Elon Musk could face significant legal repercussions, including the revocation of his U.S. citizenship and possible criminal prosecution, if he is found to have misled the government during the immigration process, according to legal experts.
Musk, originally from South Africa, moved to Canada before settling in the United States, where he became a citizen. He has invested over $100 million in support of Donald Trump and his anti-immigrant campaign, and has publicly criticized immigrants. A recent analysis by Bloomberg revealed that Musk has posted approximately 1,300 times on X (formerly Twitter) this year, often discussing immigration and promoting unfounded claims of voter fraud. Many of these posts reference the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which inaccurately alleges that Democrats aim to replace white voters with unauthorized immigrants, portraying immigrants as threats.
This week, The Washington Post reported that Musk himself may have violated immigration laws during his early years in the U.S. The Post, citing former business associates, court records, and company documents, claims Musk worked illegally in the country during the 1990s.
In 1995, Musk was admitted to graduate school at Stanford but did not attend classes. Instead, he focused on developing an online services startup, Zip2. Investors required Musk and his brother, Kimbal, to obtain work authorization within 45 days to proceed with funding. Kimbal has stated that both brothers were “illegal immigrants,” and a Zip2 board member noted that their immigration status was not appropriate for legal employment in the U.S.
Musk denies any wrongdoing, asserting that he was in the U.S. on a J-1 visa, which later transitioned to an H-1B visa. However, an email from Musk in 2005, introduced as evidence in a defamation lawsuit, suggests he applied to Stanford because he had “no legal right to stay in the country.” He ultimately did not enroll at Stanford and continued working on Zip2.
Experts have indicated that an individual on a student visa who does not enroll in classes would have been required to leave the U.S. at that time, and Musk did not receive work authorization until 1997.
While overstaying a student visa is somewhat common, working without authorization and misrepresenting this during the immigration process is a serious violation of U.S. law, carrying substantial penalties, although enforcement is infrequent.
Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor at Cornell Law School, stated that if Musk worked in the U.S. without authorization and did not disclose this, it could justify revoking his citizenship. He explained that had Musk been truthful, he likely would not have qualified for an H-1B visa, a green card, or naturalization.
Amanda Frost, an immigration law professor at the University of Virginia, echoed this sentiment, explaining that working without authorization can hinder one’s ability to obtain a green card. If an immigrant adjusted their status without admitting to violations, they could be denaturalized because their naturalization was “illegally procured.”
U.S. law permits revocation of naturalization if citizenship was obtained through concealment or misrepresentation of material facts. This law has historically been applied to individuals like former Nazis, but it also applies to false claims regarding unauthorized work.
Forms used in immigration processes ask applicants whether they have ever violated their nonimmigrant status or provided false information. Immigration authorities have reportedly become stricter about these disclosures in recent years.
Greg Siskind, an immigration attorney, noted that while the law could theoretically lead to the loss of citizenship for lying about unauthorized work, the practical implications may be less severe. He questioned whether Musk’s disclosure would have significantly affected his immigration benefits.
Despite potential violations, experts believe revoking Musk’s citizenship for past infractions would be challenging. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick from the American Immigration Council noted that revoking citizenship for minor violations from decades ago is difficult, which is beneficial given the complexity of immigration rules.
Under the Trump administration, the government took a more aggressive approach to denaturalization, opening an office dedicated to the issue and investigating numerous cases. In the first 18 months of Trump’s presidency, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) referred 95 citizens for deportation, compared to an average of 11 cases annually from 1990 to 2017.
If evidence of Musk’s violations emerges, the matter could be referred to a U.S. attorney’s office for potential prosecution. Prosecutors have discretion in deciding whether to pursue a case.
Many uncertainties surrounding Musk’s immigration history could be clarified if he permits the release of his immigration records under the Freedom of Information Act. His lawyer did not respond to inquiries about whether this would happen.
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