I-485 and arrest due to suspended license

eb278

Registered Users (C)
In response to the question on I-485 on page 3:
"been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, fined or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance, excluding
traffic violations?" Yes Or No

I was once arrested for alleged driving with license suspended/revoked.I later had my license re-instated by State of Texas and got the court case cleared within a month. I have the certificate of disposition from court (certified copy)

Questiion:
Does my arrest fall under traffic violations ?
I am confused if I should answer "Yes" or "No" to this question 1b on Part 3
 
In response to the question on I-485 on page 3:
"been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, fined or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance, excluding
traffic violations?" Yes Or No

I was once arrested for alleged driving with license suspended/revoked.I later had my license re-instated by State of Texas and got the court case cleared within a month. I have the certificate of disposition from court (certified copy)

Questiion:
Does my arrest fall under traffic violations ?
I am confused if I should answer "Yes" or "No" to this question 1b on Part 3

I my view you should answer YES, and provide proper documentation.
also better consult an attorney before you file.

you should be okay, the worst that could happen is you will be called for an interview.

Good Luck :)
 
Thanks IN2US for the response.

I spoke to the lawyer and he asked me to select "No".

He reviewed the arrest circumstances and also the court certificate.
I was stopped on the day for speeding and my bad luck that the suspended license showed on my drivers record for which the officer arrested me.

The reason is that the arrest was for a traffic violation.
If later they question me about the arrest the lawyer said to produce the court certificate and I should be fine.
 
This is dangerous thing. If you lie to immigration your GC can be revoked and you deported with lifetime ban on re-entering country. I strongly advise from lying. Get another lawyer opinion.
 
I am confused now.

I don't want to lie , I am answering "NO" because I think that the instructions exclude arrest for breaking traffic violations as in my case.

What do other members think ??
 
Put NO. The form clearly said to exclude traffic violations, and your attorney agrees. Don't give USCIS damaging information that they are actually allowing you to exclude.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
In response to the question on I-485 on page 3:
"been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, fined or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance, excluding
traffic violations?" Yes Or No

I was once arrested for alleged driving with license suspended/revoked.I later had my license re-instated by State of Texas and got the court case cleared within a month. I have the certificate of disposition from court (certified copy)

Questiion:
Does my arrest fall under traffic violations ?
I am confused if I should answer "Yes" or "No" to this question 1b on Part 3

The information that you gave above clearly indicate that it comes under "traffic violations". Your arrest was related to suspended license and speeding which is big time traffic violations so no need to worry. If license was suspended/or not and you hit some one then it was different. Just my opinion. But again get lawyer's opinion and decide.
 
I am updating for the benefit of those in the same situation.

I called up the court directly to find out more about this ticket. They informed me that the arrest is considered related to traffic violation and in my case the judge dismissed the case (a good thing)

In general if you are arrested for driving without a valid license this is a traffic related arrest and would select "No" on the 485 form. Make sure if the Judge dismissed the case and you are not convicted.

However if you are convicted (most likely in case DUI) then the traffic violation becomes a criminal misdemeanor in most States which should be reported as a "Yes" on the form. Hence folks with DUI must report "Yes"

Thanks for all the responses hope this helps someone. I spent a lot of time in this research since you want to be very sure what is reported on the 485.
 
eb278, I've just read the I-485 instructions and it seems clear to me that you must answer yes to this violation and provide the applicable documentation. The instructions are quite clear that any traffic related incidents that result in an arrest must be disclosed.

Since I am pretty sure that they will do a complete background check, ommitting such information might jeopardize your application and future!
 
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