18 U.S.C. § 1546 — Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and

Page 407 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 1546 1 See References in Text note below. HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Based on section 251 of title 22, U.S.C., 1940 ed., For- eign Relations and Intercourse (R.S. 4062). The punishment provision was rewritten to permit the alternative of a fine of not more than $2,000 or im- prisonment, or both, instead of imprisonment and fine ‘‘at the discretion of the court’’, to conform with other sections embracing offenses of comparable gravity. Minor changes were made in phraseology. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1994—Pub. L. 103–322, § 330016(1)(I), which directed the amendment of this section by substituting ‘‘under this title’’ for ‘‘not more than $2,000’’, could not be executed because the words ‘‘not more than $2,000’’ did not ap- pear in text subsequent to amendment by Pub. L. 103–322, § 130009(a)(3). See below. Pub. L. 103–322, § 130009(a)(3), substituted ‘‘under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years’’ for ‘‘not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than three years’’. § 1546. Fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents (a) Whoever knowingly forges, counterfeits, al- ters, or falsely makes any immigrant or non- immigrant visa, permit, border crossing card, alien registration receipt card, or other docu- ment prescribed by statute or regulation for entry into or as evidence of authorized stay or employment in the United States, or utters, uses, attempts to use, possesses, obtains, ac- cepts, or receives any such visa, permit, border crossing card, alien registration receipt card, or other document prescribed by statute or regula- tion for entry into or as evidence of authorized stay or employment in the United States, know- ing it to be forged, counterfeited, altered, or falsely made, or to have been procured by means of any false claim or statement, or to have been otherwise procured by fraud or unlawfully ob- tained; or Whoever, except under direction of the Attor- ney General or the Commissioner of the Immi- gration and Naturalization Service, or other proper officer, knowingly possesses any blank permit, or engraves, sells, brings into the United States, or has in his control or possession any plate in the likeness of a plate designed for the printing of permits, or makes any print, photo- graph, or impression in the likeness of any im- migrant or nonimmigrant visa, permit or other document required for entry into the United States, or has in his possession a distinctive paper which has been adopted by the Attorney General or the Commissioner of the Immigra- tion and Naturalization Service for the printing of such visas, permits, or documents; or Whoever, when applying for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, permit, or other document required for entry into the United States, or for admission to the United States personates an- other, or falsely appears in the name of a de- ceased individual, or evades or attempts to evade the immigration laws by appearing under an assumed or fictitious name without dis- closing his true identity, or sells or otherwise disposes of, or offers to sell or otherwise dispose of, or utters, such visa, permit, or other docu- ment, to any person not authorized by law to re- ceive such document; or Whoever knowingly makes under oath, or as permitted under penalty of perjury under sec- tion 1746 of title 28, United States Code, know- ingly subscribes as true, any false statement with respect to a material fact in any applica- tion, affidavit, or other document required by the immigration laws or regulations prescribed thereunder, or knowingly presents any such ap- plication, affidavit, or other document which contains any such false statement or which fails to contain any reasonable basis in law or fact— Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 25 years (if the offense was com- mitted to facilitate an act of international ter- rorism (as defined in section 2331 of this title)), 20 years (if the offense was committed to facili- tate a drug trafficking crime (as defined in sec- tion 929(a) of this title)), 10 years (in the case of the first or second such offense, if the offense was not committed to facilitate such an act of international terrorism or a drug trafficking crime), or 15 years (in the case of any other of- fense), or both. (b) Whoever uses— (1) an identification document, knowing (or having reason to know) that the document was not issued lawfully for the use of the pos- sessor, (2) an identification document knowing (or having reason to know) that the document is false, or (3) a false attestation, for the purpose of satisfying a requirement of section 274A(b) of the Immigration and Nation- ality Act, shall be fined under this title, impris- oned not more than 5 years, or both. (c) This section does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intel- ligence activity of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the United States, or any activity authorized under title V of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 (18 U.S.C. note prec. 3481).1 For purposes of this sec- tion, the term ‘‘State’’ means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 771; June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title IV, § 402(a), 66 Stat. 275; Pub. L. 94–550, § 5, Oct. 18, 1976, 90 Stat. 2535; Pub. L. 99–603, title I, § 103(a), Nov. 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 3380; Pub. L. 100–525, § 2(c), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2610; Pub. L. 101–647, title XXXV, § 3550, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4926; Pub. L. 103–322, title XIII, § 130009(a)(4), (5), title XXXIII, § 330011(p), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2030, 2145; Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title II, §§ 211(a)(2), 214, Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–569, 3009–572; Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 607(m), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3512; Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(a)(3), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1806.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Based on section 220 of title 8, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Aliens and Nationality (May 26, 1924, ch. 190, § 22, 43 Stat. 165). Words ‘‘upon conviction thereof’’ were omitted as surplusage since punishment can be imposed only after a conviction. Page 408 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 1547 Fine of $10,000 was reduced to $2,000 to conform with sections embracing offences of comparable gravity. Minor changes were made in phraseology. Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The immigration laws, referred to in subsec. (a), are classified generally to Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. See also section 1101(a)(17) of Title 8. Section 274A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is classified to section 1324a(b) of Title 8. Title V of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, referred to in subsec. (c), is title V of Pub. L. 91–452, Oct. 15, 1970, 84 Stat. 933, which was set out as a note preceding section 3481 of this title, and was repealed by Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 1209(b), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2163. See section 3521 et seq. of this title. AMENDMENTS 2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–273 substituted ‘‘to fa- cilitate’’ for ‘‘to facility’’ in concluding par. 1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–208 substituted ‘‘which contains any such false statement or which fails to contain any reasonable basis in law or fact’’ for ‘‘con- taining any such false statement’’ in fourth par. and ‘‘imprisoned not more than 25 years (if the offense was committed to facilitate an act of international ter- rorism (as defined in section 2331 of this title)), 20 years (if the offense was committed to facilitate a drug traf- ficking crime (as defined in section 929(a) of this title)), 10 years (in the case of the first or second such offense, if the offense was not committed to facility such an act of international terrorism or a drug trafficking crime), or 15 years (in the case of any other offense)’’ for ‘‘im- prisoned not more than 10 years’’ in concluding par. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–294 inserted at end ‘‘For pur- poses of this section, the term ‘State’ means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.’’ 1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–322, § 330011(p), amended directory language of Pub. L. 101–647, § 3550. See 1990 Amendment note below. Pub. L. 103–322, § 130009(a)(4), substituted ‘‘10 years’’ for ‘‘five years’’ in concluding par. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–322, § 130009(a)(5), in con- cluding provisions, substituted ‘‘under this title, im- prisoned not more than 5 years’’ for ‘‘in accordance with this title, or imprisoned not more than two years’’. 1990—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–647, § 3550, as amended by Pub. L. 103–322, § 330011(p), substituted ‘‘Shall be fined under this title’’ for ‘‘Shall be fined in accordance with this title’’ in concluding par. 1988—Pub. L. 100–525 amended Pub. L. 99–603. See 1986 Amendment note below. 1986—Pub. L. 99–603, as amended by Pub. L. 100–525, substituted ‘‘other documents’’ for ‘‘other entry docu- ments’’ in section catchline, designated existing provi- sions as subsec. (a), substituted ‘‘permit, border cross- ing card, alien registration receipt card, or other docu- ment prescribed by statute or regulation for entry into or as evidence of authorized stay or employment in the United States’’ for ‘‘or other document required for entry into the United States’’ and for ‘‘or document’’ in first par., substituted ‘‘in accordance with this title’’ for ‘‘not more than $2,000’’ in concluding par., and added subsecs. (b) and (c). 1976—Pub. L. 94–550 inserted ‘‘, or as permitted under penalty of perjury under section 1746 of title 28, United States Code, knowingly subscribes as true,’’ after ‘‘Whoever knowingly makes under oath’’ in fourth par. 1952—Act June 27, 1952, made section applicable to entry documents other than visas and permits. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Amendment by section 211(a)(2) of Pub. L. 104–208 ap- plicable with respect to offenses occurring on or after Sept. 30, 1996, see section 211(c) of Pub. L. 104–208, set out as a note under section 1028 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1994 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330011(p), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2145, provided that the amendment made by that section is effective as of the date on which section 3550 of Pub. L. 101–647 took effect. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1988 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 100–525 effective as if included in enactment of Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99–603, see section 2(s) of Pub. L. 100–525, set out as a note under section 1101 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. ABOLITION OF IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE AND TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service, transfer of functions, and treatment of related references, see note set out under section 1551 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Functions vested by law in Attorney General, Depart- ment of Justice, or any other officer or any agency of that Department, with respect to the inspection at reg- ular inspection locations at ports of entry of persons, and documents of persons, entering or leaving the United States, were to have been transferred to Sec- retary of the Treasury by 1973 Reorg. Plan No. 2, § 2, eff. July 1, 1973, 38 F.R. 15932, 87 Stat. 1091, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Em- ployees. The transfer was negated by section 1(a)(1), (b) of Pub. L. 93–253, Mar. 16, 1974, 88 Stat. 50, which re- pealed section 2 of 1973 Reorg. Plan No. 2, eff. July 1, 1973. § 1547. Alternative imprisonment maximum for certain offenses Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the maximum term of imprisonment that may be imposed for an offense under this chap- ter (other than an offense under section 1545)— (1) if committed to facilitate a drug traf- ficking crime (as defined in 929(a)) is 15 years; and (2) if committed to facilitate an act of inter- national terrorism (as defined in section 2331) is 20 years. (Added Pub. L. 103–322, title XIII, § 130009(a)(6), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2030.) CHAPTER 77—PEONAGE, SLAVERY, AND TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS Sec. 1581. Peonage; obstructing enforcement. 1582. Vessels for slave trade. 1583. Enticement into slavery. 1584. Sale into involuntary servitude. 1585. Seizure, detention, transportation or sale of slaves. 1586. Service on vessels in slave trade. 1587. Possession of slaves aboard vessel. 1588. Transportation of slaves from United States. 1589. Forced labor. 1590. Trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, or forced labor. 1591. Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or coercion. 1592. Unlawful conduct with respect to documents in furtherance of trafficking, peonage, slav- ery, involuntary servitude, or forced labor.