Marriage fraud, duplicate identity: 4 Pakistani men to lose US citizenship in largest denaturalization move by the Trump administration

4 Pakistani men to lose US citizenship for their identity fraud and marriage fraud committed years ago.

Among the 40 men who will lose their US citizenship in the Donald Trump administration’s largest denaturalization move, four are from Pakistan. Attorney General Todd Blanche called this the largest denaturalization effort in modern history. All of them lied to obtain US citizenship, used several identities to conceal their criminal past.Ahmad Bahar Khattak (69): Ahmad Bahar Khattak, also known as Bahar Ahmad and Said Umar Khan, allegedly became a US citizen in Virginia illegally in spite of pre-existing removal proceedings. He changed his identity and prior deportation history, the Justice Department said.“Ahmad Bahar Khattak illegally procured his naturalization and willfully concealed material facts by engaging in a multi-decade fraudulent scheme utilizing dual identities to evade deportation and secure immigration benefits. Specifically, after an Immigration Judge ordered Ahmad Bahar Khattak excluded in absentia in 1994 under the alias of Said Umar Khan, he concurrently applied for immigration benefits and ultimately naturalized on March 20, 2008, under the identity of Bahar Ahmad without disclosing his prior exclusion order,” the court document said.Following his naturalization, he continued his deceptive conduct by leveraging his unlawfully acquired status to obtain US passports and sponsor family members for immigration benefits.Ahmed Khan (73): Ahmed Khan is accused of marriage fraud in Ohio. After arriving in the United States from Pakistan in 1999, Khan secured a bogus death certificate for his still-living Pakistani wife and then married a US citizen. Relying on that bigamous marriage, Khan obtained permanent residence in 2002 by falsely representing both the death of his Pakistani wife and that he did not plan to practice polygamy in the United States. According to a Justice Department document, his misrepresentations at the start of his immigration journey made him inadmissible and ultimately ineligible for US citizenship. Khan nevertheless unlawfully naturalized as a US citizen in 2008 by failing to disclose his ongoing marriage to his Pakistani wife; providing false testimony during his naturalization interview; committing unlawful acts, including immigration fraud, that adversely reflected on his moral character; and willfully misrepresenting material facts about his marriage history and other matters throughout his naturalization proceedings.Syed Mashood Ul Haque (66): Ul Haque entered the United States on a tourist visa in 1993 under his current identity, then overstayed this visa. In 1994, Ul Haque used the identity “Mashud Ahmad” to apply for asylum. When the government denied his asylum application, he failed to appear for his immigration hearing and evaded lawful deportation. After remaining illegally in the United States for decades, Ul Haque used his current identity to take advantage of a family-based immigration petition and become a permanent resident in 2005. Ul Haque later naturalized as a US citizen in Florida.Syed Furqan Ali (74): In 1993, Ali sought naturalization in Texas based on his marriage to a US citizen while still married to his first wife, a citizen of Pakistan. Ali had fabricated his divorce and former wife’s death to gain admission to the United States. The complaint against Ali alleged five counts that include his unlawful adjustment as a permanent resident and false testimony at his naturalization interview that he was divorced and legally married to his second wife at the time of his admission into the United States.