Need Your Help If I Should Apply N-400

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fan85

Registered Users (C)
This September 4th should be 5 years since I got my GC from immigration court. The GC is 10 years by the way. My concern is in three major parts and would love and appreciate any help from you....My GC was marriage based and after a grueling 4 years in court I got the GC was married for 8 years.

1- After 6 months in January 2007 my wife filed for divorce and we got a divorce in June 2007. We had lots of proof that we submitted to the Judge. Would I be asked about the bona fides again?

2- I have a small claim judgment against me of $1000 and will be paying it by next month (That is another story). What is the effect on the application?

3- Eventhough I owe no taxes I did not file one year because I made less than $3000 (I was out of the country for 7 months on 2 visits 5.5 months and 3 months) and taxes were held and paid by my employer at the time. And believed that I was not required to file per IRS regulations.

These are in a nutshell my concern, if you need any elaboration please let me know. Beside a (speeding ticket $90 in 1990 and a parking ticket $20 in 2009 both were paid) I have no criminal record at all.

P.s. On a side note I forgot about that ticket and was told about it 15 years later by the immigration investigator.
 
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1)Did you have conditions removed in 2007 or in 2006? You've already proved marriage was bona fide at that time. For naturalization interview, you'll likely only be asked for divorce decree.
2) Civil actions such as personnel lawsuits are irrelevant to naturalization.
3)If you were required to file then it's not considered failing to file.
 
Thanks Bobsmyth for the reply. I had no GC when I got into court I had an approved I-130 which was filed days before April 30, 2001, and pending I-485 but because over 2 years passed since filing I was giving the permanent GC without conditions. I got the 10 year GC in 2006.
 
Are you certain about the small claim judgment, I was told that I have to tell them about it, and it does not look good...I am really worried that my application could get denied and have to wait 5 more years before I can apply....
 
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fan85 said:
Are you certain about the small claim judgment, I was told that I have to tell them about it, and it does not look good...I am really worried that my application could get denied and have to wait 5 more years before I can apply....
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Civil claims such as a personnel lawsuit do not fall under any of the questions on N-400.
 
I understand that there is no question about it, but could they ask if I have ever been in court?
 
fan85 said:
I understand that there is no question about it, but could they ask if I have ever been in court?
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The IOs stick to the questions on the N-400. Like I said, there's nothing on N-400 about having ever gone to court, so there's no reason why an IO would ask about a civil court case.
 
fan85 said:
I understand that there is no question about it, but could they ask if I have ever been in court?
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You are being overly paranoid. As Bobsmyth told you, civil matters (with a few exceptions such as divorce decree, child support arrangement and things related to federal taxes) are irrelevant to your naturalization eligibility and the immigration officer conducting the interview WILL NOT ask about them. The IO will not ask if if you have ever been to court just as he won't ask you if you have ever been abducted by aliens.
The IOs have a rigid protocol for conducting naturalization interviews dictated by the Adjudicator's Field Manual. You can look it up at
http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-21205.html#0-0-0-719
if you want to know what exactly the interview will consist of.
 
fan85 said:
I understand that there is no question about it, but could they ask if I have ever been in court?
Click to expand...

People are sued everyday in America, if that was a requirement for moral conduct, 1/2 of the country wouldn't employable. Civil matters are irrelevant for naturalization purposes, but since you seem overly worried about a non-issue, you can chose to hire a lawyer who will tell you the same thing, but charge you about $3000 to file for your N400 case. However, since he/she will be a lawyer, it will have more credibility with you as opposed to people on this forum who have been on the saddle of immigration issues for years. Your $1,000 is a non-issue, your case will be approved without any problems, provided you don't wear a smile on your face "I have a judgement of $1,000 against me through civil court".
 
Thanks Bobsmyth, Baikal3 and Al for your replies and putting my mind at ease about the judgment. God bless.
 
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