WASHINGTON — The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially stripped Nigerian-born Vivian Chike Obichere of her American citizenship after a federal court determined she concealed extensive passport fraud and lied under oath during her naturalization process.
The ruling, issued on October 13 by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, officially revokes Obichere’s citizenship, rendering her a non-citizen once again.
According to federal court documents, Obichere’s fraudulent scheme began decades prior and culminated in false statements made to federal immigration officers.
Decades of Identity Concealment
Investigators revealed that in 1992, Obichere illegally obtained a U.S. passport by stealing the name, Social Security number, birthplace, and birthdate of a genuine U.S. citizen identified in court records as “C.C.O.” She successfully renewed the fraudulent passport ten years later in 2002.
In 2003, Obichere obtained lawful permanent residence (a “green card”) under her real identity. However, in 2012, while applying for U.S. citizenship under her actual name, she simultaneously attempted to renew the fraudulent U.S. passport under the alias C.C.O.
During her naturalization interview, Obichere explicitly swore under oath that she had never used the name C.C.O., despite knowing the statement was false. Unaware of the full scope of the active investigation at the time, immigration authorities granted her citizenship in 2013.
Criminal Conviction and Denaturalization
The misrepresentation caught up with Obichere in 2015 when she was indicted and convicted in the Northern District of California for making false statements on a passport application and using a passport fraudulently obtained. During those proceedings, she admitted to deceiving the U.S. government over a span of several years.
Following her conviction, the Civil Division of the DOJ filed a civil complaint seeking to revoke her citizenship on July 30. Both parties subsequently filed a joint motion for a consent judgment on October 7, which the court granted on October 13.
Speaking on the case, Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the DOJ’s Civil Division reiterated the administration’s stance on immigration fraud.
”Securing denaturalization is the final step to strip citizenship from those who conceal crimes or defraud the American people,” Shumate stated. “This administration will continue its historic denaturalization campaign to protect the value of U.S. citizenship.”
A Growing Crackdown on Citizenship Fraud
Obichere’s denaturalization coincides with a similar ruling against Cuban-born Milagros Marileisis Acosta Torres, whose U.S. citizenship was formally revoked by the Southern District of Florida on October 14.
Acosta Torres, who became a naturalized citizen in 2015, was convicted in 2020 for her involvement in a money laundering conspiracy that defrauded a tribal casino in Florida.
Both cases underscore an intensified push by federal authorities to review and revoke naturalization status for individuals who secure citizenship through misrepresentation or engage in serious criminal activity around the time of their applications.
