United States v. Ali Abdulatif Karaouni, AKA Ali Abdelatif Karaouni

After a two-day trial, Ali Abdulatif Ka-raouni was convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 911 by falsely claiming to be a United States citizen when he checked a box on an Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) 1-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form next to the following printed statement: “I attest, under penalty of perjury, that I am ... [a] citizen or national of the United States.”

On appeal, Karaouni contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction because no rational juror could find beyond a reasonable doubt that, by checking the box on the 1-9 Form, he made a claim to be a U.S. citizen as opposed to a U.S. national. Because a claim to be a U.S. national, even if false, does not constitute a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 911 , we reverse the district court’s judgment and vacate Karaouni’s conviction and sentence.

I.

At the two-day trial, documents were admitted into evidence from Karaouni’s INS file which establish the following facts. In January 1992, Karaouni entered the United States carrying a Lebanese passport and was authorized to stay through July 1992. In August 1992, Karaouni submitted an application to the INS requesting permission to…