Attorney in Citizenship Inteview

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enjoylife

Registered Users (C)
Is an attorney allowed to be present for the citizenship interview? Can he step in and answer for you if he feels you are about to give the wrong answer? Or can he pitch in if the Interviewing Officer starts having concerns/doubts?
 
Attorney is allowed to sit in the interview, only he has to hand over to the officer his form G-28 ( I hope that number is right!) just before interview begins. He cannot intervene if he thinks you are about to give wrong answer.
But if officer is going off track and asking questions that should not be part of the interview, then he can intervene. His presence will make officer to stick to regular questions and not " dig-in " unnecessarily.
 
Thanks for the reply. Just to confirm--Can he just show up for the interview with me hand over the form? Has any one done that?

He does not have to be the one filing the N400 application when I send it to USCIS initially and can be added later?
 
enjoylife said:
Thanks for the reply. Just to confirm--Can he just show up for the interview with me hand over the form? Has any one done that?

He does not have to be the one filing the N400 application when I send it to USCIS initially and can be added later?
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Yes, he can just appear at the interview and represent you. He does not have to be the same attorney that filed or prepared your N-400. If you filed thru attorney, he has submitted hi G-28 with your N-400. Now, at the interview if it is different attorney, the new guy has to give his fresh G -28. Very simple.
I know people who has done this. It is no big deal. Do not worry.
You can even file yourself and only have attorney represent you at the interview!
 
One more question-- What if I go to the N400 interview alone and they deny my application. Can an attorney intervene after that and get a meeting to help fight the case. Will it help in resolving the issue faster? I am trying to avoid paying heavy attorney fees.

I don't have a very complicated case. The issue is I have 10 tickets (speeding, fail to signal, passing in no passing zone etc. No dui etc) that I have listed in my application that I had got. All were paid and disposed off. I have also mentioned that I do not have records for tickets I got more than 7 years ago (speeding) and could not get the records from the secretary of state.

My worry is that my wife is on B-2 and am applying next week. She has never overstayed her visit. This time I want her to over stay hoping that I can file for her green card as soon as I get my citizenship. They could ask me about my wife status as I have mentioned in the N400 that she and my US born daughter live with me. It will be obvious that she has overstayed at the time and it may cause problem.
 
You will not be able to retain a lawyer and have a second meeting/oppertunity once your decision at the interview is done. But any denial of your N400 can be appealed by a lawyer, but that is before a different forum and not before the same officer. You better decide if you want to retain your lawyer and pay fees ( my estimate is $ 300-500) for his presence.
I do not think you need to worry much about your speeding tickets. Check other posts on this forum.
At the end of the interview, if officer is still not satisfied about anything pertaining to records, you can always say " I like to have some more time to produce further records". you will be given some more time. At that time also you may (?) be able to retain a lawyer.
Your wife's over saty may not be a problem for your inteview, but it could be a problem for filing her I 130, I 485 . No overstay is allowed there, as I know. Pl consult some lawyer for this.
 
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I asked about speeding tickets bec one person on the forum posted he was denied bec of many tickets they said he did not have good moral character.
 
I personally do not think too many speeding tickets would reflect " bad moral chacter". May be Rahul , hm11 and others can throw more light here.

But , if they say that it can reflect bad moral chacter, I would retain an attorney for the interview , if I were you!
 
Radni said:
I personally do not think too many speeding tickets would reflect " bad moral chacter". May be Rahul , hm11 and others can throw more light here.

But , if they say that it can reflect bad moral chacter, I would retain an attorney for the interview , if I were you!
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Recently I was in a Oath Ceremony for my friend and two people were pulled out of the ceremony because of the trafic/parking tickets. The officer on duty said that if you have a proof of payment and you were not arrested, I can allow you right now. He gave them new dates for oath right there. Personally I think trafic tickets w/o arrest will not bar you becoming citizen.
 
hm11 said:
Recently I was in a Oath Ceremony for my friend and two people were pulled out of the ceremony because of the trafic/parking tickets. The officer on duty said that if you have a proof of payment and you were not arrested, I can allow you right now. He gave them new dates for oath right there. Personally I think trafic tickets w/o arrest will not bar you becoming citizen.
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This is one of the issues that Congress needs to deal with. I believe that infractions should not be mentioned at all during the process of Naturalization. It is ridiculous. Receiving traffic tickets is sometimes unavoidable since you must drive anywhere you go. I was driving in NYC one day and made the wrong turn because I was not familiar with the streets of the city. I got a ticket. Receiving a ticket in itself is an American act. USCIS should save the time it spends on this line of questions and pursue other more important issues, minimizing the huge delays and dealing with their backlog.
 
enjoylife,

If you have a very straightforward case then there is no need for an attorney. If however you can afford one and are a bit paranoid then by all means go for it. An attorney's presence during interview time will keep the interviewer in check , barring him or her from asking irrelevant questions or by asking you to sign any waivers that are not in your interest etc.

If you are concerned about your wife's overstay then go ahead and let an attorney help you in preparing the N400 and take one to the interview. Simple overstays are usually "forgiven" by marriage to a USC. But the complex ones can cause problems.

Having an attorney is great, as it gives you peace of mind and buys you some insurance against CIS abuse. However...

It all boggles down to one question: Are you willing to pay $$ for a lawyer's presence during your interview.
 
Thanks for the prompt response Rahul.

The only I have is the number of traffic tickets. 10 in the last 5 years. All for speeding, fail to signal, pass in no passing zone etc minor violations. I have proof the fine was paid, took defensive driving as the case maybe and ticket was dismissed. No arrest or detention. Tickets older than 7 years ago I do not have records and secretary of state of michigan says they are purged from their system. I am concerned only because of the number of them as one case was mentioned in the forum denied N400 for lack of good moral character related to having traffic tickets.
Is this something that would fall under the definition of very straightforward case?

Thanks you very much once again for taking a moment to reply.
 
enjoylife,

10 moving violations in 5 years is abnormal and not good. I would not want to take a chance with my N400/Wife overstaying if I were you.

Get an attorney for sure. Though its a remote chance that your N400 will get denied, you want to make sure that you.

a) Get your Citizenship without hurdles and get to sponsor your wife
b) Plant your foot firmly on the brake!!
 
Traffic tickets, I had three those, in a matter of 2 years and I am a U.S citizen now, one of them I got after the Interview and I didn’t pay for it until after the ceremony, hey speeding is fun and COOL, cops do it all the times :D
 
I agree with you lbusch28, I love to push my sports car to its paces as well. Fortunately no tickets in the past 4 years. Touch wood!
 
enjoylife said:
Thanks for the prompt response Rahul.

The only I have is the number of traffic tickets. 10 in the last 5 years. All for speeding, fail to signal, pass in no passing zone etc minor violations. I have proof the fine was paid, took defensive driving as the case maybe and ticket was dismissed. No arrest or detention. Tickets older than 7 years ago I do not have records and secretary of state of michigan says they are purged from their system. I am concerned only because of the number of them as one case was mentioned in the forum denied N400 for lack of good moral character related to having traffic tickets.
Is this something that would fall under the definition of very straightforward case?

Thanks you very much once again for taking a moment to reply.
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My friend had 22 speeding ticket and he was denied citizenship. Every time he got one the lawyer made him pay a fine but no points, so he got away with 22 speeding tickets. But he lost his citizenship.
You have to understand that they only care about the numbers of tickets you got in the last 3 years, they don’t care about what you had 5 years ago. You should be fine in my opinion, because traffic violation is not a crime and the USCIS page says you will be denied if you committed a crime. Good luck
 
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lbusch28,

N400 asks if you have been ever arrested,detained by a police officer. You mention 'yes' here for speeding tickets. Going by this , you have to mention every speeding ticket you can recall you received while you were in the US. Last 3 years is more of an insurance/DMV thing!
 
Rahul Kumar said:
I agree with you lbusch28, I love to push my sports car to its paces as well. Fortunately no tickets in the past 4 years. Touch wood!
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that is right knock on the wood
 
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Rahul Kumar said:
lbusch28,

N400 asks if you have been ever arrested,detained by a police officer. You mention 'yes' here for speeding tickets. Going by this , you have to mention every speeding ticket you can recall you received while you were in the US. Last 3 years is more of an insurance/DMV thing!
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I told the guy that give me the interview that I had speeding ticket he asked me if I was arrested for them? I said no, he was fine with it.
 
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