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What is birth certificate fraud immigration
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 40 years of combined experience handling high-stakes cases. You might know us from the Netflix series about Anna Delvey – Todd represented her in one of the most publicized fraud cases in recent history. We’ve also handled the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct case and defended clients in situations others considered unwinnable. Birth certificate fraud in immigration cases is something we deal with regularly, and the consequences are severe.
Using a fraudulent birth certificate to enter the United States or obtain immigration benefits isn’t just a paperwork problem – it’s a federal crime that can destroy your entire immigration case and result in criminal prosecution. The government takes this seriously. In 2025, DOJ priorities shifted dramatically – Attorney General Pam Bondi issued policy memoranda directing U.S. Attorney’s Offices to pursue charges for immigration-related violations whenever they’re presented. This means if you used a fake birth certificate years ago, even if you’re now a citizen, the government can come after you.
Birth certificate fraud happens in different ways. Someone might alter an existing birth certificate to change the date of birth, place of birth, or parents’ names. Others fabricate entirely fake certificates – HSI’s Forensic Laboratory, the only federal crime lab dedicated to examining travel and identity documents, sees these cases constantly. They analyze birth certificates to determine authenticity, and with artificial intelligence making fake documents look more realistic, ICE warns that the threat is growing.
The most common scenario involves using someone else’s legitimate birth certificate. You take a real U.S. birth certificate belonging to another person and present it as your own to claim citizenship or obtain a passport. Douglas Anthony Eze did exactly this – he used a Canadian birth certificate, applied for a Green Card under that stolen identity, and eventually became a U.S. citizen. When federal authorities caught him, he got one year and one day in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a $20,000 fine. That’s after living as a U.S. citizen for years.
Criminal Penalties Hit Hard
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a), the statute covering immigration document fraud, you’re looking at up to 10 years in federal prison for forging, counterfeiting, or falsely making immigration documents. Ten years. That’s the statutory maximum, and federal judges can impose substantial fines on top of prison time. These aren’t state charges where you might get probation – federal prosecutors don’t mess around with immigration fraud in 2025.
What makes birth certificate fraud particularly dangerous is how it compounds. You don’t just face charges for the fake document itself. If you used that birth certificate to obtain a passport, that’s passport fraud. If you used it to get a Social Security number, that’s Social Security fraud. Each fraudulent application becomes a separate count. Federal prosecutors stack charges – they’re good at it.
Immigration Consequences Are Permanent
Even if you avoid criminal prosecution, the immigration consequences will end your case. Making a false claim to U.S. citizenship – which is exactly what you’re doing when you present a fraudulent birth certificate – triggers a permanent admission bar under INA 212(a)(6)(c)(ii). Permanent means permanent. No waiver available, no time limit that makes it go away, no hardship exception that helps your family. You’re barred from ever entering the United States legally.
If you’re already in the United States when the fraud is discovered, you become subject to removal. Deportable, with virtually no relief available. Immigration judges have no discretion to forgive false citizenship claims – the law is unforgiving on this specific violation. Cancellation of removal won’t help you. Asylum won’t save you if you falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen. Adjustment of status through marriage becomes impossible.
They Always Find Out Eventually
People think they can slip through with document fraud. They can’t – not anymore. HSI’s Forensic Laboratory examines thousands of documents annually, and their technology identifies alterations, forgeries, and fraudulent certificates that would have passed inspection 20 years ago. Birth certificates from certain countries are red-flagged automatically because fraud from those regions is so common.
Consular officers interview applicants extensively. They ask detailed questions about your birthplace, the hospital, your family, childhood memories. If you’re using someone else’s birth certificate or a fabricated one, you won’t know answers that a person actually born there would know. One wrong answer about a hospital that didn’t exist in that year or a neighborhood with the wrong name, and the officer orders forensic examination.
USCIS runs background checks that cross-reference databases most people don’t even know exist. Medical records, school records, family members’ immigration applications – all of it gets compared. Inconsistencies trigger investigations. If your sister’s visa application 15 years ago listed different parents than your birth certificate shows now, someone will notice. They always notice.
Denaturalization Is Real in 2025
If you obtained citizenship through birth certificate fraud, the government can strip it away through denaturalization proceedings. This isn’t theoretical – DOJ explicitly prioritized denaturalization cases in 2025 for immigration fraud. On June 24, 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Anibal Rios-Lavias for fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship. If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison and automatic revocation of citizenship.
Denaturalization proceedings examine how you obtained citizenship. If fraud was involved at any step – including the initial entry using a fake birth certificate – your naturalization is voidable. Fraud that occurred years earlier, even decades earlier, can support denaturalization if it was material to your ability to naturalize. Once citizenship is revoked, you become subject to immediate removal with the permanent admission bar still in effect.
What You Should Do If You’re Involved
If you used a fraudulent birth certificate in any immigration matter, you need a lawyer who handles federal criminal defense and immigration consequences simultaneously. At Spodek Law Group – we’ve handled cases where the government alleged fraud in high-profile matters that drew national attention. We know how federal prosecutors work because we have former federal prosecutors on our team.
Don’t try to fix this yourself. The moment you admit the birth certificate was fraudulent, you’ve confessed to a federal crime and triggered the permanent admission bar. Anything you say to USCIS or a consular officer can be used against you in criminal proceedings. You need counsel before you communicate with any government official about this.
Some cases have options – not many, but some. If you were a child when someone else used a fraudulent birth certificate on your behalf, that might affect criminal liability. If the fraud was committed by an immigration attorney or notario without your knowledge, that changes the case entirely. These are highly fact-specific determinations that require experienced legal analysis.
Birth certificate fraud isn’t something that fades away with time. The government has no statute of limitations for denaturalization based on fraud. They can come after you 30 years later. In 2025, with enforcement priorities focused on immigration fraud and document crimes, they’re doing exactly that. If this describes your situation, call us. We’re available 24/7, and we don’t take cases we can’t help with – if we accept your case, it’s because we believe we can make a difference in the outcome.