Accidentally registered to vote, n-400 denied, please help

Webb815

New Member
I applied for citizenship on March 5th 2009, I had my interview July 21st 2009, I was asked if I had ever registered to vote and I admitted to accidentally check a box to register while renewing my license or state ID. A few weeks later I received a letter that said:

“Please provide evidence of your voter registration, along with evidence of weather you actually voted. This evidence can be obtained from the county clerk’s office in the county in which you reside or in which you registered to vote. Please also provide evidence to suggest whether you have cancelled your voter registration.”

I went to the county clerk’s office and cancelled my registration that very day. I have no voting record because I have never voted. I sent in all the paper work, on September 13th 2010 I received a letter saying:

“Please provide a certified copy of your voter’s registration from the board of elections. According to the cancellation you submitted it appears that you registered first on 11/27/2001 and then again on 8/23/2008. We need a certified copy of both of these registrations in order to adjudicate your application.”

2008 was accidental registration I told them about in the interview. The registration in 2001 I have no recollection of, I’m not quite sure how it’s even possible as I was only 12 years old. I called the board of elections in the city I resided in in 2001 and I was told that I am not in the system, that they have no record of me ever voting or being registered to vote. On March 16th I received another letter, it read

“Please submit the 1) copy of your Voter Registration Application Form from the board of elections showing the date you registered to vote. 2) A statement from you explaining the circumstances of the voting registration.”

All I had to provide was the same cancellation form showing I had never voted. I also wrote a letter explaining the situation of both registrations. On May 9, 2011(today) I received a letter that read:

DECISION
“On July 21, 2009, you appeared for an examination of your application for naturalization, which was filled in accordance with section 316(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Pursuant to the investigation and examination of your application it is determined that you are ineligible for naturalization for the following reasons.”

Reason: Poor Moral Character

Conclusion: You are unable to establish good moral character as required under 8 CFR 316.10. Therefore, after a careful review of your record, your application for naturalization filed on March 5, 2009, must be denied. If you do not accept this decision, you may appeal and request a hearing on a decision in naturalization proceedings pursuant to 336 of the INA.

Should I file an appeal? ($650) what are my chances of winning? Somewhere in the packet was the word “deportable”, am I going to get deported? What should I do next? Need advice, please help
 
I applied for citizenship on March 5th 2009, I had my interview July 21st 2009, I was asked if I had ever registered to vote and I admitted to accidentally check a box to register while renewing my license or state ID. A few weeks later I received a letter that said:

“Please provide evidence of your voter registration, along with evidence of weather you actually voted. This evidence can be obtained from the county clerk’s office in the county in which you reside or in which you registered to vote. Please also provide evidence to suggest whether you have cancelled your voter registration.”

I went to the county clerk’s office and cancelled my registration that very day. I have no voting record because I have never voted. I sent in all the paper work, on September 13th 2010 I received a letter saying:

“Please provide a certified copy of your voter’s registration from the board of elections. According to the cancellation you submitted it appears that you registered first on 11/27/2001 and then again on 8/23/2008. We need a certified copy of both of these registrations in order to adjudicate your application.”

2008 was accidental registration I told them about in the interview. The registration in 2001 I have no recollection of, I’m not quite sure how it’s even possible as I was only 12 years old. I called the board of elections in the city I resided in in 2001 and I was told that I am not in the system, that they have no record of me ever voting or being registered to vote. On March 16th I received another letter, it read

“Please submit the 1) copy of your Voter Registration Application Form from the board of elections showing the date you registered to vote. 2) A statement from you explaining the circumstances of the voting registration.”

All I had to provide was the same cancellation form showing I had never voted. I also wrote a letter explaining the situation of both registrations. On May 9, 2011(today) I received a letter that read:

DECISION
“On July 21, 2009, you appeared for an examination of your application for naturalization, which was filled in accordance with section 316(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Pursuant to the investigation and examination of your application it is determined that you are ineligible for naturalization for the following reasons.”

Reason: Poor Moral Character

Conclusion: You are unable to establish good moral character as required under 8 CFR 316.10. Therefore, after a careful review of your record, your application for naturalization filed on March 5, 2009, must be denied. If you do not accept this decision, you may appeal and request a hearing on a decision in naturalization proceedings pursuant to 336 of the INA.

Should I file an appeal? ($650) what are my chances of winning? Somewhere in the packet was the word “deportable”, am I going to get deported? What should I do next? Need advice, please help

First, about the "deportable" thing. Technically you probably are deportable, since when you registered to vote in 2008 you had to have indicated on the registration form that you were a U.S. citizen (even if it was just written there in small print). See
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/8/usc_sec_08_00001227----000-.html
for the definition of deportable aliens, particularly the provision:
"D) Falsely claiming citizenship
(i) In general Any alien who falsely represents, or has falsely represented, himself to be a citizen of the United States for any purpose or benefit under this chapter (including section 1324a of this title) or any Federal or State law is deportable."

Having said that, the chances of you actually being deported are close to zero. USCIS usually does not initiate deportation proceedings in cases such as yours - in fact lots of people in your position (even some who actually voted) have their N-400 applications approved.
Moreover, in cases where an N-400 adjudicating officer does want to initiate deportation proceedings, the procedure requires them to continue (rather than deny) the pending N-400, and to initiate deportation hearings while N-400 is pending. The fact that you received an actual N-400 denial notice, rather than a notice to appear for a deportation hearing, indicates that they are not interested in trying to deport you.


Regarding the denial itself. It appears that it was made on discretionary grounds of the IO finding that you lacked good moral character. I think that your chances of winning an appeal are slim to none. There is no question that you did register to vote in 2008 (which falls well within the 5 years statutory period before filing N-400) and you actually only cancelled your registration AFTER the interview; registering to vote by a noncitizen is a serious offense, and, even if it was done by mistake, the IO was well within his/her discretion in denying the application.

So I think you have two realistic options:

1) Re-submit a new N-400 now. Attach to it documentation proving that you cancelled your voter registration and, in addition to that, also proof that you never actually voted. Since the original N-400 denial was discretionary, you may have better luck with the next IO - and maybe you'll also come to the interview better prepared - and that IO may exercise his/her discretion differently from the first one, and might decide to approve the application.

2) Wait five years from the date you cancelled your voter registration and re-apply then. By then the entire episode would be well outside the 5-year statutory period and your N-400 application is much more likely to be approved at that point.
 
So im allowed to refile despite this denial? also what happens after my green card expires in 2017?
 
So im allowed to refile despite this denial? also what happens after my green card expires in 2017?

Yes, you are allowed to re-file a new N-400.

Sometimes the denial letter expressly says that you are allowed to re-file no earlier than a particular date - that usually happens for non-discretionary denials, where there is some provision of the law that makes the applicant definitevely ineligible for naturalization at the time the original application was filed. I assume that your denial letter did not contain such provision; if that is the case, then technically you are allowed to re-file immediately.

If you are still not a U.S. citizen in 2017, you'll have to submit I-90 to get your GC renewed then. You should not have any problems with GC renewal at that point.
 
What I clearly see here is a denial for false claim to US citizenship because he suspected false claim on the registration and later had it confirmed documentally
IO tried to apply timely retraction clause (http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Laws/Mem...on212_a_6_immi_natl_act_illegal_violators.pdf , page 28, clause (viii) ), that is why he asked Webb815 to unregister.
According to http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=35805, timely retraction must be made during the interview or earlier.
However, later USCIS figured out timely retraction to false claim cannot be done because more than a year passed (since 2001) or because the person did not disclose the first regsitration (2001) on his N-400. Pretty clear.
Has nothing to do with registrations themselves, just to the fact he had a false claim to citizenship or/and did not disclose 2001 occurance on N-400
 
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I almost forgot about this post, thanks for all the help. I refiled sometime in 2014 in Iowa where I was going to school. The immigration officer thought the whole situation was pretty comical, she didn't waste any time in approving my application. I've been a citizen since May 2014.
 
I have the same problem I found out myself in voting registration and I already canceled it and never vote . Actually someone registered me based on my business card informations . So in still for the interview and I have to let the interviewer knows about this because I answered no to the question on the form n400 .

Any suggestions please ?
 
I'm a us citizen since January 14th. The interview went smooth no problems. I didn't mention anything about registration voting so I passed the interview and had my oath ceremony last Thursday

What's your story ?
 
So my cousin mistakenly rejistered my father(65 years old ) to voting and made him vote also. Now when I got to know about all this i canceled his vote but I am worried about his citizenship interview.
 
I'm a us citizen since January 14th. The interview went smooth no problems. I didn't mention anything about registration voting so I passed the interview and had my oath ceremony last Thursday

What's your story ?
Did you check the box on the application where they ask you about voting & all ?
 
Did you file for his citizenship yet ? If so did you answered yes to the questions on N400 form ? Did he say yes to the citizenship on the registration form ?
 
Did you check the box on the application where they ask you about voting & all ?
I didn't vote I just registered that's it and I didn't check the box

My recomondation to you is either don't apply for his citizen or don't check the box, if they found out tell them that I didn't know about it but mostly they don't find out
 
No his citizenship is not due until 2019, I don't know what gonna happen at that time?
Did you file for his citizenship yet ? If so did you answered yes to the questions on N400 form ? Did he say yes to the citizenship on the registration form ?[/QUOTE
 
I didn't vote I just registered that's it and I didn't check the box

My recomondation to you is either don't apply for his citizen or don't check the box, if they found out tell them that I didn't know about it but mostly they don't find out
Yes this is what i was thinking of , not to check the box. If you didn't check the box it means they have no access to it.
 
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