An Indian-origin taxi driver from Punjab who had been a US citizen has stripped of his US citizenship after being convicted of rape and kidnapping of U.S woman during his naturalization process.
The 55-year-old man, Gurmeet Singh, was convicted in 2014 and sentenced to 20 years in prison after he abducted and raped a female passenger at knifepoint in New York in 2011.
In a statement issued by the US Department of Justice on August 31, 2026, Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “American citizenship is not a shield for criminals.”
“Gurmeet Singh, a convicted rapist from India, is no longer a US citizen. He concealed a rape and kidnapping during the naturalization process, and a federal court has now revoked his citizenship. This Department took this case across the finish line, and we will continue to move expeditiously on denaturalization referrals. Fraudulently obtained citizenship will not protect criminals from justice,” the statement said.
It further noted that in May 2011 mere weeks before he filed his application to naturalize as a US citizen, Singh, a taxicab driver at the time, drove a female passenger who fell asleep during her ride home to a location with no witnesses. When his passenger awoke, she found Singh on top of her with a knife against her throat. He threatened her, bound and gagged her, blindfolded her, removed her clothes, and raped her.
“Singh unlawfully obtained the privileges of U.S. citizenship by concealing horrible criminal acts,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will continue to protect the integrity of the citizenship process and hold accountable those who defraud our immigration system.”
US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr for the Eastern District of New York said,`` The Court’s judgment, which requires the defendant to surrender his wrongfully obtained citizenship, sends a strong message to those who obtain citizenship through deceit, and demonstrates the Administration’s resolve to pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence.’’
A native of India, Singh entered the United States in February 1992 as a visitor for a temporary period not to exceed six months. He then remained in the United States without authorization for years until a family-based immigrant visa petition allowed him to become a permanent resident in June 2000, the statement said.
