USCIS has revised its policy manual, warning that aliens who make false claims to US citizenship face permanent immigration consequences, citing a 2019 ruling that intent is not required for inadmissibility.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a sharp warning to immigrants: lie about being an American, and you could be barred for life.

In a policy update, USCIS said it is “restoring robust screening and vetting processes to detect aliens seeking to defraud or abuse the immigration system,” stressing that “aliens who use false information or deceitful practices to unfairly obtain immigration advantages will face serious consequences.”

The revised guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual focuses on the “false claim to US citizenship” ground of inadmissibility, a rule Congress put in place to protect the integrity of citizenship rights. Since September 30, 1996, any false claim of citizenship made for an immigration or legal benefit renders an alien permanently inadmissible, usually without the possibility of a waiver.

USCIS noted that Congress carved out a narrow exception for those who permanently resided in the United States before the age of 16.

The agency also cited a 2019 ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals in Matter of Zhang, which found that a false claim to citizenship can carry immigration consequences even if it was not knowingly made. USCIS incorporated that decision into its policy manual in 2020, clarifying that “it is not necessary...

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