Citizenship application denied!

I would not mind waiting 5 years and reapplying if only we did not want to adopt. The only reason I applied is because we want to adopt a child and that is not possible without being a citizen here..:(
 
I think you should 1st fire your lawyer. He/she should have better prepared you for this case and made an assessment of risk of getting denied ( i assume that you had disclosed all material facts to your attorney and followed his/her advice)....

Second, get a second opinion from a different lawyer...and check ratings before you pick a new attorney.

http://www.martindale.com/Immigration-lawyers-countries.htm

(AV -considered the highest rating....)

It is not a bad idea to get a good assessment for your case and to see your chances.
 
citizenship_app said:
Three of those are cell phone tickets!!!! If you drive, sooner or later you will get tickets.
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Please don't take this the wrong way, but some of us do drive, and do not get tickets. I drive 25,000 miles a year, and have zero speeding tickets, 1 ticket for expired plate (our fair state changed the date license plates expire and I was off by 3 days) and one written warning). That's 1 ticket and 1 warning (license plate sticker fell off in a car wash :eek:) in nearly a million miles and 25 years. And no, I'm no Mother Theresa, but I'm careful.

If the tickets are 'repeat' tickets like the cellphone tickets, perhaps you may get the message sooner or later and invest in a handsfree unit. My attire is never complete unless my Motorola HC690 earpiece is firmly attached to my ear...

I guess what I'm trying to tell you here is that six traffic tickets are a big deal, especially since they show that you prefer to ignore a (simple) law and pay the penalty rather than spend $50 at Best Buy and get a headset or other unit. Does that mean that you are likely to go bezerk and commit unthinkable crimes? no. Most likely not. But part of the 'morals' part is that one shows some basic respect for laws.

People from other countries tend to think differently than others in terms of what is allowed; last year a colleague from our Asia subsidiary, while on a business trip, was clocked at 118 mph driving a minivan. Ironically, he was driving to the Indianapolis 500 :D.
 
The OP's tickets are not just ordinary tickets or they are ordinary tickets but he did not properly handled them and he clearly himself know that and that is why he hire a lawyer in filing. So others with traffic tickets even with the same number (six) do not need to panic now :)
 
Another IO may have accepted the fact that you did eventually take care of all the tickets, so there's no way in saying for sure it would have turned out the way it did no matter what. It comes down to interpretation of moral character.
A while back someone posted they were originally denied for some minor citations, then reapplied soon after , and another interviewing IO was surprised they were denied on something so minor. The person was approved on second attempt.
The fact is you did take care of all of tickets, so it could be equally argued that you do have moral character by having taken care of the citations before you applied.
 
baikal3 said:
Also, what do you mean by a cell phone ticket? A traffic ticket for talking on a cell-phone while driving?
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Yes, it is defined as talking on a cell phone with hand while driving. It is a law in some states. You won't get tickets for Having a hands-free phone while driving, but it is still risky paying no attention on the road.
 
Bobsmyth - I had taken my drivers abstract with me and when IO asked me about being convicted, I replied yes and stated all my tickets for last 5 years. Now, I don't know if I made a mistake by being honest...:(.
 
Given that your cases involved courts and a license suspension (driving with a suspended license is usually considered a criminal misdemeanor) the IO may have found out at least one of them anyway via the background checks, even if you didn't tell them. And being caught in a lie would have been much worse. Having told the truth, at least now you still have something of a chance with an appeal.
 
I am thinking of getting second opinion from a couple more lawyers. Can any one recommend good lawyers in and around new york city?
 
I'm guessing your interview was either at Newark or NYC..there have been numerous posts from users in the past stating that certain IOs at these locations are hardballs when it comes to traffic citations.
 
sarrebal said:
One more reason not to disclose traffic tickets that haven't led to an arrest.
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Wrong. This more than simple traffic tickets. Because of the license suspension and court cases, the IO may have known about it anyway and denied him for lying on the application.
 
citizenship_app said:
Now, I don't know if I made a mistake by being honest
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You seem to be missing the point. I am sure USCIS sees the repeat offenses as flaunting the Law. The idea of a fine is to discourage you from doing the same thing again. The same goes for multiple speeding offenses. With a flagrant disregard for the Laws of the land, it is perceived as poor moral character.

For 40-bucks you can get a bluetooth hands free, or for 10-bucks a corded one. It seems to make no sense to me to ignore the Law after being fined the first time.
 
Appeal!!!!

Just appeal right away... I know that there are issues in this case that have clearly not worked in your favor, but I think you can appeal. I am not a lawyer, but I can see that driving with a suspended license and getting stopped for a traffic violiation in that circustance is the biggest issue here....

Just appeal, put forward the facts.... you have nothing more to lose at this point.

Thx
 
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