23-year-old Indian held for trying to enter US on fake driver's licence

New York: A 23-year-old Indian man was arrested by US immigration authorities and has been charged with illegally trying to enter the US by using a fake driver's licence.

Chintamkumar Patel, who faces up to an year in prison, made his initial appearance last week before US Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller in the US Virgin Islands after being charged in a complaint with using a false document to defraud the United States.

US Attorney Ronald Sharpe announced said Patel was released pending further proceedings after a detention and preliminary hearings.

According to the complaint, Patel arrived at the Virgin Islands airport on May 19 and at immigration presented a false New York driver's licence. Patel was a ticketed passenger on an American Airlines flight to the mainland US.

Under federal law, if convicted of using a false document to defraud the US, Patel faces a maximum of one-year in prison and a USD 100,000 fine.