Washington:
An Indian American has pleaded guilty to obtaining US citizenship based on fraudulent documents and telling lies, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.
Following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Jaiprakash Gulvady, 51, who now lives in Florida, pleaded guilty to unlawful acquisition of citizenship or naturalization, misuse of evidence of citizenship or naturalization, making false statements in a passport application and using a passport secured by false declarations.
Gulvady faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.
His conviction for unlawfully obtaining citizenship or naturalization will result in the automatic revocation of his U.S. citizenship if convicted. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the settlement, Gulvady came to the United States in 2001 on a temporary business visa.
In August 2008, less than two weeks after divorcing his wife – a US citizen whom he had married the year before – he married another US citizen. Based on that marriage, he adjusted his immigration status and became a lawful permanent resident in June 2009.
Two months later, in August 2009, he traveled to India for the first time since arriving in the United States in 2001.
While in India, he married an Indian woman. On a subsequent visit to India, Gulvady and his Indian wife had their first and only child, born in January 2011.
In August 2013, Gulvady's marriage to his American wife was dissolved, ICE said.
The following year, Gulvady applied for naturalization and falsely stated that he was not currently married; that he had no children; and that he had never been married to more than one person at a time.
Based on that application, Gulvady became a naturalized U.S. citizen in August 2014.
Using his fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate as proof of U.S. citizenship, Gulvady applied for a U.S. passport and falsely omitted his Indian wife, ICE said.
The State Department issued Gulvady a U.S. passport, which he subsequently used to enter the United States at least three times, ICE said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)