Convictions and consequences

This week, we will examine several examples of how criminal convictions can lead to severe immigration consequences.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) played a significant role in the investigation that resulted in a federal jury convicting Ana Zahia Gonzalez, 46, of naturalization fraud. U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe said Gonzalez faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and denaturalization. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 13. Gonzalez was indicted on Nov. 19, 2025.

Gonzalez knowingly submitted a fraudulent divorce decree from Belize as part of her naturalization application. Gonzalez entered the U.S. on a visitor visa in 2006 and remained beyond the authorized period. Five years later, she married a U.S. citizen who was unaware that she remained legally married to a Belizean national. In 2016, Gonzalez applied for naturalization and falsely stated that her prior marriage in Belize had been legally dissolved before she remarried.

A suburban Chicago man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for immigration fraud, tax offenses, and possession of child pornography.

Jose Gregorio Sosa Cardona operated Delta Global Solutions, Inc., which assisted individuals in applying for asylum, immigrant visas, and other immigration benefits. From 2020 to 2024, he conspired with others to submit false information to USCIS on behalf of clients seeking immigration benefits, including fabricated supporting records intended to corroborate asylum claims. He also misrepresented himself to clients and USCIS as a licensed attorney.

During a court-authorized search of Sosa Cardona’s electronic devices, investigators recovered additional evidence supporting separate criminal charges involving minors in sexually explicit videos and photos. The government also alleged that he filed fraudulent individual tax returns and failed to remit employment taxes withheld from employees’ wages for calendar years 2020 through 2023.

USCIS also provided pivotal assistance to the investigation that led to the denaturalization of Carlos Noe Gallegos, a convicted child sex offender.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued the order stripping Gallegos, a Mexican national, of his citizenship after he concealed from USCIS during his naturalization process in 2010 the fact that he had sexually assaulted a child. Gallegos failed to disclose both his criminal acts but pleaded guilty to the crime after becoming a U.S. citizen.

USCIS also conducted an investigation that resulted this week in the filing of a civil denaturalization complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Philippe Bien-Aime, former North Miami mayor.

Bien-Aime, also known as Jean Philippe Janvier, a Haitian national, used two identities to obtain immigration benefits and ultimately acquire citizenship after entering the U.S. unlawfully.

The alleged immigration fraud was identified and substantiated through a comparison of fingerprints submitted under the two identities.

Before obtaining U.S. citizenship under the name Philippe Bien-Aime, he allegedly entered the U.S. using a fraudulent passport under the name Jean Philippe Janvier. In 2001, he was placed in removal proceedings and ordered removed under the Janvier identity. Although he appealed that removal order, he later withdrew the appeal while representing that he had returned to Haiti. He actually remained in the U.S. and, using a different name and date of birth, married a U.S. citizen to obtain lawful permanent resident status.

He was subject to a final removal order, rendering him ineligible for naturalization and precluding consideration of his application for permanent resident status by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. The complaint alleges that the removal order barred USCIS from considering his naturalization application or granting citizenship, that he didn’t lawfully adjust to permanent resident status because of fraud and the invalidity of his marriage, and that he made false or misleading statements under oath during adjustment and naturalization interviews. The complaint also alleges that he concealed and misrepresented material facts relevant to his eligibility for U.S. citizenship, including statements concerning his prior interactions with immigration authorities, his children, and former residential addresses.