USCIS officer arrested for charging money for approving immigration applications.
Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, a former senior immigration services officer with USCIS, and Adeniyi Akeem Somoye were arrested on September 2 in connection with an alleged multi-year corruption scheme, the US Department of Justice said. A former US Citizenship and Immigration Services officer has been arrested in Texas after federal authorities accused him of taking illegal payments in exchange for manipulating immigration decisions and speeding up applications.
Why the case matters
Both defendants appeared before a US magistrate judge on September 2. If convicted of the conspiracy charge, each faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the Justice Department. Decisions or processing actions by agency officials can therefore have major consequences for applicants waiting to live, work or remain legally in the US.
The Justice Department described the alleged conduct as a “multi-year scheme” and said the investigation involved USCIS’ Office of Investigations, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and the FBI’s Dallas Field Office. USCIS officers handle a wide range of immigration applications and petitions, including cases involving lawful immigration status and other immigration benefits. The case is still at the charging stage. A criminal complaint is an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. Ganiyu and Somoye are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. For immigrants and applicants navigating the US system, the case is likely to serve as another warning about the risks of trying to bypass official procedures through intermediaries or payments.