RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 17a0239p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ┐ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ │ > No. 16-3440 v. │ │ │ MAQSOOD HAROON, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Columbus. No. 2:15-cr-00020-1—Gregory L. Frost, District Judge. Argued: October 5, 2017 Decided and Filed: October 26, 2017 Before: SUTTON, DONALD, and THAPAR, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ARGUED: Dennis C. Belli, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant. C. Mitchell Hendy, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Dennis C. Belli, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant. Jessica H. Kim, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellee. _________________ OPINION _________________ SUTTON, Circuit Judge. A jury convicted Maqsood Haroon for “knowingly procur[ing]” his citizenship “contrary to law” by lying to immigration authorities about his prior marriage and two children from that marriage. We affirm. No. 16-3440 United States v. Haroon Page 2 I. Born in Pakistan, Haroon came to the United States on a visitor’s visa in September 2002. Six months later, the visa expired and Haroon returned to Pakistan. Upon his return, he married Farzeena Bano, and the couple gave birth to a son. One week after welcoming their newborn, the couple divorced. The next day, Haroon returned to the United States on another six-month visa. Within two months of his arrival, Haroon married Amberly McVey, an American citizen. McVey and Haroon filed a relative petition (I-130, G-325), which permitted Haroon to apply for permanent residence (I-485). After a mandatory two-year probationary period, Haroon applied to have the conditions on his permanent residence removed (I-751) and attested that his application was “based on [his] marriage to a U.S. citizen.” R. 42 at 81; R. 47-4 at 119. While that application was pending, Haroon and McVey divorced, and soon after the government approved the application. Haroon applied for naturalization (N-400) and became an American citizen. At each stage of this process, Haroon did not tell the truth. The relevant forms (G-325, I- 485, I-751, and N-400) asked whether Haroon had any children or former wives. On each form and in the interviews conducted after submitting them, Haroon denied ever marrying Bano and denied the existence of any children, even after returning to visit Bano in Pakistan during the two-year probationary period and even after Bano gave birth to their second son nine months later. Haroon also attested on one form that he had never “given false or misleading information” or “lied to” a government official to obtain immigration benefits. R. 42 at 86–88. Only after the government granted Haroon’s citizenship did it learn the truth. Just one month after becoming a citizen, Haroon returned to Pakistan, where he remarried Bano. He then flew back to the United States and filed relative petitions on behalf of his once-again wife, still- two sons, and seven other family members. In those petitions, he disclosed for the first time his ...
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