Citizenship and Immigration Services
Supervisor Arrested on Immigration Fraud Charges

Alexandria, VA - Robert T. Schofield, a Supervisory District Adjudications Officer (SDAO) with the Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) made his initial appearance today in United States District Court following his arrest yesterday in Fairfax, Virginia, on federal immigration document fraud charges. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, also announced that Schofield’s co-conspirator, Qiming Ye, of Washington, D.C., was arrested on passport, identification and visa fraud charges.

According to court documents, as a SDAO, Schofield was responsible for providing supervisory oversight of (CIS) adjudicators and for conducting research concerning eligibility entitlements of persons seeking immigration benefits, employment and/or legal status under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The court documents allege that Schofield used his official position at CIS to falsify immigration documents, including Temporary I-551 Stamps and Naturalization Certificates, to assist Ye, an immigration broker, and others with obtaining United States citizenship by way of naturalization that they were not legally eligible to receive.

In connection with the arrests, physical searches were conducted at Schofield’s CIS office in Fairfax and at his personal residence. Searches were also conducted at Ye’s personal residence.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General, are investigating the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Walutes.

Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.