As an immigration attorney, I find it important to make people aware of this potential pitfall. It may seem like a minor thing. You, a non-U.S. citizen and lacking working papers, fill out a job application and check the box that says you are a U.S. citizen. If you don’t check it, you don’t have the documents to prove that you’re eligible to work. If you do check it, you get the job. You know it’s probably against the law, but it’s what you need to do to get a job and pay the bills.
And it’s not like you’re going out and robbing someone, dealing drugs, or committing some sort of violent crime.
But, under immigration laws, the penalty for making a false claim of U.S. citizenship is the heaviest one available: deportation without the usual avenues for relief. If you are convicted of making a false claim of U.S. citizenship you are ineligible to apply for Cancellation of Removal, the same as if you are an aggravated felon or drug trafficker, or committed certain crimes of moral turpitude. So the act of checking the “U.S. citizen” box on an I-9 form can land you in the same hot water as if you had been caught dealing drugs or assaulting someone with a deadly weapon.
Harsh reality, but reality it is.
Tags: Cancellation of Removal, citizenship, false claim of US citizenship, I-9