Neeraj Sharma, Visa and Naturalization Fraud, New Jersey 2023

Visa and Naturalization Fraud Plague New Jersey Community as Local Businessman Faces Charges

New Jersey resident Neeraj Sharma, 43, of Piscataway, has been arrested and charged with visa and naturalization fraud after allegedly submitting 11 fraudulent H-1B visa applications and procuring his own citizenship illegally.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Sharma recruited foreign workers with purported IT expertise who sought work in the United States. When submitting the potential staffers’ H-1B visa paperwork to U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services, Sharma falsely represented that the foreign workers had full-time positions awaiting them at a national bank, a prerequisite to securing their visas.

However, Sharma had never secured work for the applicants and submitted phony letters to USCIS on the bank’s letterhead with forged signatures of bank executives. The H-1B program applies to employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability.

The visa and naturalization fraud charges carry a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced the charges, crediting special agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian A. Michael, the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael C. Mikulka, and the U.S. CIS Office of Fraud Detection and National Security, Vermont and Newark Field Offices, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan L. O’Neill of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Public Protection Unit in Newark. The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Sharma is scheduled to make his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court. As the community grapples with the impact of visa and naturalization fraud, one thing is clear: those who abuse the system will be held accountable.

Related Federal Cases