He prosecuted naturalization fraud for the United States, trained the officers who adjudicate citizenship applications, and testified as a court-recognized expert on how those applications are decided. Now he defends the people the government is targeting.
Almost no attorney in the United States has touched denaturalization and naturalization-fraud cases from as many angles as Dan Gividen. Over nearly two decades in federal practice, he has been the prosecutor building these cases, the senior government lawyer supervising the legal positions behind them, the trainer teaching adjudicators the governing standards, the expert witness explaining those standards to a federal jury, and the defense attorney dismantling the government's theories.
That matters because civil denaturalization cases are won on exactly this terrain: what the agency knew, what its files should contain, what counts as a willful misrepresentation, and what is actually material. Dan does not have to guess how the government builds its case. He has built them.
As a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas (2014–2016), Dan represented the United States at all stages of federal criminal proceedings, serving as lead counsel in multiple federal trials — including prosecutions for unlawfully obtaining citizenship, marriage fraud, visa fraud, and illegal re-entry. Criminal naturalization-fraud cases must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt — a far heavier burden than the government carries in today's civil denaturalization suits.
As Deputy Chief Counsel at the DHS Office of Chief Counsel (2016–2019), Dan supervised attorneys and support staff, developed the office's positions on criminal-immigration issues, advised ICE investigators, and served as liaison to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He provided training to USCIS — the agency that adjudicates naturalization — on what constitutes a willful misrepresentation of a material fact and the evidence needed to establish it: the precise standard at the heart of denaturalization cases.
In United States v. Haiddar, No. 3:19-cr-227 (N.D. Tex.), a federal criminal prosecution for unlawful procurement of naturalization, the defense designated Dan as an expert witness. The government objected to his qualifications. The court overruled that objection, finding Dan qualified under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 to testify about the adjudication of Form I-485 and Form N-400 applications, and he testified at trial about disclosure, materiality, and what a complete A-file should contain.
In private practice, Dan has defended clients in federal criminal prosecutions involving unlawful naturalization and marriage-fraud allegations — including simultaneously representing multiple defendants in a single federal case and defeating the government's effort to block that representation. He now represents naturalized citizens responding to DOJ civil denaturalization letters across the country.
Denaturalization cases are filed in federal district courts nationwide. For courts where Dan is not yet admitted, admission pro hac vice is routinely available.
Wherever you are in the process — a letter on the kitchen table or a complaint already filed — the conversation starts the same way.
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