Colorado Pair Charged in Family-Based Immigration Fraud

A Colorado woman and her nephew, a U.S. Airman, have been arrested on federal charges related to an immigration fraud conspiracy. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri announced the charges following an investigation aided by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Myra Paule Schulenburg, 46, and John Paule Rivera, 30, both face a charge of conspiracy to commit immigration fraud. Rivera, who became a naturalized U.S. Citizen in 2022, faces additional charges including making false statements under oath on immigration documents and unlawfully procuring citizenship.

The Fraudulent Petition

Schulenburg, a naturalized U.S. Citizen originally from the Philippines, is accused of submitting a fraudulent family-based immigration petition for her nephew. According to the indictment, Rivera entered the United States on a J1 exchange visitor visa in March 2017. Just a few months later, Schulenburg filed a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with USCIS.

In that petition, she falsely claimed to be Rivera's mother so he could obtain lawful permanent resident status. She supported the petition with an altered birth certificate from the Philippines. USCIS's National Benefits Center in Lee's Summit, Missouri, processed and approved the petition, granting Rivera a green card.

From Green Card to Citizenship

After securing lawful permanent residence, Rivera joined the U.S. Air Force. While stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, he applied to become a naturalized U.S. Citizen. In his naturalization application, Rivera specifically denied ever providing false or misleading information to gain immigration benefits.

He signed that application under penalty of perjury. Based on this false testimony, USCIS approved his application. Rivera became a U.S. Citizen on October 11, 2022.

The Scheme Unravels

The fraud was discovered after Rivera, now a citizen, filed his own Petition for Alien Relative. This petition was for his actual biological mother, seeking a green card for her. He attached his authentic Philippine birth certificate as proof of their relationship.

The submission of the authentic document raised immediate red flags at USCIS. Officials noted the discrepancy with the altered certificate used in the earlier petition. This triggered the investigation that led to the recent arrests.

Potential Penalties

The charges outlined are currently accusations, not evidence of guilt. If convicted, Schulenburg faces a prison sentence of up to five years for the conspiracy charge. Rivera faces steeper penalties.

He could receive up to 10 years in prison on some of the immigration fraud charges. Also, he could be denaturalized, losing the U.S. Citizenship he obtained fraudulently.

The case was investigated by a multi-agency team including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, USCIS's National Benefits Center, and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations. USCIS encourages the public to report suspected immigration benefit fraud through its official tip form.