【Epoch Times, August 13, 2026】The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), commonly known as the Immigration Bureau, issued a statement on Tuesday, August 11, revealing that a 61-year-old Cuban man residing in Miami is suspected of impersonating a deceased physician, forging medical certifications to exempt citizenship applicants from the English and civics tests required for naturalization, and thereby assisting 14 individuals in obtaining U.S. citizenship.
USCIS stated that the agency played a crucial role in the investigation of Eduardo Javier Ibarra Arrowsmith and was instrumental in referring the case to federal law enforcement and initiating criminal charges.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Eduardo Javier Ibarra Arrowsmith, a 61-year-old Cuban national with a criminal record, faces criminal charges of fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents, as well as aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors allege that Arrowsmith impersonated a deceased neurologist from Miami-Dade County, Florida, and used the physician’s name, National Provider Identifier (NPI), and Florida medical license number to forge and sign at least 34 USCIS N-648 “Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions.”
The N-648 form is used to demonstrate that citizenship applicants, due to physical or mental disabilities or related medical conditions, qualify for exemption from the English and civics tests. Prosecutors claim that Arrowsmith used the forged medical certifications to enable 14 naturalization applicants to obtain U.S. citizenship without completing the required exams.
USCIS confirmed that its Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate had previously identified Arrowsmith’s impersonation of the deceased physician and referred the case to the Homeland Security Investigations unit under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for further investigation.
The case is currently being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. According to the Department of Justice, Assistant U.S. Attorney Noah P. Dorman is handling the case.
Arrowsmith has a history of multiple felony convictions, including possession of cocaine, use of forged documents, identity theft, car theft, and conspiracy to commit extortion. A U.S. immigration judge ordered his deportation from the U.S. on August 24, 2004.
The neurologist Arrowsmith impersonated was a relative of his. The physician’s Florida medical license expired on August 23, 2024, and he passed away around May 2025.
This case is also part of the Justice Department’s nationwide crackdown on healthcare fraud in 2026. Data released in June by the Department of Justice revealed that this nationwide initiative resulted in criminal charges against 455 defendants, including 90 physicians and other licensed medical professionals, involving suspected fraudulent medical claims totaling over $6.5 billion.
The cases span 56 federal judicial districts and 45 states and U.S. territories, involving federal healthcare programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHB/FEHBP), and private health insurance. Law enforcement officials stated that the operation also involved significant patient harm cases.
The federal criminal charges against Arrowsmith are pending court review. In criminal cases, defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.