The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) is seeking to challenge Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regulations relating to the reopening and revocation of naturalization approvals. According to AILA, potential plaintiffs should meet the following tests:

- The applicant is the subject of a notice of intent to reopen naturalization based on claims that the applicant committed fraud or misrepresentation or concealed relevant information in the naturalization application or interview. Most often, the denaturalization case relates to a concealed arrest or conviction.

- The applicant has a defense to the charges such as having revealed the information to the INS, not understanding a question regarding the arrest, did not remember the arrest because it was a long time ago or it was for a minor offense, or the arrest did not relate to the applicant.

It is important that the person's arrest or conviction not otherwise make someone ineligible for naturalization. In other words, the person is in trouble for concealing or misrepresenting the arrest or conviction, not for the conviction itself.

AILA will need the following information:

Name
Age
Address
Language(s) spoken
Telephone number
Attorney contact information (if any)
Date when you entered the US
Date when permanent residency was obtained and how (family, work, asylum)
Date and description of any arrests or convictions
When applied for naturalization
When approved for naturalization
When served with notice to reopen
Description of defenses to allegations
Other information explaining why citizenship status is needed

If any of our readers are interested in participating, please feel free to contact Greg Siskind at 800-748-3819 or gsiskind@visalaw.com.