A 51-year-old man from China is facing a federal criminal charge in Hawaii after he allegedly hid his background as a lieutenant colonel in the People’s Liberation Army and Communist Party leader on his visa application.
Fanlin Lin is charged with a single count of fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents. He was charged by federal criminal complaint Thursday , and made his initial appearance Tuesday. His detention hearing is scheduled for Friday. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to hold Lin without bail until his trial.
Lin appeared Tuesday with the help of a Mandarin language interpreter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib is prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii declined comment in response to Honolulu Star-Advertiser questions about what Lin was allegedly doing in the U.S. Lin’s attorney did not immediately reply to a Star-Advertiser request
for comment.
He was arrested July 1 at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport trying to enter the country.
Lin was issued a 10 year B-1/B-2 visa on June 27, 2017, based on his visa interview “that he described his purpose of travel as a cultural visit to Hawaii,” according to federal court records.
The B1/B2 visa is a U.S. nonimmigrant visa for temporary business (B-1) and tourism or medical treatment (B-2) visits, often combined into a single visa, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In 2017, Lin listed current employment in 2017 as a general manager for Beijing Moze International Cultural Development Co. He listed prior employment as a deputy director of the Chinese Foreign Language Bureau Education Training Center and his prior education as having studied physical education at the
Beijing Sports University.
Lin responded “No” to the questions: “Have you belonged to, contributed to, or worked for any professional, social, or charitable
organization?”; “Do you have any specialized skills or training, including firearms, explosives, nuclear,
biological, or chemical experience?” and “Have you ever served in the military?”
On July 1, Lin was stopped and questioned by Customs and Border Protection officers after he presented his Chinese passport and B-1/B-2 visa. Lin was flagged by CPB’s Collateral Threat Response Team.
Lin admitted he also attended the Peoples Liberation Army Military Institute.
“When asked why he did not declare his education at a PLA Institute on his U.S. Visa application, Lin stated that the school had closed down and that he worried it might reflect poorly on his visa application,” read an affidavit from a Homeland Security Investigations agent.
CBP searched Lin’s iPhone 17 Pro and found his PLA discharge certificate, listing him as having joined in 1994 and left service in 2011, leaving the PLA as a lieutenant colonel and having been last assigned as an officer with the Chemical Defense Command Engineering College.
During the interview with CBP, Lin allegedly admitted that he had been employed by China’s army and had
basic firearms training as a part of his military service. Lin also allegedly admitted to being a current member of the Chinese Communist Party who holds a “leadership role in his local branch,” according to
federal court records.
PLA officers and officials have long been a concern of U.S. military and intelligence officials.
The PLA continues to make steady progress toward its 2027 goals, whereby the PLA must be able to achieve “strategic decisive victory” over Taiwan, “strategic counterbalance” against the United States in the nuclear and other strategic domains, and “strategic deterrence and control” against other regional countries,”according to the
Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China, 2025 report to Congress.
“In other words, China expects to be able to fight and win a war on Taiwan by the end of 2027,” read the
report.
