Green Card Mistake by US Agency Costs Woman Citizenship

A Canadian woman married a US citizen and applied for a green card. For religious reasons, she didn't want a tetanus shot. Her adviser told her to apply without vaccination proof, expecting the immigration agency to ask for it later. But the agency mistakenly approved her green card anyway. Years later, when she applied for citizenship, the agency discovered the error and denied her application. The law says that if your green card was obtained by mistake—even if it's the government's fault—you're not eligible for citizenship. This case shows how a simple bureaucratic error can upend someone's life.

The law behind this is strict. The Immigration and Nationality Act requires that you were lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Courts have ruled that a mistaken approval is not lawful. The USCIS Policy Manual explicitly states that you can't naturalize if your green card was obtained in error, even without fraud. In a similar case, Turfah v. USCIS, a man entered the US 24 days before his father and was admitted anyway. Seventeen years later, his citizenship was denied because of that early entry. The court called it 'unfair' but said it was bound by the rules.

This isn't just about one woman. It's a warning: immigration mistakes—whether yours or the government's—can come back years later. If you're an immigrant, double-check every requirement. If you're a citizen, imagine being told you don't belong because of a clerical error. The system is rigid, and there's often no clear remedy. The woman in the video may never become a citizen, even if she fixes the vaccination issue, because her original admission date is now in question.

These stories highlight how bureaucracy, made of humans, can make mistakes that have devastating effects. The law offers little flexibility, leaving individuals to bear the consequences. It's a reminder that in immigration, precision matters—and the government's errors can become your problem.