Immigration fraud is reportedly widespread, though reliable estimates of its pervasiveness are not available. Given that an estimated 12 million foreign nationals are residing in the United States without legal authorization, it is reasonable to presume that many of these unauthorized aliens are committing document fraud. The extent to which unauthorized aliens enter with fraudulently obtained documents or acquire bogus documents after entry is not known. Definition of Immigration Fraud5

Immigration fraud is generally grouped into two types—immigration-related document fraud and immigration benefit/qualification fraud. Benefit/qualification fraud encompasses the willful misrepresentation of a material fact to qualify for a status or benefit under immigration law in the absence of lawful eligibility for that benefit. Some view immigration fraud as a continuum of events because people may commit document fraud en route to benefit/qualification fraud. Investigating Immigration Fraud

The types of fraud investigations range in circumstances and scope. Many investigations focus on facilitators (i.e., individuals who sell, distribute, or manufacture counterfeit or altered documents), and on organized crime syndicates that broker large-scale illegal schemes such as sham marriage rings or bogus job offers. Investigations of immigration benefit applications are another major activity. As Figure 3 further illustrates, fraud investigations declined overall from FY1992 through FY2003 in terms of actual workyears. The cuts in fraud investigations from FY1992 through FY2003 appear to have been generally across the board in terms of types of investigations pursued. CRS data analysis indicates that workyears spent investigating facilitators of counterfeit or altered documents, organizations that broker large-scale illegal schemes and persons suspected of immigration benefit fraud have all decreased over this time period. Successful prosecutions of fraud cases likewise declined from 494 convictions in FY1992 to 250 convictions in FY2003. Subsequently, the DHS Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) published different data, reporting that indictments rose from 709 in FY2004 to 1,065 in FY2005 and that convictions rose from 533 in FY2004 to 1,135 in FY2005. In FY2005 (the most recent year OIS has published data), OIS reported 75,532 aliens were removed for immigration fraud, making up 36% of all formal removals. Improving Document Security

Complementary to investigating fraud has been the effort to improve the security of immigration documents. Initially, the emphasis was on issuing documents that were tamper-resistant and difficult to counterfeit to impede document fraud and unauthorized employment. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 the policy priorities have centered on document integrity and personal identification with a sharp focus on intercepting terrorist travel and other security risks. The integrity of the documents issued for immigration purposes and the capacity to curb immigration fraud are among the central themes that underlie the bigger issue of comprehensive immigration reform legislation.
Immigration fraud is reportedly widespread, though reliable estimates of its pervasiveness are not available. Given that an estimated12 million aliens are residing in the United States without legal authorization, it is reasonable to presume that many of these unauthorized aliens are committing document fraud. The extent to which unauthorized aliens enter with fraudulently obtained documents or acquire bogus documents after entry is not known.
Immigration fraud is generally grouped into two types—immigration-related "document fraud" and immigration "benefit fraud" ("benefit fraud" involves misrepresentation of a material fact to qualify for a specific immigration status or benefit). Some view immigration fraud as a continuum of events or overlapping crimes because people may commit document fraud en route to benefit fraud. The types of fraud investigations range in circumstances and scope. Many fraud investigations focus on facilitators (i.e., individuals who sell, distribute, or manufacture counterfeit or altered documents) and on organizations that broker large-scale illegal schemes such as sham marriage rings or bogus job offers. Investigations of immigration benefit applications are another major activity.
Fraud investigations declined overall from FY1992 through FY2003. The cuts in fraud investigations from FY1992 through FY2003 appear to have been generally across the board in terms of types of investigations pursued. CRS data analysis indicates that workyears spent investigating facilitators of counterfeit or altered documents, organizations that broker large-scale illegal schemes, and persons suspected of immigration benefit fraud had all decreased during that period. Successful prosecutions of fraud cases likewise declined from 494 convictions in FY1992 to 250 convictions in FY2003.
Most recently, however, the DHS Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) reports that indictments for immigration fraud rose from 709 in FY2004 to 1,032 in FY2006 and that convictions rose from 533 in FY2004 to 1,073 in FY2006. OIS also reports that 75,532 aliens were removed for immigration fraud, making up 36% of all formal removals in FY2005.
Complementary to investigating fraud has been the effort to improve the security of immigration documents. Initially, the emphasis was on issuing documents that were tamper-resistant and difficult to counterfeit to impede document fraud and unauthorized employment. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 the policy priorities have centered on document integrity and personal identification with a sharp focus on intercepting terrorist travel and other security risks.
The integrity of immigration documents and the capacity to curb immigration fraud are among the central themes that underlie the bigger issue of comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Topics such as adequacy of resources, coordination among agencies and the impact of technologies on personal privacy illustrate the complexity of this debate. This report will be updated as policies change or events warrant.