§ 1546. Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents

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(a)Whoever, except under direction of the Attorney General or the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or other proper officer, knowingly possesses any blank permit, or engraves, sells, brings into the United States, or has in his control or possession any plate in the likeness of a plate designed for the printing of permits, or makes any print, photograph, or impression in the likeness of any immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, permit or other document required for entry into the United States, or has in his possession a distinctive paper which has been adopted by the Attorney General or the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service for the printing of such visas, permits, or documents; or

Whoever, when applying for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, permit, or other document required for entry into the United States, or for admission to the United States personates another, or falsely appears in the name of a deceased individual, or evades or attempts to evade the immigration laws by appearing under an assumed or fictitious name without disclosing his true identity, or sells or otherwise disposes of, or offers to sell or otherwise dispose of, or utters, such visa, permit, or other document, to any person not authorized by law to receive such document; or

Whoever knowingly makes under oath, or as permitted under penalty of perjury under section 1746 of title 28, United States Code, knowingly subscribes as true, any false statement with respect to a material fact in any application, affidavit, or other document required by the immigration laws or regulations prescribed thereunder, or knowingly presents any such application, affidavit, or other document which contains any such false statement or which fails to contain any reasonable basis in law or fact—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 25 years (if the offense was committed to facilitate an act of international terrorism (as defined in section 2331 of this title)), 20 years (if the offense was committed to facilitate a drug trafficking crime (as defined in section 929(a) of this title)), 10 years (in the case of the first or second such offense, if the offense was not committed to facilitate such an act of international terrorism or a drug trafficking crime), or 15 years (in the case of any other offense), or both.

(b)Whoever uses—

(1)an identification document, knowing (or having reason to know) that the document was not issued lawfully for the use of the possessor,

(2)an identification document knowing (or having reason to know) that the document is false, or

(3)a false attestation,

for the purpose of satisfying a requirement of section 274A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.

(c)This section does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the United States, or any activity authorized under title V of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 (18 U.S.C. note prec. 3481).1 For purposes of this section, the term “State” means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 771; June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title IV, § 402(a), 66 Stat. 275; Pub. L. 94–550, § 5, Oct. 18, 1976, 90 Stat. 2535; Pub. L. 99–603, title I, § 103(a), Nov. 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 3380; Pub. L. 100–525, § 2(c), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2610; Pub. L. 101–647, title XXXV, § 3550, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4926; Pub. L. 103–322, title XIII, § 130009(a)(4), (5), title XXXIII, § 330011(p), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2030, 2145; Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title II, §§ 211(a)(2), 214, Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–569, 3009–572; Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 607(m), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3512; Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(a)(3), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1806.)

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on section 220 of title 8, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Aliens and Nationality (May 26, 1924, ch. 190, § 22, 43 Stat. 165).

Words “upon conviction thereof” were omitted as surplusage since punishment can be imposed only after a conviction.

Fine of $10,000 was reduced to $2,000 to conform with sections embracing offences of comparable gravity.

Minor changes were made in phraseology.