Simon Guobadia, a wealthy Nigerian businessman residing in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America, has been denied permanent residency by the USCIS, the North American country’s citizenship and immigration services unit.

According to the Atlanta Black Star, Guobadia, 59, was denied his US citizenship application due to a past criminal record.

Guobadia reportedly first travelled to the US on a six-month visitor’s visa in 1982, but only returned to Nigeria in 1985 after overstaying the visa for three years.

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He again travelled to the US on another six-month visa in 1986, and just like his first trip, he failed to return home after the visa expired. During his second time in the US, he was arrested for bank and credit card fraud in 1987.

Guobadia pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him in court at the time and was said to have been physically deported in 1992.

Before his deportation, however, the businessman had allegedly used a different identity to seek temporary resident status under the Social Agricultural Worker (SAW) programme.

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Despite omitting his criminal past and misrepresenting himself on the application, it was approved, and he received a registration card as a temporary resident on July 25, 1991.

After a waiting period, Guobadia became a permanent US resident on April 27, 1992. This came 26 days after he had been deported under his other identity.

In 2016, however, Guobadia tried changing his status from being a green card holder by applying for full US citizenship. It was at this point that the government realised that his temporary resident status had been unlawfully granted, leaving his immigration status in limbo.

His subsequent applications in 2020 and 2022 were denied. He filed a complaint to challenge the decision in 2023, but it was again denied in early 2024.

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Despite facing a possible deportation, he shared a post on his Instagram handle on February 20.

“Happy Tuesday to all who ever overcame and persevered in life. You are winning. #42YearsLivinginAmerica,” he wrote.

Guobadia is the owner of Simcol Petroleum Limited Company, LLC, an Atlanta-based petroleum-supplying company.