Visa or Green Card Denied for False Information on Immigration Forms?

Any time someone submits a U.S. visa or green card application that contains false information, their action can be considered either a "willful misrepresentation" or worse, an actual fraud against the U.S. government. The likely result depends somewhat on their intentions and on context. But there's a significant risk that the applicant presenting the false information could then face a substantial delay or denial of the visa and quite possibly the denial of all subsequent immigration applications.

What's more, anyone in the United States who helps an applicant falsify an application to gain entry to the country can be indicted and prosecuted by a federal grand jury if the matter is formally investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

We'll discuss the legal issues in greater depth here.

What's the Legal Difference Between Fraud and Willful Misrepresentation?

In brief, a willful misrepresentation in the immigration context means that an applicant intentionally made a false representation of a material (significant) fact to a U.S. government official. Fraud takes it a couple of steps further, requiring that the applicant made the false representation knowingly, with the intent to deceive the government official, and that the official in fact believed the falsehood and granted the immigration benefit accordingly.

In the end, however, this legal distinction might not make any practical difference. Both fraud and willful misrepresentation are enough on their own to make the perpetrators inadmissible to the United States, meaning they're forever ineligible for a visa or nearly any other immigration benefit. (See I.N.A. Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i).)

What Sorts of False Information Are Commonly a Problem on Immigration Applications?

Some types of false information that commonly result in the U.S. government denying a visa or immigration benefit include:

1. supplying inaccurate personal information
2. failing to reveal past visa refusals, and
3. lying about past criminal activity or convictions.

These are discussed below.

What Would Constitute False Personal Information on an Immigration Application?

All of the following types of information are considered "personal." Lying about them could thus result in a U.S. visa or immigration benefit being denied:

1. legal name or other names used (an alias)
2. date of birth
3. country of birth
4. financial information (for example, many visa applications ask applicants to prove that they will be able to support themselves in the United States), and
5. information about current or past marriages or relationship to other family members (for example, claiming to be an unmarried child in order to obtain a visa through a U.S. citizen parent could be fraudulent if the applicant is actually married).

What's Wrong With Not Mentioning Past Visa Refusals?

All U.S. visa applicants are asked if they have ever been refused a visa in the past. The information is relevant, since the U.S. government will want to know why they made that negative decision in your case. However, asking the question is sort of a double-check, since information pertaining to previous visa refusals is normally documented and available to the U.S. government officer processing the application. In other words, there's a good chance such a lie will be discovered.

What Happens If I Don't Reveal Information About Past Crimes?

You will be asked about your criminal record in any U.S. visa application. However, information pertaining to any arrests and criminal convictions is also readily available to immigration officers during the processing of the visa.

It's reasonable to fear that one's criminal history will result in visa denial, because many crimes are considered a separate ground of inadmissibility. But if you also provide false information pertaining to an arrest or conviction, you now actually have two separate problems to deal with in seeking U.S. immigration benefits.

With Fraud or Willful Misrepresentation on Record, Can I Ever Get Another Visa to the United States?

If you provide false information on a visa application as an intentional attempt to hide a particular fact, you'll need to realize that immigration laws will treat this very seriously. In order to get any sort of visa to the U.S. in the future, you will need to convince the U.S. government to forgive or overlook the past misrepresentation, by requesting a waiver of inadmissibility.

The exact type of waiver you will need depends on the type of visa you were applying for: a temporary (nonimmigrant) visa or a permanent (immigrant) visa. (See, for example, Getting a U.S. Visitor Visa With a Criminal Record and Filing an I-601 Application for a Waiver in Your Immigration Case.)

Applying for a Nonimmigrant Visa: How to Apply for a Waiver of Misrepresentation

If your nonimmigrant visa application is determined to contain false information and is denied, you will need to submit a new visa application and request a waiver from a U.S. consulate outside the United States. There is no special form to file with the visa application. Instead, the U.S. consular officer will:

1. schedule an interview for you and question you about the false information provided, and
2. after the interview, decide whether a waiver should be granted, based on your explanation and the type of misrepresentation and its seriousness; the reason for your intended travel to the United States; and any effects your travel are likely to have, whether positive or negative, on the interests of the U.S. public.

The consular officer will report to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with a recommendation as to whether or not to grant the waiver. If the consular officer does not completely feel you deserve a waiver for your misrepresentation, and makes an unfavorable recommendation to the DHS, your application will likely be denied again.

Applying for an Immigrant Visa: How to Apply for a Waiver of Misrepresentation

If you are seeking to come to the U.S. permanently, you can file for a waiver of the misrepresentation using Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility. While this waiver does not require a consular recommendation, it has much stricter criteria, and again, is granted on a purely discretionary basis.

This waiver is particularly difficult to get simply because if it is granted, the person will be permitted remain in the United States permanently.

In the event your misrepresentation involved the commission of a crime, whether you were actually convicted or not, it is possible you will not even be eligible to apply for a a waiver. Some crimes, by law, cannot be waived.

Why Hiring an Immigration Attorney Would Be Wise

Given the complexity involved in filing a successful immigrant waiver application, you should contact an experienced immigration attorney to determine your eligibility and to assist you through the process.