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Crime of Using a Forged or Stolen Passport
Every day, immigrants seek to gain entry into the United States through the use of a stolen or forged passport. Often, the passport is not a US passport, but a passport from an EU country or another country that participates in a visa-waiver program with the US. For instance, a forged stolen Spanish passport could be used to travel through South America, then to the United States. EU passports are the most prized on the black market.
The crime of seeking to enter the US with a fake, forged, or improper passport is addressed by the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) as a "no valid passport" charge under section 212(a)(26). Under this section, an immigrant is denied entry when the passport does not show the person’s correct identity and nationality.
The next requirement for inadmissibility at the time of entry is fraud or misrepresentation. For example, a visa obtained by deception or an attempted entry through fraud is equivalent to having no visa at all. The fraud has to be regarding material fact, that is, a fact that if revealed would have barred entry.
In one case, an immigrant presented a Lebanese passport in procuring a tourist visa. This was a material misrepresentation since he would have been denied entry had he used his real name, and it was a “no valid passport” charge since the Lebanese passport did not show his correct nationality.
After detaining immigrants and performing background checks, authorities may give the immigrant the option of catching the next plane back to their country. Immigrants may seek asylum, in which case their stories may be heard by an immigration court before deportation. Their biographical information will be retained, and depending on the circumstances, they may be excluded from the US for a certain period of time.
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