Naturalized citizenship of Indian cancelled

JERSEY CITY, NJ — The US Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice on January 5 announced they have revoked their first naturalized citizenship—that of Indian American Baljinder Singh–as part of a new collaborative immigration review effort.

Singh, also known as Davinder Singh, arrived in San Francisco in 1991 without any travel documents or proof of identity. He failed to appear for his immigration hearing in 1992 and was soon deported.

Singh then returned to the US about a month later and filed an asylum application. Singh abandoned his asylum application and married a US citizen who filed a visa petition on his behalf.

In 2006, he was able to become a naturalized citizen under the name Baljinder Singh, and the 43-year-old has since been residing in New Jersey.

Singh is accused of illegal procurement of naturalization by not being lawfully admitted for permanent residence, illegal procurement of naturalization due to lack of good moral characters, and procurement of US citizenship with concealment of a material fact or wilful misrepresentation.

According to court documents, the Justice Department and USCIS allege Singh, Parvez Manzoor Khan in Florida, and Rashid Mahmood in Connecticut obtained their naturalized citizenship “by fraud.”

Baljinder Singh “exploited our immigration system and unlawfully secured the ultimate immigration benefit of naturalization, which undermines both the nation’s security and our lawful immigration system,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division in a statement.