Former Immigration Officer Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribe

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"), pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge John M. Younge to aiding and abetting the bribery of a public official in exchange for an official act.

As detailed in court filings, from approximately 2015 to his arrest in June 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 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."

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14 and faces a maximum possible term of 15 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Anita Eve and Robert Livermore.