A false claim toU.S.citizenship more often than not results in a permanent bar to living in theUnited States. What about if the misrepresentation was something other thanU.S.citizenship? Is it still possible to live and work legally in theU.S.? The answer is maybe.
Willfully misrepresenting a material fact in order to obtain an immigration benefit makes one either inadmissible or deportable or both. Willful means that the misrepresentation is deliberate and voluntary.
A material fact is one that would make the alien inadmissible or shut off a line of inquiry which may have resulted in not being admitted. If you lie about your name and/or birth date because you were previously denied a visa under the correct information, you have cut off an inquiry that might have resulted in your visa being denied. If you lie about your marital status (say you are single in order to get your green card or say you are married in order to get a visitor’s visa), you have lied to hide the fact that you are not eligible for a green card or shut off an area of inquiry that might have resulted in your visa application being denied.
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