The Third Circuit Court agreed with the decision to deny U.S. citizenship to a Trinidad and Tobago national. The individual applied for citizenship in November 1990 when he was 17, claiming it through his adoptive parents. In July 1991, after he turned 18, his application was approved. He took the Oath of Allegiance before an Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) examiner.

However, an Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) examiner made a mistake by recording the wrong date for his adoptive parents’ naturalization, even though the correct date was on the application. In August 1991, the INS told the State Department that he wasn’t eligible for citizenship because he was over 18 when it was granted. He didn’t find out about this issue until December 2012 while serving a 17-year prison sentence for a drug conviction. Subsequently, he was returned to Trinidad and Tobago in January 2021.

The individual tried to fight the decision. First by appealing to the USCIS office, which agreed with the reversal. Then he filed a federal lawsuit, but the court confirmed the decision again. Despite the 21-year delay by the government, the court said they couldn’t change the decision to deny his citizenship.

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