A former officer from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been arrested and charged in relation to a scheme that involved selling immigration benefits, such as green cards.
Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu faced arrest on September 2, with charges linked to a corruption scheme involving immigration applications that spanned several years, as noted by federal prosecutors. The allegations indicate that from December 2019 to March 2026, Ganiyu purportedly exploited his USCIS position to approve immigration applications in exchange for monetary gains. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas asserted that Ganiyu unlawfully approved and expedited applications for permanent residency and citizenship, circumventing essential federal review processes.
The fraudulent actions reportedly included Form I-485 approvals, which people use to apply for lawful permanent resident status, commonly referred to as a green card. Additionally, petitions concerning family sponsorship, the removal of residency conditions, and naturalization were affected.
Ganiyu, alongside his alleged accomplice Adeniyi Akeem Somoye, reportedly coordinated these activities through extensive communications on WhatsApp and gathered significant sums, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, from applicants, according to the prosecutors. Somoye was also apprehended on September 2.
“Selling immigration benefits for cash is a blatant abuse of public trust,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould in a press release. “When a federal official puts a price tag on lawful status, we will intervene immediately. Public corruption will never be tolerated in the Northern District of Texas.”
USCIS emphasized their stance against misconduct in a post on X, declaring, “There is no place in this agency for corruption, abuse of authority, or violations of public trust.”
This is an ongoing situation, with further updates anticipated.
Leave a Reply