PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Amara Dukuly, 44, of Woodlyn, Pennsylvania, a former immigration officer employed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison, three years of supervised release, a $6,000 fine, and $6,000 in restitution by United States District Judge John Milton Younge for accepting a $6,000 bribe. The defendant was arrested on a criminal complaint and warrant in June of last year, indicted that July, and pleaded guilty in March to aiding and abetting the bribery of a public official in exchange for an official act.
As detailed in court filings and statements, from approximately 2015 to 2025, Dukuly used his status as a USCIS employee to solicit bribes from individuals in exchange for promises to help them obtain assistance with their immigration status.
On April 4, 2025, Dukuly received a $6,000 bribe from an individual to help him with the removal of “terrorist” references from the individual's immigration file. Dukuly promised the individual that after the “terrorist” references were removed, his file would be “clean.”
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Livermore.