18 U.S.C. § 1015

Naturalization, citizenship or alien registry

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(a) Whoever knowingly makes any false statement under oath, in any case, proceeding, or matter relating to, or under, or by virtue of any law of the United States relating to naturalization, citizenship, or registry of aliens; or(b) Whoever knowingly, with intent to avoid any duty or liability imposed or required by law, denies that he has been naturalized or admitted to be a citizen, after having been so naturalized or admitted; or(c) Whoever uses or attempts to use any certificate of arrival, declaration of intention, certificate of naturalization, certificate of citizenship or other documentary evidence of naturalization or of citizenship, or any duplicate or copy thereof, knowing the same to have been procured by fraud or false evidence or without required appearance or hearing of the applicant in court or otherwise unlawfully obtained; or(d) Whoever knowingly makes any false certificate, acknowledgment or statement concerning the appearance before him or the taking of an oath or affirmation or the signature, attestation or execution by any person with respect to any application, declaration, petition, affidavit, deposition, certificate of naturalization, certificate of citizenship or other paper or writing required or authorized by the laws relating to immigration, naturalization, citizenship, or registry of aliens; or(e) Whoever knowingly makes any false statement or claim that he is, or at any time has been, a citizen or national of the United States, with the intent to obtain on behalf of himself, or any other person, any Federal or State benefit or service, or to engage unlawfully in employment in the United States; or(f) Whoever knowingly makes any false statement or claim that he is a citizen of the United States in order to register to vote or to vote in any Federal, State, or local election (including an initiative, recall, or referendum)—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. Subsection (f) does not apply to an alien if each natural parent of the alien (or, in the case of an adopted alien, each adoptive parent of the alien) is or was a citizen (whether by birth or naturalization), the alien permanently resided in the United States prior to attaining the age of 16, and the alien reasonably believed at the time of making the false statement or claim that he or she was a citizen of the United States.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 752; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(K), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147; Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title II, § 215, Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–572; Pub. L. 106–395, title II, § 201(d)(2), Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1635.)Historical and Revision Notes

Based on subsections (a), paragraphs (1), (16), (17), (19), (32), (b), (d), and (l) of section 746 of title 8, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Aliens and Nationality (Oct. 14, 1940, ch. 876, § 346(a), pars. (1), (16), (17), (19), (32), (b), (d), and (l), 45 Stat. 1163, 1165, 1167).

Section consolidates, with minor changes, subsection (a), paragraphs (1), (16), (17), (19), (32), and subsections (b), (d), and (l), of section 746 of title 8, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Aliens and Nationality.

Such changes of arrangement and phraseology were made as were appropriate and necessary.

Editorial NotesAmendments

2000—Pub. L. 106–395 inserted at end of concluding provisions “Subsection (f) does not apply to an alien if each natural parent of the alien (or, in the case of an adopted alien, each adoptive parent of the alien) is or was a citizen (whether by birth or naturalization), the alien permanently resided in the United States prior to attaining the age of 16, and the alien reasonably believed at the time of making the false statement or claim that he or she was a citizen of the United States.”

1996—Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 104–208 added subsecs. (e) and (f).

1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000” in concluding par.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 2000 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 106–395 effective as if included in the enactment of section 215 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, div. C of Pub. L. 104–208, and applicable to an alien prosecuted on or after Sept. 30, 1996, except in the case of an alien whose criminal proceeding (including judicial review thereof) has been finally concluded before Oct. 30, 2000, see section 201(d)(3) of Pub. L. 106–395, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 122 cases (8 in the last 5 years), 1949–2026 · leading case: United States v. Divna Maslenjak, 821 F.3d 675 (6th Cir. 2016).

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United States v. Divna Maslenjak, 821 F.3d 675 (6th Cir. 2016). · cites it 36× “7, 1994) (refusing to read a materiality requirement into 18 U.S.C. § 1015 (a) but apparently holding that there was sufficient evidence of materiality to sustain a conviction under 18 U.”

United States v. Ali, 557 F.3d 715 (6th Cir. 2009). · cites it 22× “Defendant Kanadi Mohamed Ali appeals his conviction for knowingly making a false statement under oath relating to naturalization, citizenship, or registry of aliens in *717 violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1015 (a). [1] The indictment charged that defendant Ali knowingly and falsely…”

United States v. Youssef, 547 F.3d 1090 (9th Cir. 2008). · cites it 7× “PER CURIAM: Magdi Youssef appeals his conviction for making a false statement in an immigration document in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1015 (a). 1 We are called upon to decide whether violation of § 1015(a) requires the false statement to be “material” as an element of the offense.”

Kungys v. United States, 485 U.S. 759 (1988). · cites it 2× “Moreover, the implication of a materiality requirement in § 1101(f)(6) is consistent with the interpretation of 18 U. S. C. § 1015 (a), which punishes the making of "any false statement under oath, in any case, proceeding, or matter relating to .”

United States v. Wells, 519 U.S. 482 (1997). · cites it 2× “§ 1014 (penalizing false statement to influence federal loan or credit agency); 18 U. S. C. § 1015 (penalizing false statement in naturalization proceeding); 18 U.”

United States v. Mensah, 737 F.3d 789 (1st Cir. 2013). · cites it 3× “7 Thus, he knowingly lied in his naturalization application — in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1015 (a) — when he denied that he had used other names (by responding that the question was not applicable to him) and when he twice reported (once in the application and once in the…”

United States v. Musleh, 106 F. App'x 850 (4th Cir. 2004). · cites it 8× “Here, the district court’s upward departure consisted of two components — a four-level increase to account for evaded child support payments, and a two-level increase to account for false statements that Mus-leh made in connection with his application for citizenship — uncharged…”

Maslenjak v. United States, 2017 U.S. LEXIS 4042 (2017). “According to the Government's theory, Maslenjak violated § 1425(a) because, in the course of procuring her naturalization, she broke another law: 18 U.S.C. § 1015 (a), *1924 which prohibits knowingly making a false statement under oath in a naturalization proceeding.”

Dennis v. United States, 384 U.S. 855 (1966). · cites it 2× “[8] Petitioners suggest that in this case, too, the Government resorted to the conspiracy-to-defraud clause of § 371 in order to avoid a time bar.”

United States v. Biheiri, 293 F. Supp. 2d 656 (E.D. Va. 2003). · cites it 9× “§ 1425 (a), which criminalizes knowing procurement of naturalization “contrary to law,” requires materiality when the predicate crime is a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1015 for knowingly making a false statement under oath “in any case, proceeding, or matter relating to .”

Amouzadeh v. Winfrey, 467 F.3d 451 (5th Cir. 2006). · cites it 2× “39 In Biheiri, the court stated that “ ‘[c]ontrary to law’ must include ‘contrary to 18 U.S.C. § 1015 .’ ” 40 Similarly, in Rogers, the court determined that a false statement to a federal officer in violation of 18 U.”

United States v. Hemza Lefsih, 867 F.3d 459 (4th Cir. 2017). · cites it 2× “Because Lefsih failed to acknowledge his traffic tickets in answer to Question 23, the government charged Lefsih with two counts of making a false statement on a naturalization form, see 18 U.S.C. § 1015 (a), and two counts of immigration fraud, see 18 U.”

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— 18 U.S.C. § 1015(f) — 1 case

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