citizenship with. Can they really deport me? I am very scared now, I can't believe this.
 
If you didn't claim that to extract benefits but to a acquaintance during a casual conversation, I'd be surprised if they deported you. They will most likely reject your application, and you'll have to wait another 5 years, I assume. Consult a lawyer and be prepared. Good luck.
 
If the claim to US citizenship was not to any government official or for any government or employment purpose, you should be OK. For it to be a violation, the law itself says it must be for "any purpose or benefit under this Act (including section 274A ) or any other Federal or State law". Employment has been held to be such a benefit when the claim is made to a nongovernment individual, but not casual conversation.

You may be denied because of the IO not understanding the details of the law, but you should win on appeal, unless there is something else you're not telling us, like the person you told was helping you register to vote or otherwise helping you to get something based on your citizenship. What exactly was the context of your statement?
 
Thanks Jackolantern,

I have never registered to vote, nor have I voted, nor have I ever claimed in any document that I was US Citizen. It was only to friends or aquaintance that asked in conversation, primarily people that did not know my circumstances. My remark was always off the cuff. Like I said, I thought I was supossed to tell the thruth no matter what.

Thanks again!
 
KatyLane said:
Thanks Jackolantern,

I have never registered to vote, nor have I voted, nor have I ever claimed in any document that I was US Citizen. It was only to friends or aquaintance that asked in conversation, primarily people that did not know my circumstances. My remark was always off the cuff. Like I said, I thought I was supossed to tell the thruth no matter what.

Thanks again!
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Jackolantern is right, an overzealous IO could misinterpret the guidance and deny your application on the face of it. But you should have decent grounds for appeal if your claim was only made in the course of casual conversation with no intent to receive "any Federal or state benefit".

I hope things work out for you. This just proves the old adage that no good deed goes unpunished...
 
KatyLane said:
Thanks Jackolantern,

I have never registered to vote, nor have I voted, nor have I ever claimed in any document that I was US Citizen. It was only to friends or aquaintance that asked in conversation, primarily people that did not know my circumstances. My remark was always off the cuff. Like I said, I thought I was supossed to tell the thruth no matter what.

Thanks again!
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So what did you write down on the paper the IO had you sign?
"I told neighbor I was a US citizen because I have lived in US for 30 years?"
 
Hi Bobsmyth.

I wrote, “The reason I said I was a US Citizen was because it was less complicated. It was verbally and not on paper.” Looking back I should have given a more detailed description, I am truly naïve on these matters. I should have gone to an attorney from the start. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Thank you for your time … I guess I just have to wait now and prepare for an appeal.
 
KatyLane said:
Hi Bobsmyth.

I wrote, “The reason I said I was a US Citizen was because it was less complicated. It was verbally and not on paper.” Looking back I should have given a more detailed description, I am truly naïve on these matters. I should have gone to an attorney from the start. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Thank you for your time … I guess I just have to wait now and prepare for an appeal.
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Unless a favourable, easy to understand, clear and simple (and ofcourse true) explanation is written, IOs are trained to deny the application. Its a job for them and they arent going to interpret the written explanation in your favour. What's done is done, shop for good lawyer, do research on appeal, what type of evidence is needed in your favour. If they approve your application without appeal, all the better.

I will let other gurus of this forum comment on this, but writing a letter (with or without lawyer help is debatable) with further explanation on the context in which such claim was made may help. Be sure to include and stress on examples of the context in which you made such claim. But you have to be very careful in how you craft it. Anything you submit can and will be used against you. For example, a buddy of yours is an immigration official and you claimed to be a citizen in a casual conversation with him/her - thats not good example to give as it can be interpreted different way - and if such situation ever happened, you are better of talking to a competent lawyer first. Other example that may not help (and may make things complicated) is when asked verbally whats your status in the country by the Human Resources lady (or guy), you said 'citizen' to make things less complicated. Thats not good either. I can go on, but you get the point.
 
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KatyLane said:
Hi Bobsmyth.

I wrote, “The reason I said I was a US Citizen was because it was less complicated. It was verbally and not on paper.”
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Are you sure that you actually said that you were a U.S. citizen, rather than that you were an American? Saying "I am an American" is not quite the same as saying "I am a U.S. citizen". The latter is a legal term while the former can also have a colloquial meaning to denote somebody who lives and works in the U.S. and whose primary attachment is to the U.S.

I agree with the others here that you face a fairly high chance of denial this time around. Although falsely claiming U.S. citizenship in an unofficial situation is not a deportable offense, the IO could still deny your application based on the "lack of good moral character".

If that happens, an appeal may be advisable, since even if you re-apply several years from now, the issue will come back.

One thing to be careful about is how you answer the same question if you file N-400 again, several years from now. Since you answered it "yes" this time, you'll probably need to answer it "yes" then as well since otherwise the government could accuse you of lying.

If you do answer "yes" to the question about falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, you need to attach a careful and detailed explanation to the N-400 application itself. Trying to improvise and write such an explanation at the interview itself is not a good idea, since you don't really have time to collect your thoughts and think it through then. As others have noted, even now it may be a good idea for you to send a more detailed statement explaning your answer to the IO who interviewed you. However, I would probably talk to an immigration lawyer first.
 
KatyLane said:
Thanks Jackolantern,

I have never registered to vote, nor have I voted, nor have I ever claimed in any document that I was US Citizen. It was only to friends or aquaintance that asked in conversation, primarily people that did not know my circumstances. My remark was always off the cuff. Like I said, I thought I was supossed to tell the thruth no matter what.

Thanks again!
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You should not have answered Yes if you just told yoru friends you are a US citizen on informal occasions. I guess many have even claimed to be God
 
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