Immigration mix-up leaves NYC man with no country

Feb. 27, 2012

NEW YORK (WTW) — A New York man who came from Yemen as a child has lost his U.S. citizenship because of what the State Department says was a bureaucratic error when he got it.

The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/AzdOYC ) reports that the recently discovered blunder has left Abdo Hizam without a country.

Hizam moved to Dearborn, Mich. in 1990 at age 9. He gave up his Yemeni citizenship, graduated from high school and earned a business degree. He now lives in the Bronx and works at a store.

But last year the State Department told Hizam that he had received his citizenship in 1990 "due to department error."

Hizam has filed a lawsuit demanding that the U.S. government affirm his citizenship and reissue his passport.

U.S. officials said they could not comment.