It may seem harmless to check off boxes on a form, but doing so can have dire consequences in an immigration setting. If a person claims to be a citizen of the United States in order to obtain any legal benefit, they mind find themselves facing deportation proceedings for their actions. This is considered to be so serious that the person found guilty of this crime is prevented from returning to the United States for any reason.

What is considered to be lying about citizenship?

There are some common ways that noncitizens lie and claim that they are citizens. Unfortunately, there are also not many legal defenses to these actions, and being caught is likely to end in deportation.

People are often deported for:

• Registering to vote in any local, state, or federal election
• Obtaining benefits that require citizenship
• Claiming to be a citizen on an I-9 Employment Verification Form
• Filing to obtain a passport
• Stating citizenship on a student loan application
• Applying for federally-backed mortgage
• Overstaying their visa and claiming citizenship

Anytime that a state, federal, or nongovernment benefit that requires citizenship for eligibility is applied for by a noncitizen, the United States government sees this as making a false claim. Since it is such a serious transgression, extra care should be established whenever making these claims.

Some Are Exempt From Deportation

Since rules on acquired citizenship changed in 2000, some people may be unclear as to whether or not they are considered citizens. Because of this, if a child's parents are citizens, they made the claim when they were under the age of 18, or they were a permanent resident before the age of 16 and believed that they were a citizen, they cannot be deported for making a citizenship claim. In addition, if the claim was made prior to September 30, 1996, the government cannot take steps to deport the immigrant.

If anyone has been accused of falsifying citizenship, they must work with an attorney in order to seek a cancellation of removal in Immigration Court. This should not be attempted without a lawyer since the requirements for this process can be extensive.