The Associated Press has reported that a 39-year-old Jamaican has been sentenced to six months in prison for lying to American authorities when he applied for US residency.

He is Larrington Dennis who is also going to serve three years of supervised release when he gets out of prison.

Dennis was sentenced last week.

non-immigrant visa

Prosecutors say Dennis arrived in the United States in August 2009 on a non-immigrant visa.

He later asked for a status change to US resident because of his marriage to a US citizen.

It is reported that Dennis lied when he said he had lived only in Jamaica and the United States and that he didn't have a criminal record.

Authorities discovered Dennis had also lived in England and had been convicted there in 2005 of several charges, including blackmail.