In the same way that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can provide you with citizenship after your naturalization proceedings, they can take it away with a denaturalization action. Continue reading to learn how your citizenship may be revoked via denaturalization and how an experienced naturalization lawyer in New York City at The Law Offices of Cheryl R. David can protect you.
How is denaturalization possible?
Put simply, if the USCIS suspects you of violating any of the terms of your citizenship, then they may file a denaturalization action against you to the federal court. Notably, this is more serious than a case being taken to the immigration court. This is because, if you are found guilty, your citizenship will be stripped from you, and you will have to leave the country. The same will go for your children who are in the country due to your citizenship.
What are possible grounds for denaturalization?
As already mentioned, going against the conditions of your citizenship may lead to denaturalization. Examples of such are as follows:
- If you were granted citizenship to the U.S. for your service in the U.S. military, and in the end, you were discharged on dishonorable grounds (i.e., desertion, sexual assault, murder, etc) before serving a full five years.
- If you decline to testify before the U.S. congressional committee regarding suspicions of your subversive actions (i.e., secretly trying to destroy or overthrow U.S. officials, government entities, etc) within your first 10 years of your naturalization in the country.
- If you were caught being involved in a subversive group (i.e., the Nazi Party, Al Qaeda, Communist fronts, etc) within the first five years of your naturalization in the country.
- If you falsified or failed to disclose relevant facts in your naturalization application and interview (i.e., your criminal history, your true identity, years in which you should have filed U.S. taxes, years in which you were absent from the U.S., etc).
What should I do if I may lose my citizenship?
If the USCIS believes that there are possible grounds for your denaturalization, they will file a formal complaint against you. Importantly, you will have 60 days to file an answer to the complaint. Your response should include your defense as to why their grounds are invalid (i.e., the statute of limitations has passed, the action is baseless, etc).
A denaturalization action is quite serious, which is why you should handle it as so. You need proper legal representation to fight against this action and protect your rights to citizenship in the U.S., and you need not look further than a skillful NYC family immigration attorney. When you are ready to do so, pick up the phone and contact our firm.
