Can I legally omit the fact I hold a Ph.D. degree?

Question

I am about to complete a Ph.D. in Hong Kong and would like to study in the United States. I hold a first class B.Eng. degree in Electrical Engineering. I have a CGPA of 3.67 out of 4 in my current PhD studies, two journal publications (IEEE Transactions) with two more to be submitted soon. I would consider this a fairly good academic record.

For career purposes, I would like to obtain a Ph.D. degree (in a different but related field) from a top American university. There aren't post-doc openings in my current research area, which is why I am considering another PhD in a related area.

Question: Is it considered illegal to not mention that I hold a Ph.D. (hopefully) during application? I noticed some schools frown at what some would call a "professional" or "serial" student.

NB: I have read responses on this question and I am satisfied with them. But I feel there's need to make my question clearer for those who did not understand. Some universities clearly state on their websites that they will not consider applicants who already hold a Ph.D. while some others do not specify this. My question was more for the latter. But now I know that other than dealing with the university, it will require lying on visa application, as some people wrote below.

Thank you all for your contributions.

Answer 1

No. You cannot hide such a fact in US admissions processes. Lying about your previous academic record—whether by omission or by claiming false credentials—is sufficient reason to revoke an offer of admission if it is caught before the applicant matriculates, or grounds to expel a student if caught after enrollment. Depending on the magnitude of the fraud, you may even be asked to pay restitution for the funds spent.

As far as if it’s illegal, that’s a trickier issue. It basically comes down to money: if you received funding based on a misrepresentation or fraudulent application, then it’s far more likely that you’ll face civil or criminal penalties.

Answer 2

You got a bunch of bad ideas there, it seems. I was going to write a comment, but it doesn't have enough space.

First, you can't lie on any official document, especially if you are dealing with a government organizations. You may be breaking a law on top of some internal university rules. If you need a visa, you will have to fill out very thorough forms where you cannot have any lies or you risk deportation and being banned from entering the country in the future. In fact, if there is something ambiguous, many people prefer to hire a lawyer to double check the application.

Second, really consider options other than the second PhD. To me it seems you still have that PhD student's tunnel vision. Send your resumes around to various places, not just post-docs. See whats out there. Chances are you are missing some really really nice opportunities.

Answer 3

There is the added problem of obtaining a visa based on a lie in the application to the university.

That may void the visa when it is discovered.

There are cases where a lie on a cv for a job application has been used to void visas.

A visa obtained on false premises that are discovered will lead to great problems in obtaining visas for other countries as well.

Answer 4

For the sake of completeness...

At least in Germany it is legally impossible to obtain a PhD in the same field (like, mathematics) where you already have a PhD. You can obtain a PhD in another field, and some do.

Another issue is if your foreign PhD is recognised in your destination country. I've heard some stories of people who did not get their foreign PhD recognised and basically did another thesis, but my knowledge of it is folklore.

Answer 5

As mentioned earlier, your Application to a University, esp from a foreign country is considered a legal document as it is the very reason you get into the country in the first place. Whether you have to share this info directly with the state or country is of little relevance as your University will have to share it as a matter of obligation to obtain your VISA and/or prove your right to one.

It would certainly be illegal, because by omitting your highest qualification you stand on very thin ground with regard to explaining to any judge why, other than to subvert the system.

If you omitted your B.Eng then you may be able to argue it's relevance in the face of your PhD, but by omitting your Phd you are effectively also omitting your Degree and Masters in the subject too and at a very min. $50k of education. That's a gross misrepresentation to a judge, and when that application must be submitted to government officials, (whether through you or the University passing your data for nat. security reasons) you will have committed a crime as the provider of this data. It will certainly get your VISA revoked even if the US would have wanted you more with a PhD than not simply because it opens them to the idea that you may have a more sinister reason to hide your qualifications, not to mention you have shown dishonest character and could be hiding much more. (You could be a spy for all they know, it's a PhD! What other 5 figure secrets could you have?)

As you already stated, you believe that your Phd may be a hindrance to your application. Anyone that doesn't have a program for 'career students' may give you reasons but you should'nt care. As a Phd holder, you are far far more valuable to the right schools with proper postdoc work available. MIT for example loves it's Phd students because they do lots of postdoc and many many businesses have collaborated (to MIT's profit) with it's students and cited their publications. Win-win.