Washington, D.C. – A 33-year-old El Salvadoran National, Jose Ricardo Ramirez, was sentenced on October 14, 2008, before the Honorable Rosemary M. Collyer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to time served, to comply with deportation proceedings, and a three-year period of supervised release should he return to the United States, following his earlier guilty plea on September 26, 2008, to one count of Fraud and Misuse of Visas, Permits and Other Documents, announced U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor and Special Agent in Charge John Schilling of the Department of State’s Washington Field Office. As a result of this felony conviction, the defendant faces deportation and a permanent bar to re-entry into the United States. Prior to this conviction, the defendant had lived in the United States for the past 17 years.

According to the Statement of Offense filed with the Court by the government, on January 12, 2007, the defendant completed a DS-11 Application for a U.S. Passport at the U.S. Post Office, Brightwood Station, 6323 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., for travel on “01/13" for five days to El Salvador. The defendant’s color photograph appeared on the Passport Application. However, the defendant wrote the following false information on his Passport Application: (1) a false name; (2) a false date of birth; (3) a false place of birth; (4) a false social security number; and (5) false parental information. This information, in fact, belonged to another individual. On the second page of the Passport Application, the defendant printed a false name in the box for the applicant’s signature. By completing the Oath and Signature portion of the Passport Application, the defendant falsely declared, under penalty of perjury, that he is a U.S. citizen and that the statements made on the Passport Application were true and correct.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor and Special Agent in Charge John Schilling commended the outstanding investigative work of Department of State Special Agent Kris Southwick. They also praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Karla-Dee Clark, who prosecuted the case.