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Keywords

plaintifftestimonycitizenshipnaturalization
plaintifftestimonycitizenshipnaturalization

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Plewa v. Immigration and Naturalization Service

Facts

Plaintiff, a lawful permanent resident since 1976, applied for naturalization but failed to disclose a previous arrest due to erroneous advice from an immigration counselor. After realizing the mistake, she submitted a second application that included the arrest details, but the INS denied both applications. The court examined whether the failure to disclose the arrest constituted a lack of good moral character.

Plaintiff is a forty-four year old resident of Hickory Hills, Illinois. Plaintiff was born in Poland and has been a lawful permanent resident of the United States since July 20, 1976.

Issue

Whether the plaintiff should be denied citizenship on the grounds that she lacked good moral character due to her failure to disclose an arrest, which was based on erroneous advice from an immigration counselor.

The legal issue presented is whether Plaintiff should be denied citizenship on the grounds that she lacked good moral character when she failed to disclose an arrest on her Application because of the erroneous advice of an experienced immigration counselor.

Rule

The court applied the legal principle that false testimony must be accompanied by a subjective intent to deceive in order to deny citizenship for lack of good moral character under 8 U.S.C. 1101(f)(6).

false testimony coupled with an intent to deceive for the purpose of obtaining citizenship or other benefits is required in order to deny a citizenship application under 8 U.S.C. 1101(f)(6).

Analysis

The court found that the plaintiff did not have the subjective intent to deceive the INS, as she relied on the erroneous advice of the immigration counselor. The court determined that the failure to disclose the arrest was not indicative of bad moral character, especially since the plaintiff had been truthful in her dealings with the counselor and had cooperated fully in subsequent proceedings.

The Court finds that, although those statements were not true, Plaintiff was not motivated with the subjective intent of deceiving the INS to obtain immigration or naturalization benefits.

Conclusion

The court granted the plaintiff's application for naturalization, concluding that she possessed good moral character despite the failure to disclose her arrest.

The Court holds that Plaintiff's immigration Application should be granted.

Who won?

Plaintiff prevailed in the case because the court found that she had good moral character and that her failure to disclose the arrest was not a sufficient ground for denial of her application.

Plaintiff prevailed in the case because the court found that she had good moral character and that her failure to disclose the arrest was not a sufficient ground for denial of her application.

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