Arrests and US Citizenship decision delayed

A

art20c

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I just returned from US Citizenship interview in Garden City, NY, passed all tests, but I was told that decision cannot yet be made about my application (subject to supervisor’s review) because of my prior arrests, which I indicated in my application and all court dispositions were submitted along with application.

All my arrests were prior my AOS interview in 2006, all dispositions were submitted along with I 495 application. GC granted.

My n400 is based on marriage to US citizen(3 years since becoming LPR).

I had 5 arrests, 2 of which were dismissed and sealed(one in 1997 and one in 2005),
1 arrest(02/11/1995) with charges for operating vehicle-ability impaired by alcohol, pled guilty, fine $300(paid) and following MV too closely, fine $75(paid).
Another arrest and charge(08/01/1995) - operating MV under influence, pled guilty, fine with imprisonment alternative $500/17 days(paid), probation 3 years(completed in 1998 and proof of that was submitted along with application).
Another arrest in 2002: some moving violation, pled guilty and sentence imposed PG VTL509.1, fine - $50(paid).

IO gave me form N-652 which indicates that I passed all tests but decision cannot yet be made, will be notified by mail.

Question is: with all this, do I stand a chance to receive an approval and what is the time frame in reality (I know, by law they have 120 days to respond) for this decision to be made?
 
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As long as you kept a clean record since those arrests you should be fine. It's almost always a requirement that a supervisor must look over any arrests before adjudicating a case.
 
Bobsmyth said:
As long as you kept a clean record since those arrests you should be fine. It's almost always a requirement that a supervisor must look over any arrests before adjudicating a case.
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Last one (moving violation with $50 fine) was on 05/11/02. Since that, there were those 2 cases that were dismissed and sealed.

Guys, from your experience, how long does it take to get an approval from supervisor?
 
art20c said:
Last one (moving violation with $50 fine) was on 05/11/02. Since that, there were those 2 cases that were dismissed and sealed.

Guys, from your experience, how long does it take to get an approval from supervisor?
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USCIS has 120 days from the date you were interviewed to make a decision about your case.
 
I'm in the same exact boat as you. I had an arrest in March of 2003, which was dismissed. I finally gathered enough courage to apply for citizenship. I had my interview done on 6/22 and was told that a decision cannot be made and that a supervisor will need to approve the case. Though I was not explicitly told that this was due to my arrests, I can only image that that was the reason. I was not given an N-652 (don't ask me why). I asked the IO how long would it approximately take to receive an answer, and he said about 2 weeks. Like I said, that was on 6/22.... today is 7/10 and still no answer yet... :rolleyes:
 
GhostRider said:
I'm in the same exact boat as you. I had an arrest in March of 2003, which was dismissed. I finally gathered enough courage to apply for citizenship. I had my interview done on 6/22 and was told that a decision cannot be made and that a supervisor will need to approve the case. Though I was not explicitly told that this was due to my arrests, I can only image that that was the reason. I was not given an N-652 (don't ask me why). I asked the IO how long would it approximately take to receive an answer, and he said about 2 weeks. Like I said, that was on 6/22.... today is 7/10 and still no answer yet... :rolleyes:
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same here,same date interview...:confused:just be positive!
 
We all haven't made it easy for ourselves, but my concern is that: is there any guideline or some kind of manual for examiner to follow when determining good or bad moral character of someone with arrests or this is just based solely on his/her opinion. mood, etc.?
Do they actually read court dispositions?
I have read somewhere that if person is clean of anything for 5 or 3 years(if based on marriage), regardless of prior record (unless felony was committed and found guilty of) that it should be positive factor in case like mine. What I mean is that misdemeanors I was found guilty of were committed 14 years ago and since that there was nothing even remotely close to DWI (I have learned my lesson), and in 2002 I was arrested for traffic violation and fined $50. But if you look just at the surface of my case it doesn't look very good with 5 arrests.
I understand, there is only one thing to do - wait for decision to be made, but I'm very nervous about outcome.
 
art20c said:
We all haven't made it easy for ourselves, but my concern is that: is there any guideline or some kind of manual for examiner to follow when determining good or bad moral character of someone with arrests or this is just based solely on his/her opinion. mood, etc.?
Do they actually read court dispositions?
I have read somewhere that if person is clean of anything for 5 or 3 years(if based on marriage), regardless of prior record (unless felony was committed and found guilty of) that it should be positive factor in case like mine. What I mean is that misdemeanors I was found guilty of were committed 14 years ago and since that there was nothing even remotely close to DWI (I have learned my lesson), and in 2002 I was arrested for traffic violation and fined $50. But if you look just at the surface of my case it doesn't look very good with 5 arrests.
I understand, there is only one thing to do - wait for decision to be made, but I'm very nervous about outcome.
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Just because you were arrested doesn't mean that you're a person of poor moral character. I have a friend who was pulled over for a minor traffic violation and the cop thought that he was drunk. He was arrested and brought into a police station to be breathalyzed. When he blew 0.00, the cops let him go. Although my friend did nothing wrong (besides turning the wrong way onto a one-way street), he now has an arrest record.

The point is that it's not uncommon for decent people to get arrested for no reason. Since nothing came out of your latest arrest, other than a $50 traffic ticket, I highly doubt that it'll have a negative effect on your N-400. Your other arrests are long outside of the GMC period, so you should be all right.
 
Imagine my surprise when Oath letter arrived today in mail. Couldn't believe my eyes. It took just a week to go through supervisor's review and get approved.
 
art20c said:
Imagine my surprise when Oath letter arrived today in mail. Couldn't believe my eyes. It took just a week to go through supervisor's review and get approved.
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Congratulations. Everyone is happy for you
 
woooow ART20C congratulations. That was pretty good outcome after all the problems. Now you can drink as much as long as you do not drive... LOL
 
art20c said:
Imagine my surprise when Oath letter arrived today in mail. Couldn't believe my eyes. It took just a week to go through supervisor's review and get approved.
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Congrats :)

Today is July 22nd.... exactly a full month since my interview and still no final answer letter :(
 
Congratulations! :) I was reading this thread from top to bottom thinking that Bobsmyth was right and chances were you were going to get approved and then I see that you posted about your oath letter. It seems all arrests were outside of the statutory period and you had done all the homework. Now you can breathe easier.
 
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