Indian origin CEO Neeraj Sharma may lose US citizenship amid H-1B visa fraud allegations
50-year-old Neeraj Sharma is one of the 17 naturalized American citizens who are set to lose their citizenship over H1-B visa fraud. The Trump administration in renewed attempts launched a campaign on H1-B visa fraud which being called the biggest attempt so far. The campaign targets foreign-born US citizens accused of obtaining naturalization through fraud, concealment or misrepresentation, as well as those convicted of violent and sexual crimes.
Neeraj Sharma was both the owner and chief executive officer of Magnavision LLC, a staffing company located in New Jersey. According to records, he used to recruit workers on H-1B visas but he never had any job for them. He filed 11 H-1B visa petitions and each of them included false representations that the visa beneficiaries would be employed with a particular global financial institution. The petitions revealed no sign of fake employment as thy has letters on official corporate letterhead with forgery executed perfectly.
In 2017, Sharma claimed to be rightfully eligible for the residency claiming he had never committed a crime or offense for which he was not arrested nor had given any US Government officials any information or documentation that was false or misleading; and lied to any US Government official to gain immigration benefits. He was awarded by the citizenship by the UCCIS based on false documentation.
It was in 2019; he was arrested on grounds of visa fraud and naturalization fraud. The complainant said Sharma himself was a contracted business analyst at the bank where he promised jobs. The Justice Department is now seeking to revoke his citizenship arguing he used concealed crimes and obtained naturalization through misinterpretation.
Only US citizens can be naturalized, visa holders cannot. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized U.S. citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and certificate of naturalization canceled, if the naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin speaking on the new campaign said that American citizenship is a privilege, and it must be earned honestly. “DHS will not stand idly by while Americans are harmed by criminals including sex offenders, perpetrators of fraud, and drug traffickers who have exploited our generosity and gamed our immigration system. We will continue to use every lawful avenue to denaturalize and remove aliens, he added.”