C.B.P. News Release

Dulles CBP Detects Alleged Salvadoran Impostor Using U.S. Passport

Passenger Charged with Federal Immigration Fraud

(Wednesday, April 21, 2010)

Sterling, Va. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a man at Washington-Dulles International Airport on Saturday for allegedly posing as a U.S. citizen to illegally obtain a passport.

According to court documents, officers arrested Efrain Alvarez-Benites, 23, after he arrived from San Salvador, El Salvador, and presented a U.S. passport to CBP officers. The passport showed him to be a 24-year-old male born in Puerto Rico. The documents appeared to be legitimate identity documents, but CBP officers remained suspicious and referred Alvarez-Benites for further inspection.

During routine questioning, Alvarez-Benites allegedly claimed to have lived in Puerto Rico since birth, yet was unable to answer officers’ basic questions about Puerto Rico. Court records show that CBP officers detected several additional discrepancies during the interview that led officers to believe Alvarez-Benites was an impostor.

According to court documents, he later admitted that he purchased a Puerto Rican birth certificate and U.S. Social Security card, which he used to apply for a U.S. passport. The passport contained the traveler’s photograph but did not bear his genuine biographical information.

“There are many layers when it comes to enforcing the law,â€