Indian-origin CEO in US faces citizenship loss over alleged H-1B visa fraud
PTC News Desk: An Indian-origin businessman from India and a naturalised US citizen is facing deportation as the Donald Trump administration launches what officials describe as one of the largest denaturalisation drives in American history.
The US Department of Judtice (DOJ) has filed denaturalisation actions across 17 foreign-born Americans alleging that they had obtained their US citizenship through fraudulent means by concealing material facts or misrepresenting them during naturalisation process.
Among those named is Neeraj Sharma, a 50-year-old India-born businessman and former CEO of New Jersey-based staffing company Magnavision LLC.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Sharma ran a company called Magnavision LLC, which filed H-1B visa applications for foreign workers. Prosecutors alleged that between 2015 and 2017, he submitted 11 fraudulent H-1B petitions claiming that the applicants would work for a major international financial institution. Authorities said the applications included forged signatures of company executives and fake supporting documents to help secure immigration benefits.
The DOJ also alleged that when Sharma applied for US citizenship in 2017, he falsely declared that he had not committed any offence for which he had not been arrested, had not provided false information to US authorities, and had not lied to obtain immigration benefits.
Based on those declarations, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services approved his naturalisation application, and he became a US citizen in December 2017.
Visa Fraud Conviction
According to the DOJ, Sharma was later convicted for his role in the H-1B visa fraud scheme. The US government now argues that he concealed important facts and made false statements during the citizenship process, meaning he was not legally eligible to become a US citizen. As a result, authorities are seeking to revoke his naturalised citizenship.
- PTC NEWS
