Indian-American admits passport and citizenship fraud in America

New York (Uttam Hindu News): An Indian-American man in Florida has pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining citizenship, misusing evidence of naturalization and making false statements in a passport application. Jayaprakash Gulwadi, 51, faces up to 10 years in prison, according to a release issued last week by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. According to court records, Gulwadi, an Indian citizen, came to the US in 2001 on a temporary business visa.

In August 2008, less than two weeks after divorcing his US citizen wife, whom he had married a year earlier, Gulwadi married another US citizen woman. Based on that marriage, Gulwadi became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in June 2009. In August 2009, Gulwadi traveled to India for the first time since coming to the US in 2001, and married an Indian woman before returning to the US. On a subsequent visit to India, Gulwadi and his Indian wife welcomed their first child, born in January 2011, and in August 2013, Gulwadi’s marriage to his American citizen wife ended.

The following year, Gulwadi filed an application for naturalization, in which he lied that he was not currently married, had no children and had never been married to more than one person at the same time. Based on that application, an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, found that Gulwadi became a US citizen by naturalization in August 2014.

Using a fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate as proof of US citizenship, Gulwadi applied for a US passport, falsely impersonating her Indian spouse. The State Department issued Gulwadi a US passport, which he used to re-enter the US on three occasions. Although his sentencing date has not yet been set, Gulwadi’s conviction for illegally obtaining citizenship will result in his U.S. citizenship being automatically revoked at sentencing.