Citizenship & traffic violation

A

alisawuz14

Registered Users (C)
Back in Dec 2009 I filed PNO (planned non-operation) on my car. It did not pass smog check and is very old car anyway. I planned to buy another vehicle, but then my husband got sick and our savings went toward his medical treatment. My car insurance expired also. I was not driving my car until today, when I urgently needed to go to pharmacy to refill my husband's prescription. Bad luck, I was pulled by police officer and given notice to appear in court. My question is: I am a Green Card holder and in the process of applying for US Citizenship based on 3 years marriage rule, will this traffic violation deny my chances to become a citizen?
 
alisawuz14 said:
Back in Dec 2009 I filed PNO (planned non-operation) on my car. It did not pass smog check and is very old car anyway. I planned to buy another vehicle, but then my husband got sick and our savings went toward his medical treatment. My car insurance expired also. I was not driving my car until today, when I urgently needed to go to pharmacy to refill my husband's prescription. Bad luck, I was pulled by police officer and given notice to appear in court. My question is: I am a Green Card holder and in the process of applying for US Citizenship based on 3 years marriage rule, will this traffic violation deny my chances to become a citizen?
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Chance is there but it is very very small.
By the way, did you go to court yet? What is findal dispostion?
 
Vorpal said:
You really think that there's a chance, however small it may be, that the OP will be denied over ONE traffic ticket???
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It depends on the state. If the offense under that state is a misdemeanor with jail time, then it is more serious than
an ordinary ticket.
 
alisawuz14 said:
My violation is - driving with expired registration and no proof of insurance.
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Find out the section number of your ticket and check those sectionnumber against statute of yoru state on tehinternet.
Find out maximum sentence/fine for those section numbers.

That being said, I am not sure if the IOs will have stomach to check it out on their own. Maybe they just use
verbatim term on yoru ticket to determine seriousness of the charge
 
WBH said:
It depends on the state. If the offense under that state is a misdemeanor with jail time, then it is more serious than
an ordinary ticket.
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At that point, it stops being a simple traffic infraction and becomes a crime.
 
Vorpal said:
At that point, it stops being a simple traffic infraction and becomes a crime.
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In PA, themaximum penalty for unregistered vehiel is only $75 or(2X registeration fee ) fine.

The OP can locat ehis state and check out his situation

http://public.findlaw.com/traffic-t...et-a-z/driving-without-registration-laws.html

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/vehicle_code/chapter13.pdf


(d) Penalty.--Any person violating the provisions of subsection (a) is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $75 or double the registration fee, whichever is greater, except when the vehicle was previously registered in this Commonwealth within 60 days of the commission of the offense whereupon the fine shall be $25. In the case of a motor carrier vehicle other than a trailer, the fine shall be $50 if the motor carrier vehicle was previously registered in this Commonwealth within 60 days of the commission of the offense or, if the registration occurs outside the 60-day period, the fine shall be double the registration fee for the maximum weight at which the vehicle could have been registered in this Commonwealth.
(July 22, 1983, P.L.122, No.32, eff. imd
 
alisawuz14 said:
Back in Dec 2009 I filed PNO (planned non-operation) on my car. It did not pass smog check and is very old car anyway. I planned to buy another vehicle, but then my husband got sick and our savings went toward his medical treatment. My car insurance expired also. I was not driving my car until today, when I urgently needed to go to pharmacy to refill my husband's prescription. Bad luck, I was pulled by police officer and given notice to appear in court. My question is: I am a Green Card holder and in the process of applying for US Citizenship based on 3 years marriage rule, will this traffic violation deny my chances to become a citizen?
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No, You will be just fine. Traffic tickets are no serious matters. Now if one is arrested & go to jail that makes things complicated. So just don't worry.
Atique.
 
WBH said:
In PA, themaximum penalty for unregistered vehiel is only $75 or(2X registeration fee ) fine. ...
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Lucky you... I think we get about that for an expired parking meter in Downtown San Francisco.
(which also means that such a ticket in SF Bay area will be > $500)
OP MUST go to court and plead her case. Judges can reduce the financial penalty significantly, but first, she does have to register her vehicle and buy insurance or the judge may not be as lenient.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
alisawuz14 said:
Back in Dec 2009 I filed PNO (planned non-operation) on my car. It did not pass smog check and is very old car anyway. I planned to buy another vehicle, but then my husband got sick and our savings went toward his medical treatment. My car insurance expired also. I was not driving my car until today, when I urgently needed to go to pharmacy to refill my husband's prescription. Bad luck, I was pulled by police officer and given notice to appear in court. My question is: I am a Green Card holder and in the process of applying for US Citizenship based on 3 years marriage rule, will this traffic violation deny my chances to become a citizen?
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If you are under the radar of the government, minor things get magnified; otherwise, you should not worry about things like traffice violations affecting your legal status. Just fix the problems. put insurance on your car, renew the registation, and show up at hearing... and you are ganno be ok. I have friends who run up many tickets and they were just fine...so don't worry about it
 
faysal said:
If you are under the radar of the government, minor things get magnified; otherwise, you should not worry about things like traffice violations affecting your legal status. Just fix the problems. put insurance on your car, renew the registation, and show up at hearing... and you are ganno be ok. I have friends who run up many tickets and they were just fine...so don't worry about it
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Thank you. I got insurance and already dropped off my car for repairs. Will cost me arm and leg :( I reside in California. Fines for traffic violation lately went up. I figured it might cost me additional 1k in fines. I have to disclose them in my N-400 Darn, one stupid mistake and you're in deep trouble.
 
if the officer just gave you a ticket and let you, that means you are ok.

if possible, pay the bail and get it dismissed, bring all the papers to interview, and tell the IO your situation "my husband was sick, i had to go to the pharmacy for his pills"

if you still have time to go to the court before your interview. tell the judge what happened and beg for deduction. my friend was caught with no insurance, he paid about 200 bucks , that is less than 25% of the original fine.
 
LandShark said:
if the officer just gave you a ticket and let you, that means you are ok.

.
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An unsettled traffic ticket can be an issue for naturalization. In the OP's case, she has taken care of ticket and has proof for interview so she shouldn't have any issues.
 
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