By The Rio Times | Created at 2026-10-08 08:17:05 | Updated at 2026-10-08 11:37:01
4 hours ago
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC · US JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —The country Dominican Republic, where the accused was born before emigrating in 2016.
- —What happened Federal prosecutors in New Jersey announced the charges on Wednesday, 7 October.
- —The accused Lizabeth Almonte Rosa, 24, a naturalised citizen living in West New York.
- —The charges Voting as a noncitizen in 2022 and unlawfully procuring US citizenship.
- —The penalties Up to 10 years and a US$250,000 fine on the citizenship count.
- —Still open Her lawyer and custody status have not been made public.
Prosecutors say a Dominican-born woman voted twice in 2022 as a green-card holder, then hid those votes to become a US citizen.
Federal prosecutors in New Jersey have charged a 24-year-old Dominican-born woman with noncitizen voting in the November 2022 federal election. They also accuse her of lying on her citizenship application to hide her votes.
The US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced the case on Wednesday, 7 October. It names her as Lizabeth Almonte Rosa of West New York, a town in Hudson County across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
The charges come less than four weeks before the 3 November midterms, when New Jersey elects US Senate and House members. She is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
What Prosecutors Allege
According to the criminal complaint, she entered the United States from the Dominican Republic around August 2016 on an IR2 immigrant visa. She then lived in Hudson County as a lawful permanent resident, or green-card holder.
The complaint, sworn by an FBI special agent, says she registered to vote online around December 2021. She allegedly did so through the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission website, falsely stating that she was a citizen.
Prosecutors say she then voted in person twice in Hudson County. The dates were the primary on Tuesday, 7 June 2022, and the general election on Tuesday, 8 November 2022.
Both ballots included a race for the US House of Representatives, which makes them federal elections. The voting count itself covers the 8 November 2022 general election.
On or about Friday, 26 May 2023, she filed an online Application for Naturalization, known as Form N-400. She signed it under penalty of perjury.
The complaint says she answered yes when asked whether she had ever registered or voted. She then described the elections as “local elections,” which prosecutors say falsely denied any federal vote.
The release describes her as a naturalised citizen but does not say when she took the oath. She made her first court appearance on 7 October before US Magistrate Judge Stacey D. Adams in Newark.
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How the Citizenship Charge Works
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that decides naturalisation cases, asks every applicant about past voting. According to the complaint, a federal vote means the application will be denied.
A vote only in a local election leaves approval to the agency’s discretion, the FBI agent wrote. That difference is why the “local elections” answer sits at the centre of the second count.
Noncitizen voting in a federal election carries up to one year in prison and a fine of up to US$100,000. Unlawfully procuring citizenship carries up to 10 years and a fine of up to US$250,000.
A conviction on the second count would also reach her citizenship itself. Under federal immigration law, the court must then revoke the order admitting her to citizenship and cancel her naturalisation certificate.
Who Brought the Case
US Attorney Robert Frazer, the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, announced the charges. The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and USCIS carried out the investigation.
The case was brought through the district’s Election Integrity Task Force. The release calls it a coalition of federal law enforcement partners focused on protecting the integrity of elections.
Assistant US Attorney Benjamin D. Bleiberg of the office’s Criminal Division is prosecuting. Diario Libre, a leading Santo Domingo daily, reported the charges on Wednesday in its US news section.
What It Means for You
For green-card holders, the case shows that registering to vote in New Jersey is itself a sworn claim of citizenship. The complaint says the state requires every applicant to attest to being a US citizen.
According to the complaint, her online application through the motor vehicle agency included that citizenship statement. Past votes also resurface later, because Form N-400 asks every applicant about their voting history.
For US politics, the charges arrive in the final weeks before the midterms. New Jersey’s deadline to register for the 3 November vote is Tuesday, 13 October.
One complaint is not evidence of widespread noncitizen voting, and the release makes no such claim. For the Dominican diaspora, the practical point is simple: in New Jersey, only US citizens may register to vote.
What Is Not Known
The release does not say whether she was arrested or summoned, or whether she was released after her appearance. Her lawyer has not been named, and she has not commented publicly.
It is not known when she became a citizen or whether USCIS knew of the votes when it approved her. Diario Libre’s report carried no comment from Dominican officials.
What Comes Next
A criminal complaint is a preliminary charge. The citizenship count is a felony, which normally requires a grand jury indictment, or the defendant’s waiver, before any trial.
No trial date has been announced. The charges are accusations, and the release stresses that she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lizabeth Almonte Rosa accused of?
Prosecutors say she voted in two 2022 elections in New Jersey while still a green-card holder. They also say she hid those federal votes on her citizenship application in May 2023.
What penalties does she face?
Noncitizen voting in a federal election carries up to one year in prison and a US$100,000 fine. Unlawfully procuring citizenship carries up to 10 years and a US$250,000 fine.
Can a naturalised citizen lose US citizenship over this?
Federal law says a court that convicts someone of unlawfully procuring naturalisation must revoke it. She has not been convicted and is presumed innocent.
Can green-card holders vote in US federal elections?
No. Federal law makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote in elections for President or Congress, with very narrow exceptions.
Sources: US Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, release 26-216 of 7 October 2026; Criminal complaint, United States v. Almonte Rosa, Mag. No. 26-15237 (D.N.J.); 18 U.S.C. 611; 8 U.S.C. 1451; New Jersey Division of Elections; Diario Libre, 7 October (all accessed 8 October 2026).
