The U.S. Department of Justice has initiated denaturalization proceedings against Neeraj Sharma, a 50-year-old Indian-origin entrepreneur and CEO of a New Jersey staffing company. Sharma, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in December 2017, is accused of obtaining his citizenship through a series of deliberate falsehoods and fraudulent activities.
Allegations of H-1B Visa Fraud
According to federal authorities, between 2015 and 2017, Sharma, as the Chief Executive Officer of Magnavision LLC, submitted 11 fraudulent H-1B visa applications. These applications allegedly contained false claims that the workers would be employed at a prominent global financial institution. Investigators assert that Sharma, who himself worked as a contracted business analyst at the bank, exploited his position to fabricate job opportunities there.
Court filings detail that the applications included forged executive signatures and fabricated supporting documents, indicating a systematic pattern of fraud rather than isolated incidents.
Fraudulent Citizenship Application
The path to Sharma’s U.S. citizenship in 2017 is also under scrutiny. Prosecutors allege that during his naturalization application process, Sharma provided false information on several critical questions. He reportedly denied ever committing a crime for which he was not arrested, providing false or misleading information to U.S. government officials, or lying to authorities to obtain immigration benefits. Based on these declarations, USCIS approved his application.
Broader Denaturalization Efforts
Sharma's case is part of a wider crackdown by the U.S. government targeting naturalized citizens accused of serious misconduct. The Department of Justice announced denaturalization proceedings against 17 foreign-born Americans, including individuals facing accusations or convictions for visa fraud, wire fraud, child sexual abuse, and drug-related offenses.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin emphasized the government's stance: "American citizenship is a privilege, and it must be earned honestly. If you come here and break our laws and lie in your immigration proceedings, you forfeit that privilege."
What Denaturalization Means
Denaturalization is a legal process under the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows the U.S. government to revoke the citizenship of a naturalized American. To succeed, authorities must demonstrate that citizenship was obtained through unlawful means or by deliberately concealing material facts during the application process. If the proceedings against Neeraj Sharma are successful, he would lose the U.S. citizenship he has held since 2017.