Trump administration strips Nigerian woman Vivian Obichere of US citizenship

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has revoked the American citizenship of Nigerian national Vivian Chike Obichere over allegations of fraud and concealment of her criminal history during the naturalisation process.

According to Peoples Gazette, the US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that Obichere’s citizenship was revoked on October 13 following a ruling by the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

The department also disclosed that a Cuban national, Milagros Marileisis Acosta Torres, lost her citizenship on October 14 for concealing previous criminal activities.

Investigations revealed that Obichere fraudulently obtained a US passport in 1992 using another American citizen’s name, Social Security number, birthplace and date of birth.

She reportedly renewed the fraudulent passport in 2002 before obtaining lawful permanent residency under her real identity in 2003.

In 2012, Obichere allegedly attempted another passport renewal using the alias ‘C.C.O.’ while simultaneously applying for naturalisation under her actual name.

During her citizenship interview, she denied under oath ever using the alias.

Despite these irregularities, Obichere became a naturalised American citizen in 2013.

However, in 2015, she was convicted of making false statements in a passport application and using a fraudulent passport.

The Justice Department subsequently filed a denaturalisation complaint against her on July 30.

Following a joint motion submitted on October 7, the court formally revoked her citizenship six days later.

The development comes as the Trump administration announced the revocation of more than 300,000 US visas issued to foreign nationals since January 2025.