Hayden O’Byrne United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida | The Florida Bar
Andrea C. Correa, a 37-year-old resident of Sunrise, Florida, has been arraigned on federal charges for submitting a fraudulent asylum application. The indictment accuses her of violating 18 U.S.C. §1546(a), which addresses the presentation of immigration documents containing false statements.
The allegations presented during an earlier hearing claim that Correa prepared and sent an asylum application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with several false claims of personal political persecution. This was despite the applicant informing Correa that such persecution had not occurred in their home country. Since 2013, Correa has reportedly prepared over 1,000 asylum applications.
If found guilty, Correa could face up to ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence would be determined by the court following consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose R. Figueroa of HSI Miami, and Miami Asylum Office Director Varsenik Papazian for USCIS.
The investigation was conducted by HSI West Palm Beach and USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) Miami Asylum Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Sadlo is prosecuting the case.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Further information can be accessed on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl or through related court documents available at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 25-cr-60010.
