Only Two Doors Lead to Losing Your Citizenship

Why You Need to Know These Grounds Right Now

Because the government has increased its review of old naturalization files.

Since the Department of Justice opened a section dedicated solely to denaturalization cases in 2020, the number of files under review has kept climbing. Let’s be clear about that.

What Are Those Two Grounds, and What’s at Stake With Each?

You could lose your passport, your right to vote, and even face removal proceedings.

The first ground is what the law calls illegal procurement. Here, you don’t need to have intended to lie — it’s enough that you failed to meet a legal requirement at the time you naturalized, such as not maintaining continuous residence, not having sufficient physical presence, or not having good moral character during the period the law requires.

The second ground is willful misrepresentation of a material fact, and there the government must prove, as set out in the law governing revocation of naturalization, that you concealed something on purpose and that citizenship was granted as a result of that lie.

Source: 8 U.S. Code § 1451 — Revocation of Naturalization

And here’s the thing: a lack of good moral character carries records that bar it permanently. According to the USCIS Policy Manual:

• •A murder conviction, at any point in your life.
• •An aggravated felony conviction on or after November 29, 1990: drug trafficking, crimes of violence, theft with at least one year of imprisonment, or fraud over $10,000.
• •Having participated in Nazi persecution, genocide, torture, or extrajudicial killings.
• •Having committed severe violations of religious freedom as an official of a foreign government.

Source: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12, Part F, Chapter 4 — Permanent Bars to Good Moral Character

A Case Close to Home

I once had a client who had been naturalized for more than ten years. A relative told her USCIS was reviewing old files, and she panicked — she’d always had a nagging doubt about a question she hadn’t fully understood during her interview.

We reviewed her entire file before she could make things worse by trying to correct something that was never actually wrong in the first place.

And this isn’t something I’m making up. In 2018, a man named Baljinder Singh became the first case resolved under the Operation Janus program.

He entered the United States under a false name, received a deportation order under that identity, and months later applied for asylum under his real name without ever disclosing that order.

He naturalized in 2006 without ever revealing that history.

Twelve years later, a federal judge revoked his citizenship for illegal procurement.

Source: USCIS — Justice Department Secures First Denaturalization As a Result of Operation Janus (2018)

The second case is more extreme, but it makes the lesson unmistakable. John Demjanjuk naturalized in 1958 without disclosing that he had served as an armed guard at Nazi concentration camps.

Decades later, the Department of Justice proved he had concealed that information when he immigrated, and a federal court revoked his citizenship for misrepresentation of a material fact.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice / ICE — Former Nazi Death Camp Guard John Demjanjuk Deported to Germany

Two cases, two different legal grounds, but the same lesson: what you didn’t disclose at the time is something the government can still find later.

Does This Only Happen to Dangerous Criminals?

No. You can also lose your citizenship over errors or omissions that turn out to be material.

Many people assume denaturalization only happens in extreme cases like Demjanjuk’s. It doesn’t. It can also happen to someone who simply misunderstood a question on the N-400, or who assumed an old arrest no longer mattered. What determines the outcome is whether that lie or omission was material — not how serious the case sounds in the news.

That’s why every case gets reviewed differently. An honest mistake is not the same as a lie that changed the government’s decision entirely. That distinction is exactly where an attorney belongs — not you, guessing on your own.

What Should You Review in Your Own File?

Review your N-400, your A-File, and your criminal record before the government does it first.

• ✔Compare what you remember from your interview with what you actually answered on your N-400 form.
• ✔Request your complete file, known as your A-File, through a FOIA request.
• ✔Review your certified criminal record, including old arrests even if they never resulted in a conviction.
• ✔If something doesn’t add up, don’t correct it on your own, and don’t take unnecessary risks. Talk to an attorney before writing to USCIS.

This Isn’t the End of the Story

You now know the two doors, and you know two cases that ended up in federal court. What I haven’t told you yet is what happens the day that letter reaches you, and what defenses exist to fight it.

By God’s grace, we will keep fighting for every family who trusts this office, one case at a time.