An Indian-origin American citizen is facing the possibility of losing his US citizenship after being named among a group of individuals targeted in a major denaturalisation drive linked to alleged immigration and visa fraud. Neeraj Sharma, a 50-year-old New Jersey-based businessman, has been included in a list of 17 naturalised US citizens against whom the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has initiated formal civil legal proceedings seeking the definitive revocation of their citizenship.
The federal action relies on strict statutory provisions establishing that his citizenship was obtained unlawfully through willful misrepresentation, false statements, and the deliberate concealment of criminal acts during his naturalisation process.
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The Fictitious Finacle Corporate Staffing Pipeline
According to court filings and investigative records, Sharma was the owner and chief executive officer of Magnavision LLC, an information technology staffing and recruitment company operating out of Somerset, New Jersey. Authorities allege that he systematically manipulated the H-1B visa programme to bring foreign professionals from India to the United States. He accomplished this by submitting fraudulent petition packages that contained entirely false information regarding active, high-level employment opportunities.
Investigators claim that between April 2015 and April 2017, Sharma signed and filed at least 11 fraudulent H-1B visa petitions on behalf of foreign workers. Those petitions represented that the beneficiaries would be employed as business analysts and database engineers at a premier global financial institution.
However, federal authorities contend that the positions described in the applications did not actually exist. The company maintained no genuine work assignments for the arriving workers, operating instead as an unauthorized bench-talent aggregator.
Forged End-Client Records and Document Fabrication
The allegations further state that several supporting documents submitted with the visa petitions contained heavily forged materials. To bypass the mandatory labor market verification loops managed by the Department of Labor, Sharma attached counterfeit Labor Condition Applications (LCAs). He also included fraudulent end-client placement letters printed on official corporate letterhead, bearing fake executive signatures.
The investigation revealed that Sharma was uniquely positioned to execute the documentation scheme. He was working as a contracted business analyst at the exact financial institution referenced in his fraudulent visa applications. This inside access allowed him to acquire internal corporate templates, communication records, and organizational structures. He used these assets to craft highly realistic, fraudulent job invitations that successfully misled US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicators.
The False Naturalization Oaths of 2017
The case extends beyond the visa applications themselves, targeting the false declarations made during Sharma’s transition to American citizenship. In 2017, Sharma applied for naturalisation after meeting the standard five-year permanent residency requirement as a Green Card holder. During his mandatory naturalisation interview, he was required to disclose any past criminal behavior under penalty of perjury.
Authorities allege that Sharma explicitly stated he had never committed a crime for which he had not been arrested. He also asserted he had never provided false information to government officials, or lied to secure immigration benefits. Relying on these material representations, USCIS approved his file, and Sharma took the formal oath of allegiance in December 2017.
The entire scheme dissolved in 2019 when federal immigration units arrested him, leading to a subsequent guilty plea for Fraud and Misuse of Visas under 18 U.S.C. , 1546.
The Mandatory Twin Blocks of PMLA-Equivalent Denaturalization
Under Section 340(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. , 1451(a)), federal courts must revoke naturalisation if the government proves that citizenship was either illegally procured or obtained via the willful concealment of a material fact. Because Sharma committed his visa fraud crimes prior to taking his citizenship oath, prosecutors argue he lacked the statutory “good moral character” required to naturalize. This reality makes his citizenship illegally procured from its inception.
The current Department of Justice crackdown represents a zero-tolerance policy against white-collar immigration fraud. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin emphasized that American citizenship is an exclusive privilege that must be earned with absolute honesty.
If the District Court of New Jersey rules in favor of the government, Sharma’s certificate of naturalisation will be cancelled. This outcome will strip him of his American status and transition his profile to that of a removable alien subject to immediate deportation.
