India-born Balwinder became Jaswinder for US citizenship. This happened next

An Indian-born man who became a naturalised US citizen more than a decade ago is now facing a federal lawsuit that could strip him of his American citizenship after authorities accused him of concealing his identity and immigration history for over two decades. The US Attorney's Office said that he concealed his identity by applying for immigration benefits under two different names.

The attorney's office for the District of Oregon has filed a civil denaturalisation complaint against "54-year-old Jaswinder Singh, aka Balwinder Singh", alleging that he obtained permanent residency and later US citizenship by using false information and withholding key details about his previous immigration record.

According to court documents, Singh first entered the US immigration system in August 1990 under the name Balwinder Singh. He applied for an immigration benefit, but an immigration judge denied the request later that year and ordered him deported from the US.

For context, in the US, an immigration benefit is a legal status, authorisation, or protection granted to a foreign national, such as a visa, green card, work permit, asylum, or citizenship by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), enabling recipients to live, work, study, travel, obtain legal protections, and, in some cases, eventually become US citizens.

So, Singh, after unsuccessfully appealing the decision, was instructed to surrender to immigration authorities in July 1993. Prosecutors allege that he failed to comply with the deportation order and instead remained in the country.

The lawsuit claimed that Singh subsequently resurfaced under a different identity. In November 1994, he allegedly submitted a fresh immigration application using the name Jaswinder Singh. Authorities say the new filing included a different date of birth and a different account of his entry into the US.

Federal prosecutors said that the second application omitted any reference to Singh's earlier immigration proceedings, deportation order, or prior identity. This application was eventually approved, and in August 2003, an immigration judge granted Singh the immigration benefit he had sought, allowing him to obtain lawful permanent resident status after certifying, under penalty of perjury, that the information provided was accurate.

A decade later, Singh applied for US citizenship in 2013. Court filings state that Singh signed his naturalisation application under penalty of perjury, affirming that all information and supporting evidence submitted to immigration authorities were truthful. The USCIS approved his naturalisation application in 2013, making him a US citizen.

The newly filed complaint argued that Singh's citizenship was "illegally procured" because he was not lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the first place. Prosecutors further alleged that he gave false testimony during the naturalisation process and obtained citizenship through the concealment of material facts and wilful misrepresentation.

Under the US Immigration and ity Act, a federal court is required to revoke a person's naturalisation if it determines that citizenship was obtained unlawfully or through deliberate deception. If the court rules in the government's favour, Singh could lose his US citizenship.

The investigation was conducted by USCIS, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. The lawsuit is civil rather than criminal in nature and seeks only the revocation of citizenship.

Authorities have emphasised that the allegations contained in the complaint remain unproven. The court has not yet determined whether Singh is liable for the claims, and he will have an opportunity to contest the government's allegations as the case proceeds through the legal system.

This is hardly the first time American authorities have moved to revoke the citizenship of an Indian-born individual.

Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice announced denaturalisation actions against 17 naturalised citizens, including an Indian-born CEO accused of filing fraudulent H-1B visa petitions and providing false information to US authorities during his citizenship application process.

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