October 01, 2026
Annie Rice/Imagn Images
Amara Dukuly used his job at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to extract payment from immigrants hoping to get their status or cases altered.
A former federal immigration officer from Delaware County will serve a year and one day in prison for promising people help with their cases in exchange for money.
Amara Dukuly, 44, was arrested last year on bribery charges. As detailed in the criminal complaint, he used his job at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to solicit payments from people seeking to adjust their immigration status — despite not having any authority to do so. Dukuly's role in Philadelphia was focused on fraud and national security investigations.
Prosecutors highlighted six instances between 2015 and 2025 when Dukuly promised fraudulent services for a fee. The final case concerned a confidential FBI source who wore a recording device when they met to discuss how to "fix" the source's papers. Dukuly accepted $6,000, the first of several expected payments, during this encounter.
The former USCIS employee pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the bribery of a public official in exchange for an official act in March. He was sentenced Thursday to a $6,000 fine and $6,000 in restitution for accepting a bribe in that amount. In addition to his prison time, Dukuly will also serve three years of supervised release.
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