Opinion ID: 202113
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The current case

Text: 17 On June 5, 2002, after an investigation, the United States filed a two-count complaint against Zajanckauskas in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts to revoke Zajanckauskas's citizenship based on his participation in the Warsaw Ghetto liquidation and misrepresentations on his visa application. Count I charged that Zajanckauskas was not lawfully admitted to the United States because his participation in the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto and his role as a trainer of other men who served in that action constituted assistance in the persecution of civil populations, thereby rendering him ineligible for a visa under Section 2(b) of the DPA. Count II alleged that Zajanckauskas misrepresented his wartime whereabouts and activities — in particular, his deployment to Warsaw and participation in the Ghetto liquidation — on his visa application and therefore was ineligible for a visa under Section 10 of the DPA (Section 10), which prohibited the issuance of a visa to any person who willfully misrepresented material facts for the purpose of gaining admission to the United States as an eligible displaced person. 18 In January 2005, a three-day bench trial was conducted in the district court. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1451(a), the court was required to revoke Zajanckauskas's citizenship and cancel his Certificate of Naturalization if the government was able to show — by clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence — that Zajanckauskas's citizenship was illegally procured. The requirements for the legal procurement of naturalized citizenship are set forth in 8 U.S.C. § 1427. Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1427(a)(1), no person shall be naturalized unless such person has been lawfully admitted [to the United States] for permanent residence. 8 U.S.C. § 1427(a)(1). To meet that standard, an individual must be in possession of a valid visa and be legally eligible for that visa. See Fedorenko, 449 U.S. at 515, 101 S.Ct. 737. Since Zajanckauskas entered the United States with a visa obtained under the DPA, the court assessed his visa eligibility under that Act. 19 For the purposes of addressing the Section 10 claim referenced in Count II of the complaint (the material misrepresentation claim), 4 the parties stipulated the following: 20 Zajanckauskas's wartime location and activities were material facts capable of affecting the decision of the vice consul who reviewed Zajanckauskas's Application for Immigration Visa in order to determine whether he was eligible under the DPA for an immigrant visa. The parties also stipulated that: 21 If Zajanckauskas went to Warsaw in April and/or May 1943 with a Trawniki-based unit, he made a willful and material misrepresentation of his wartime location and activities to the DPC and on his visa application, and was therefore ineligible under Section 10 of the DPA to receive a visa. 22 Thus, the dispositive issue before the district court was whether Zajanckauskas was present in Warsaw in April and/or May 1943. If Zajanckauskas was in Warsaw during that time period, he willfully made a material misrepresentation and was ineligible for a visa under Section 10 of the DPA. If he was not legally eligible for a visa, he was not lawfully admitted [to the United States] for permanent residence. 8 U.S.C. § 1427(a)(1). This would mean that his citizenship was illegally procured and that his citizenship had to be revoked and his Certificate of Naturalization cancelled. 8 U.S.C. § 1451(a). 23 On January 26, 2005, the district court found that Zajanckauskas was present in Warsaw in April and/or May 1943. Therefore, as required under 8 U.S.C. § 1451(a), the court revoked his citizenship and cancelled his Certificate of Naturalization. Zajanckauskas now appeals the district court's finding.