Based on updates to the USCIS Policy Manual, issued on April 24, 2020, you can no longer look to USCIS guidance to support the argument that unintentional false claims do not trigger admissibility.

Clients who sign applications for immigration benefits without fully understanding the details of what they are claiming could be putting their status at risk. Read more to learn about the BIA’s ruling on these types of cases.

The State Department’s new “90-Day” rule is now referenced in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Policy Manual section on fraud and misrepresentation.

Under INA Sec. 212(a)(6)(A)(i), persons who are present in the United States “without admission or parole” are inadmissible; this section of the law is what makes those individuals who entered without inspection, or “EWI”, inadmissible. By its express terms, however, the statute does not apply to certain battered women and children who can show a substantial connection between the battery or extreme cruelty they suffered and their unlawful entry into the United States.

Recently the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) issued a decision in Matter of D-R-, 27 I&N Dec. 105 (BIA 2017) where it analyzed two immigration sections of the INA – inadmissibility pursuant to INA 212(a)(3)(E)(iii)(II (an alien who assisted or otherwise participated in extrajudicial killing) and inadmissibility pursuant to INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i) (an alien who was inadmissible at the time of entry because of fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact).

Effective September 2017, the DOS has replaced the 30/60 day rule with a new standard that is likely to subject more individuals to a presumption of misrepresentation.

Under INA § 212(a)(6)(C)(ii), individuals who make a false claim to citizenship on or after Sept. 30, 1996, for any benefit or purpose under federal or state law are inadmissible. The impact of this ground of inadmissibility has been particularly harsh because no waiver is available. However, what if the person making the false claim mistakenly believed that he or she was a U.S. citizen? Or what if the person making the false claim was a minor under age 18? 

We know what the law says about individuals who make a false claim of U.S. citizenship – they are permanently barred from immigrating. We realize that this ground of inadmissibility is defined very broadly: if done while seeking any purpose or benefit under the Immigration Act or any other federal or state law. INA § 212(a)(6)(C)(ii)(I).