08/31/2026
What are the main reasons people can be denaturalized? The federal government may seek to revoke U.S. citizenship under two general grounds for denaturalization:
1) Procurement of naturalization by concealing a material fact or by willful misrepresentation: The federal government may seek to denaturalize an individual if there is “deliberate deceit on the part of the person” in failing to disclose or misrepresenting a material fact that influences the decision to award the individual U.S. citizenship. The concealment or misrepresentation of a material fact can be made orally during the naturalization interview or in writing on the naturalization application. For example, an individual who misstates his or her employment in order to prevent an USCIS adjudicator from finding out his or her real employment activity has engaged in concealment. The individual is at risk of denaturalization if the concealment or misrepresentation was material to the individual obtaining citizenship.
In general, a naturalized U.S. citizen can be denaturalized on this basis if:
The individual misrepresented or concealed some fact;
The misrepresentation or concealment was willful;
The misrepresented or concealed fact or facts were material; and,
The individual procured citizenship as a result of the misrepresentation or concealment
In addition, the federal government may choose to denaturalize an individual if he or she is or becomes a member or affiliated with the Communist Party, another totalitarian party, or a terrorist organization within ten years immediately preceding the filing of the naturalization application or the five years immediately following naturalization. In this case, affiliation with certain political parties or organizations precludes naturalization because it shows that the individual is not attached to the principles of the U.S. Constitution.
2) Illegal procurement of naturalization: Procuring naturalization illegally means that the individual was not eligible for naturalization in the first place because he or she does not meet or fails to comply with all of the statutory requirements for naturalization. Such requirements include: the requirements of residence, physical presence, lawful admission for permanent residence, good moral character, and attachment to the U.S. Constitution.
In such a case, the individual’s U.S. citizenship can be revoked even if the individual is innocent of any willful deception or misrepresentation. For instance, in February 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas revoked the naturalization of Sammy Chang, a naturalized U.S. citizen from South Korea, after Chang admitted to smuggling women from South Korea and forcing them to work for him prior to his naturalization, an act that adversely reflected on his good moral character. The court denaturalized Chang through civil denaturalization proceedings because his conduct of obtaining forced labor should have barred him from obtaining citizenship.
