ICE Spotlights Nepali Man’s U.S. Citizenship Revocation Case in Nationwide Immigration Fraud Crackdown

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has spotlighted the case of Umesh Chandra Puri, a Nepali citizen, as a key example in its efforts to combat immigration and naturalization fraud. On Thursday, ICE highlighted nearly two dozen immigration enforcement actions, with Puri’s case featured to underscore the consequences of fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship and engaging in subsequent criminal behavior.

According to ICE, Puri fraudulently acquired U.S. citizenship on August 20, 2010. His legal troubles came to light years later when, on November 2, 2015, he pleaded guilty in a state court to heinous crimes involving the sexual abuse of his biological daughter. The charges included continuous sexual abuse of a child, committing a lewd act upon a child, sexual penetration of a minor with a foreign object, and possession of child pornography. Puri confessed to molesting his daughter over a period of ten years, from 2005 to 2015.

Following his guilty plea, he was sentenced to eight years in prison and was required to register as a sex offender.

According to ICE, after serving his prison term, Puri attempted to use his fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate to apply for a driver’s license, drawing the attention of authorities. This act of fraud led to further legal consequences. On December 21, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina convicted him of using a fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate. The court revoked his U.S. citizenship, stripping him of his legal status in the country.

Following the conviction, Puri was ordered to leave the United States. On January 27, 2022, ICE executed his removal, deporting him to Nepal.

In Thursday’s update, ICE warned: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement finds, prosecutes, and removes convicted felons who lie on immigration forms.”

The agency emphasized that all naturalization applicants are required to demonstrate good moral character by truthfully answering key questions such as: “Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested?”, “Have you ever been involved in forcing or attempting to force someone into any form of sexual contact or relations?”, and “Have you ever sold or smuggled controlled substances, illegal drugs, or narcotics?” Providing false information on these forms is considered fraud, and ICE uses its authority to investigate and prosecute those who violate these rules.

“ICE uses digital tools — including databases shared by other federal agencies — to identify people who committed crimes before (or during) naturalization and were convicted after naturalization. When officers find cases like these, it often means that the person lied on their immigration forms,” reads ICE’s Immigration and Naturalization Fraud Prosecutions page.

For example, ICE outlined a hypothetical scenario: If someone committed a crime in 2020 without being arrested, became a citizen in 2021, and was convicted of that crime in 2025, they would be found to have lied when answering, “Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested?” This falsehood invalidates their citizenship and triggers legal consequences.

“Fraudulently obtaining citizenship is a serious felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. A conviction also results in automatic revocation of citizenship, and ICE removes these individuals whenever possible,” ICE further warned.

ICE collaborates with a robust network of partners to carry out these enforcement actions, including U.S. attorneys’ offices, ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor’s Denaturalization Program, the Department of Justice’s Office of Immigration Litigation, ICE’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division.

The agency also showcases successful criminal and civil cases against defendants convicted of a wide range of offenses, including aggravated identity theft, child molestation, elder abuse, embezzlement, incest, kidnapping, money laundering, murder, narcotics trafficking, pill mill prescription fraud, possession or production of child sexual abuse material, serial rape, sex trafficking, sodomy, and tax fraud.