New update on Indian-origin man who changed name to remain in US: Judge revokes citizenship of Gurdev Singh Sohal

An Indian man became a US citizen in 2005, changing his identity but got caught in 2020 through fingerprints.

The Department of Justice had filed a civil denaturalization complaint against an Indian-origin man who changed his identity to obtain US citizenship. A federal judge has ruled in favor of the DOJ and ordered to revoke citizenship of the man whom they called an immigration and identity fraudster.Gurdev Singh Sohal, also known as Dev Singh and Boota Singh Sundu became a naturalized US citizen in 2005. An individual becomes a naturalized citizen of the US after living in the US continuously for 3-5 years on a Green Card.But Sohal was ordered to be deported in 1994 when he used to go by his earlier name Dev Singh. Instead of leaving the US,he took a new identity, new date of birth, new date of entry into the United States and became Sohal with a completely new background. Sohal naturalized under the new and assumed identity. Sohal withheld his prior immigration history under the Dev Singh identity in any of his immigration applications or proceedings under the new identity.In 2020, it was confirmed by fingerprints analysts that both are the same person.On April 13, the court found that Sohal illegally procured his US citizenship because the unlawful acts he committed in hiding his prior identity rendered him unable to show that he had the requisite good moral character to naturalize.“This case shows this Administration’s strength and commitment to ensuring the sanctity of U.S. citizenship,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The cooperation between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security reflects a strong partnership to protect the nation against immigration and identity fraud.”Sohal’s case was the ninth denaturalization action since January 20, 2025 when the department filed it.