about possible restraining order and naturalization..please help

Y

yuuki88

New Member
Hello.

on July, I will be able to file for N400 because it's been 5 years since I've gotten my green card.
However, I am afraid there is a citation and restraining order that I am worried about.
About citation, it was failure to yield to emergency vehicle... the fine was $150, which i've paid. Is this traffic citation a big consideration to deny my naturalization?

secondly... about the restraining order... I had a quarrel with my ex-gf and she called the cop and told him she want to be left alone. So I don't know how, but the police officer called the judge and asked for emergency restraining order of some sort...... and he told me that I was lucky that I wasn't arrested and as long as I don't approach her from her I would be fine. So I never contacted her in whatsoever form. However I thought in temp restraining order, I was supposed to get all the information necessary about how restraining order applies to me and the court date for hearing... which I've never gotten. Therefore, I am even confused to if this is a restraining order...
So, would this be a big ground for denying my naturalization form?

What would be the best thing to do for me now?

thank you.
 
A 150 USD ticket is nothing big.

Anyone can get a restraining order against someone else, without it meaning that you are guilty. It is just a statement of allegation and the police's dictate to not do certain things. So it should not matter. If it was not served, maybe it was never finalized.

Anyway, you should probably find out what charges were filed - see if some agency who can do a criminal background check can do a pre-test for you. Although it should not matter, sometimes the level of allegations can make the IO panic and it is best to be prepared now than when he/she requests for evidence.
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
A 150 USD ticket is nothing big.

Anyone can get a restraining order against someone else, without it meaning that you are guilty. It is just a statement of allegation and the police's dictate to not do certain things. So it should not matter. If it was not served, maybe it was never finalized.

Anyway, you should probably find out what charges were filed - see if some agency who can do a criminal background check can do a pre-test for you. Although it should not matter, sometimes the level of allegations can make the IO panic and it is best to be prepared now than when he/she requests for evidence.
Click to expand...


I will get a criminal background check somehow before filing out N400. I am just curious how did the police officer say i had restraining order and not to approach a girl but never showed me the paper and never told me about the court date.. this was almost 2 years ago. If indeed there was a court date, and i've missed it, there should've been a consequence... but there is nothing charged on me.. so I guess I am safe. but seriously, how can a police officer get me a restraining order without giving me the paper stating what i can/can't do and the court date for hearing....

can anyone answer this?

thanks
 
yuuki88 said:
I will get a criminal background check somehow before filing out N400. I am just curious how did the police officer say i had restraining order and not to approach a girl but never showed me the paper and never told me about the court date.. this was almost 2 years ago. If indeed there was a court date, and i've missed it, there should've been a consequence... but there is nothing charged on me.. so I guess I am safe. but seriously, how can a police officer get me a restraining order without giving me the paper stating what i can/can't do and the court date for hearing....

can anyone answer this?

thanks
Click to expand...

I had a friend a week ago with some paperwork with serious charges. He told me he was pulled over by a cop by running through a stop sign without stopping. The officer did not give any ticket and the friend never received anything in the mail. A year later, my friend was driving on some freeway with his lights off. He was pulled over by state patrol. The officer run my friend's driver's license and found out the guy was driving with a suspended licence. He made him take a taxi, but not arrested him. Also he issued a very serious ticket.

So make sure that you follow up what happened to the charges, or if there were ever charges filled against you.
 
yuuki88 said:
but seriously, how can a police officer get me a restraining order without giving me the paper stating what i can/can't do and the court date for hearing....
Click to expand...

Recently there was a case of a person who got divorced without knowing because the husband "knowingly" sent the divorce notice to a wrong address. Then there was someone whose license was suspended - similar to what Faisal said - again the notice went to the wrong address. Things can happen - and court may assume certain things (such as delivering you the notice) in good faith. Or maybe they never followed up on the restraining order. But given that you know there is a risk, just go an extra mile and make sure it is not an issue.
 
so I went to the local police station today to ask about my record.

This police officer said the girl never filed the restraining order..that's why I never got the court date nor paper. However, he told me some kind of warning of trespass not to contact the girl for 1 year. (which I don't know what that means). and then he told me it is expired. So what should I do with this?
 
Seems like a minor thing - my personal opinion - no need to report it. If you report it, you should get some official letter from police stating what you just said. The challenge is that if you discuss any issue with CIS during interview, it is best to have the documentation closing the issue right then and there. Otherwise, they will put it on hold (issue an RFE) while you dig around for the paperwork. But denial - no, very unlikely.

See if others have a better suggestion.
 
You can go to the court and put your name on the computer or ask the clerk about any oustanding case,,you will find out inmediatly,emergency rest. Order does not need to be served to you ,only last about a month and then you will have to go to court,if you where not arrested not need to reported ,but check if is still valid just in case.
 
yuuki88 said:
so I went to the local police station today to ask about my record.

This police officer said the girl never filed the restraining order..that's why I never got the court date nor paper. However, he told me some kind of warning of trespass not to contact the girl for 1 year. (which I don't know what that means). and then he told me it is expired. So what should I do with this?
Click to expand...


If you were never arrested and never charged with anything related to the restraining/trespass/whatever order, you do not need to disclose it on an N-400.

Regarding the $150 traffic ticket: it is better to disclose the ticket, in answering part 10.D, question 16. "Have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained by any law enforcement officer for any reason?" (because getting a traffic ticket technically qualifies as being "cited"). If you disclose the ticket, it is also advisable to provide a proof that the ticket has been properly disposed of: you can get a proof that you have paid the ticket from the municipal court for the area where the ticket was issued.
In and of itself, a $150 ticket is not going to cause problems with an N-400 adjudication, but it is better to be honest and to disclose it.
 
A restraining order is a civil order so there's no need to disclose it on N-400. If you violated the order, then you would have been arrested and charged and course would need to disclose the arrest/charge.

As for traffic ticket, it's a citation and needs to be disclosed. Since it's a minor ticket -I assume you have paid it- it wouldn't be an issue for naturalization.
 
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