Traffic tickets and naturalization (threads merged)

[patel789]

Hi ALL,

I am panic about what happened to me.

On N-400 form one question is
"Have you ever been arrested,cited or detained by any law enforcement officer?"

I answered "NO" because I did not know that "CITED" means "Driving Ticket" too. Actually I supposed to answer "Yes".

I got that Traffic ticket/ driving ticket 3 years ago before filing my N-400 application.

I passed my Citizenship interview 5 months ago & waiting for oath ceremony letter.

At interview when the officer went all over the N-400 application , he did not ask me about traffic ticket.

Traffic ticket was "Improper left turn & I lost 2 points"
******
After getting my US citizenship (after oath), IF BCIS FIND OUT LATER THAT I LIED(it was not intentional, I did not know) on N-400, then WILL they REVOKE my CITIZENSHIP.

WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW???????????????????

[durgum]

5 months is a long time for the oath ceremony after paaasing the citizenship exam.

Traffic violations if it is a speeding/running a red light is not a big deal.You have go to the local senator/congressman with your case and try to speed up the oath ceremony.

I believe that the finger prints should pull up any misdemeanor/arrests and all that stuff.However you should have told the officer at the time of the interview about that speeding ticket as almost all in this country gets a speeding ticket . I myself have not met a single american who has not had a speeding ticket in the last 5 years (past 5 years).

But as the BCIS is so careless I by exp feel like to quote this' They are sometimes are lazy'.

I'd go to the BCIS in person and explain to them about your situation clearly. Then go after your local senator/congressman , fax them your case/situation and ask them to contact the BCIS about scheduling your oath.

5 months is a long time for the oath.2-3 months you should hear from them . Otherwise there is something wrong with the HANDLING of your case. It HAS to be rectified through the help of the local senator/congressman and personal trips to the BCIS as many times it takes.

[durgum]

patel789

Traffic tickets should pose no problem at all UNLESS RULES HAVE CHANGED lately. NO BODY on this forum has complained as such atleast. Even at this day for more than >99% cases on this forum 5 months is a long time for the oath.Just go to through senators/congressman anyway., EXPLAIN TO THEM YOUR REAL SITUATION AND WORK IT OUT.I bet BCIS will atleast respond . I personally feel that they will SCHEDULE THE oath.

My EXP TELLS ME THAT ONLY SERIOUS OFFENSES like dui/dwi/whatever create problems. .Also the Finger prints will REVEAL any such records and BCIS will CATCH YOU.That is what the FPs are for.I think EVEN if you lie ON PURPOSE the FPS will REVEAL that LIE and your case will become problematic.I have seen that being told to guys when they come for enquiries.

[kv244]

Speaking of DWI - what is the effect of that on a citizenship application? The record is otherwise spotless, this was an unfortunate exception which did not result in any damage or casualty, and was punished by 6 month probation and 3 month license suspension.

[patel789]

Thank you so much everyone .

I appriciate your opinion regarding this matter.



Patel

[lilysh]

Hi,

How about I got a traffic ticket after I did the figerprint and still waiting for the interview, if they ask whether I have been cited, how should I answer it?

Thanks,

[Drarmageddon]

I got a traffic tickets with 8 point 3 years ago and honestly the officer was one of those mean one and he mistakenly caught me for someone else. I went to the first court and the judge dropped 4 points. I didn't accept to pay and plea guilty to the reminder Four point and I had to go to the second court. The judge in the second one was so nice and looked at my documents and he judged in favor of me and dismissed every thing. That policeman had to show up in both of the courts. In the second one he saw me in the hallway before the court starts and told me: "These are not gonna help you", I was silent and got very pissed. I don't know what the judge told him that he came out of court and appologized, I was confused. Then judge asked me later if I need anything more than his judgement and I said NO. When I went to the county court they told me they will clear all the record. I didn't mention about this ticket in my N-400.

What do you think? Not any aother ticket or anything else since then.

[Xkuger]

OK this is a wierd situation with my friend. He was ticketed in Up state NY, as it was an out of state ticket, he pleaded not guilty and got an Attorney who plea bargained the ticket down to 4 points.

My friend paid the fine...... and was done. Just recently he was filing his N400 application from NJ and when he requested a DMV record. He noticed that even though it has been well over 2 years the NY state ticket did not show up in his records.

So should he declare it....... he is in question if that was ever reported.

[bostonite]

Should it be answered as yes for the question? ( if you just have few speeding tickets)

Rahul please clarify. Can we put a sample form in one of the formums for people like us who will be filling very soon.

thanks and have a very pleasant long weekend

[N400 applicant]

I got a traffic tickets with 8 point 3 years ago and honestly the officer was one of those mean one and he mistakenly caught me for someone else. I went to the first court and the judge dropped 4 points. I didn't accept to pay and plea guilty to the reminder Four point and I had to go to the second court. The judge in the second one was so nice and looked at my documents and he judged in favor of me and dismissed every thing. That policeman had to show up in both of the courts. In the second one he saw me in the hallway before the court starts and told me: "These are not gonna help you", I was silent and got very pissed. I don't know what the judge told him that he came out of court and appologized, I was confused. Then judge asked me later if I need anything more than his judgement and I said NO. When I went to the county court they told me they will clear all the record. I didn't mention about this ticket in my N-400.

What do you think? Not any aother ticket or anything else since then.

I have a similar situation. did u face any problems during interview ?
can you please post your interview experience....?
My interview is on first week Feb 2005.

[cherokee1]

Is ther any time limitation on mentioning trafic violations. I got a ticket ten years ago, should I mention it? I don't even know how to get information from that court. I was stopped for over the speed limit driving and I paid the fine, thought that was the end of it, I guess not.
Another question, is it advisable to let an attorney handle your application and how much do they typically charge?
Thanks for your help.

[mars]

I hope somebody can help me on this: I'm going to disclose on N400 a minor traffic ticket I had, but not sure how to answer "Outcome or disposition of the arrest, citation, detention or charge". This is what happened to the ticket: I went to the traffic court, plead "guilty with an explanation", and then the judge suspended my fine but I have to pay the court processing fee (which I paid).

I don't want to repeat the whole story on N400. Shall I just say "paid the ticket" (but I didn't pay the ticket itself, I only paid the court fee)? Any suggestion?

BTW, I called the USCIS customer services center and was told: YES, you should report traffic tickets on N400. Answer "Yes" to question "Have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained ....".

[ocworker]

well, that is not much a "story" at all

just explain it like what you mentioned (not sure why you said you would not want to repeat the story, unless there is something in the "story" which you do not want to disclose)

"I went to the traffic court, plead "guilty with an explanation", and then the judge suspended my fine but I have to pay the court processing fee (which I paid)."

then you show you paid for the court processing fee.

[g]

I had couple of parking tickets but replied NO to all questions in N-400. Am I in trouble and if so what to do next?

-g

[dilipjaju]

I had couple of parking tickets but replied NO to all questions in N-400. Am I in trouble and if so what to do next?

-g

You are ok. You do not have to mention about parking tickets on N400 application.

[mars]

OCworker, thanks for your reply.

I misused the word "story" It was not a "story" but exactly what happened. Instead of writing a long explanation about the ticket, I wanted to give a brief one, because: 1) there's no enough space on N400; and 2) I doubt if USCIS officer really wants to know the detail of a minor traffic violation. But after reading your post I think I'll go for a detailed explanation.

When you said "... then you show you paid for the court processing fee", did you mean I should include a copy of the payment receipt and/or court record (showing I paid) in my N400 application, or I take it to the interview later?

Thanks.

well, that is not much a "story" at all

just explain it like what you mentioned (not sure why you said you would not want to repeat the story, unless there is something in the "story" which you do not want to disclose)

"I went to the traffic court, plead "guilty with an explanation", and then the judge suspended my fine but I have to pay the court processing fee (which I paid)."

then you show you paid for the court processing fee.

[ocworker]

OCworker, thanks for your reply.

I misused the word "story" It was not a "story" but exactly what happened. Instead of writing a long explanation about the ticket, I wanted to give a brief one, because: 1) there's no enough space on N400; and 2) I doubt if USCIS officer really wants to know the detail of a minor traffic violation. But after reading your post I think I'll go for a detailed explanation.

When you said "... then you show you paid for the court processing fee", did you mean I should include a copy of the payment receipt and/or court record (showing I paid) in my N400 application, or I take it to the interview later?

Thanks.

you can write the explaination on a separate piece of paper (i think n400's instruction mentions it too).
yep, you can include a copy of the payment receipt and/or court record showing you paid in your n400 application. AND you will bring it with you to the interview later too.

[Vicmac]

Guys, I need some help here. I joined this board much after I sent my N400. I did not provide any citations in the form as it really did not occur to me. I have 2 tickets during the last 13 years the last one this past year which was a unsafe driving. How do I rectify this? I have finger prints this Friday.

Thanks
Vicmac

[dgfunny]

Same here. I would be interested in knowing too. thanks

[ocworker]

conduct the county which issued the tickets to you. request to have a record on your driver license in that county. request to have a receipt of the payment or a proof of payment was made in full for the fine.

I do not think DMV will keep the record > 7-10 years. mostly they keep 3-7 years records (GA DMV keeps 7 years).

keep in your mind which is if you see no traffic tickets on your DMV record, but you know you got traffic citiation before, don't think the record is no longer exist. it does exist in the county record office, where you got the ticket(s).

[Vicmac]

If I get the documentation for the tickets paid from the county,how do I add that info to my N400. Will this delay the process.

Thanks
Vicmac

[ocworker]

If I get the documentation for the tickets paid from the county,how do I add that info to my N400. Will this delay the process.

Thanks
Vicmac

just bring it with you to the interview and tell the officer that u were not sure if traffic ticket should be included.. blah blah blah

[Deer]

I will be filing N-400 pretty soon and I had a question regarding the traffic tickets.

I have received a few tickets in past 15 years I have been living in USA and unfortunately I did not keep the reocrd for all the tickets. I also checked the DMV sites for the states where I got the tickets and none of the states keep records for more than 7 years, so getting the official record from DMV won't help me.

The question is: how specific do we need to be when providing the ticket info, e.g. date of ticket etc.? or can I mention approximate date on the form e.g. July'92 - speeding ticket - paid fine etc.

Any clarification would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[ocworker]

I will be filing N-400 pretty soon and I had a question regarding the traffic tickets.

I have received a few tickets in past 15 years I have been living in USA and unfortunately I did not keep the reocrd for all the tickets. I also checked the DMV sites for the states where I got the tickets and none of the states keep records for more than 7 years, so getting the official record from DMV won't help me.

The question is: how specific do we need to be when providing the ticket info, e.g. date of ticket etc.? or can I mention approximate date on the form e.g. July'92 - speeding ticket - paid fine etc.

Any clarification would be appreciated.

Thanks.

you have to come up the prove of the fine was paid. by the time you could get the prove document, you should find the exact date of your offense.

btw, do you remember which county police office gave you the ticket? you might want to contact that speecific county clerk office to get a copy of your record. i got my ticket records from CO and GA which I got tickets from.

[gcardo]

I did three things:
1. obtained driving records from all the states where I held driver licenses. Those are clean and don't show the tickets but at least they show that there is nothing outstanding at this time.
2. called and wrote a letter to all the county traffic courts where I had my tickets. From one I was able to obtain a microfisch with my ticket information. For the other one they wrote me a letter that they discarded all information for old tickets.
3. Kept the receipt for a recent ticket I got.

Between the receipt for a recent ticket, dmv record, and information from the courts for two old tickets (over 5 years) you should be OK.

Of course this may be too much and I heard that some officers don't care about evidence for speeding tickets. However, this may shorten the delay in case the officer is very anal.

[ocworker]

I did three things:
1. obtained driving records from all the states where I held driver licenses. Those are clean and don't show the tickets but at least they show that there is nothing outstanding at this time.
2. called and wrote a letter to all the county traffic courts where I had my tickets. From one I was able to obtain a microfisch with my ticket information. For the other one they wrote me a letter that they discarded all information for old tickets.
3. Kept the receipt for a recent ticket I got.

Between the receipt for a recent ticket, dmv record, and information from the courts for two old tickets (over 5 years) you should be OK.

Of course this may be too much and I heard that some officers don't care about evidence for speeding tickets. However, this may shorten the delay in case the officer is very anal.

1) i did the same. checked CA / GA / MI's DMVs where I had my DLs from.
2) Called and wrote to all county record offices (GA / CO) to get a copy. they sent me the computer print screen, and ticket info and payment receipt.
3) going to write the explaination about traffic tickets for interview use.

i guess that is all i could do for my speeding tickets stuff

[happy_going]

Should we notify about the tickets which received before some one granted GC also ???

Like on H1 if we have couple of tickets, should that info has to be disclosed ???

[ocworker]

Should we notify about the tickets which received before some one granted GC also ???

Like on H1 if we have couple of tickets, should that info has to be disclosed ???

the question from n-400 is...

have you ever...

so, all tickets were given to you by law enforcement officers in United States (not sure you should report the canada or mexico???) count.

[gcardo]

yeah theoretically you should report all tickets.
Howver, if you don't report a ticket from 10 years ago I don't think it could ever be an issue.

I would at least reoprt all recent tickets (up to 7 years ago) if you don't want to or don't remember very old tickets.

[Vicmac]

ocworker, I plan to do that regarding the tickets, tell the officer about it and show the payment receipts.
Anybody else thinks otherwise pl let me know,
Or talk to an immigration attorney about this.

Thanks
Vicmac