Journey over - happy to share my experience

R

rollstream

Registered Users (C)
I had a pretty smooth process, long, but no major hiccups. First there are lots of people on this board who act as experts based solely on their experience. Do not literally take their advice.

I was one of those people who didn't even know that a traffic ticket means you answer to that question 14/15(?) as Yes. Yet all i needed at the interview was my passport, greencard and the interview notification. Same for my wife. Very pleasant experience. So Good luck to all of you out there.

I completed my process at Fairfax, Virginia.



N-400 mailed - Oct 31,2005
PD - Nov 2,2005 (got a Receipt w/suspense asking for additional $70 to the $330 already send)
Additional $70 send - Nov 6,2005
FP Notice recieved - Nov 15,2005
FP Completed - Dec 16,2005
Called FBI - Dec 21,2005 (confirmed that they recieved on 16th and returned to USCIS on same day)
Interview Notification recieved - Jan 20, 2006
Interview completed - March 30 morning
Oath - Mar 30 evening
Passport applied and journey over!
 
rollstream said:
I had a pretty smooth process, long, but no major hiccups. First there are lots of people on this board who act as experts based solely on their experience. Do not literally take their advice.

I was one of those people who didn't even know that a traffic ticket means you answer to that question 14/15(?) as Yes. Yet all i needed at the interview was my passport, greencard and the interview notification. Same for my wife. Very pleasant experience. So Good luck to all of you out there.

I completed my process at Fairfax, Virginia.



N-400 mailed - Oct 31,2005
PD - Nov 2,2005 (got a Receipt w/suspense asking for additional $70 to the $330 already send)
Additional $70 send - Nov 6,2005
FP Notice recieved - Nov 15,2005
FP Completed - Dec 16,2005
Called FBI - Dec 21,2005 (confirmed that they recieved on 16th and returned to USCIS on same day)
Interview Notification recieved - Jan 20, 2006
Interview completed - March 30 morning
Oath - Mar 30 evening
Passport applied and journey over!
Click to expand...

I had 4 tickets before i filed my N-400, i didn't put any of them on the application, i called the customer service twice, to verify, both times, they told me that traffic ticket should not be mentioned, unless theylead to an arrest.
 
rollstream said:
I had a pretty smooth process, long, but no major hiccups. First there are lots of people on this board who act as experts based solely on their experience. Do not literally take their advice.

I was one of those people who didn't even know that a traffic ticket means you answer to that question 14/15(?) as Yes. Yet all i needed at the interview was my passport, greencard and the interview notification. Same for my wife. Very pleasant experience. So Good luck to all of you out there.

I completed my process at Fairfax, Virginia.



N-400 mailed - Oct 31,2005
PD - Nov 2,2005 (got a Receipt w/suspense asking for additional $70 to the $330 already send)
Additional $70 send - Nov 6,2005
FP Notice recieved - Nov 15,2005
FP Completed - Dec 16,2005
Called FBI - Dec 21,2005 (confirmed that they recieved on 16th and returned to USCIS on same day)
Interview Notification recieved - Jan 20, 2006
Interview completed - March 30 morning
Oath - Mar 30 evening
Passport applied and journey over!
Click to expand...

Congratulations!!!!!! 5 months total processing time is not too bad, considering how long it took folks in NoVa to naturalize in 2004 and parts of 2005.

Cheers!



-------
N-400 @ VSC
PD: 01/17/06
Check cashed: 01/23/06
ND: 02/14/06 (received 02/18/06)
FP notice: 03/01/06 (received 03/05/06)
FP: 03/15/06 (FBI reported back to USCIS the same day)
ID/OD: N/A
 
JoeF your disclaimer is not enough.....

So please do not go and misguide everyone. Just a Disclaimer is not good enough.

Enough beating on the Traffic tickets.

Congratulations....
 
JoeF said:
And the people on the mis-information line have been wrong, as usual.
How is it that people don't understand the word "any"???
An examiner may not have cared in your case, but that doesn't mean that others aren't required to put all their citations on there.
Click to expand...
again, read my post, i CALLED the customer service twice and both told me NOT to put traffic tickets on the N-400 unless it lead to an arrest.
 
JoeF said:
Huh? Claiming that tickets do not need to be listed is misguiding.
I have asked a lawyer, not some anonymous person on the outsourced CIS mis-information line.
So, I suggest stopping misleading posts.
Geez, what is it that people fail to understand with "any citations"??? Any means exactly that, not "no traffic citations". How hard can that be to understand???
Click to expand...
ever thought that the lawyer maybe it trying to cover his/her ass ?
i'd take the INS advise before any lawyer's.
 
JoeF said:
You are a fool. The customer "service" phone line is not even CIS. It is outsourced.
And CIS is under no obligation to tell you anything truthful.
Ask the professionals, lawyers.
Geez, the papers are full of stories from people who got into trouble for listening to CIS. I personally have met people who got deported because they believed what they got told by a CIS employee.
Unless you get things in writing on CIS letterhead, you should never believe anything they say.
Click to expand...

i am curious...where does the lawyer gets his information from ?
 
JoeF said:
You are a fool. The customer "service" phone line is not even CIS. It is outsourced.
And CIS is under no obligation to tell you anything truthful.
Ask the professionals, lawyers.
Geez, the papers are full of stories from people who got into trouble for listening to CIS. I personally have met people who got deported because they believed what they got told by a CIS employee.
Unless you get things in writing on CIS letterhead, you should never believe anything they say.
Click to expand...
oh yeah and they'll deport me for not putting my 10mph over the limit ticket on the N-400..and i am the fool ?
 
JoeF said:
Huh? Where do you get from that the person on Immihelp is a lawyer?
I used to post there quite a lot, and I have gotten personal email from the owner of that site. The owner certainly is not a lawyer. And it says so right on the bottom of the page: " immihelp®.com is private non-lawyer web site."

The lawyer I have asked, on the other hand, is very well known: Ron Gotcher...
So, thanks for playing. Try harder next time...
Click to expand...
just google "Traffic ticket N-400", and see for yourself..many LAWYERS say that you do not have to mention those tickets.
anyway i do not see me being deported based on that solely, there is no point of arguing, the INS knows that traffic tickets is an issue among applicants, so i don't see them going after people who didn't list their 30 years old , 5mp over the limit , traffic ticket...gimme a break.
 
JoeF said:
Yeah, and you get what? Old sites. It used to be that the N-400 explicitly said that traffic violations don't have to be listed. But then, some smarta**es thought that means that their DUIs don't have to be listed.
So, CIS changed the N-400 to strike that clause, and now all citations have to be listed. Blame the smarta**es who thought they could outsmart the authorities...
The change in the N-400 actually triggered me asking Ron Gotcher about it...
As you may get by now, I have heard all these excuses before. They don't fly.
So, again, thanks for playing, try harder next time...
Click to expand...
playing ? try harder ? i am not here to argue with you...get a life....again..i do not see my self or anyone who didn't put their traffic tickets on the N-400 being deported...now you can try harder.
 
JoeF said:
The new N-400 instructions only state that you don't have to include documentation in certain cases:
"Note that unless a traffic incident was alcohol or drug related, you do not need to submit documentation for traffic fines and incidents that did not involve an actual arrest if the only penalty was a fine of less than $500 and/or points on your driver's license."
Click to expand...

Previously I misunderstood about the statement from the instruction because I did not read it carefully. I thought i would not need to report the traffic incident. However, the instruction incdicates the person does not need to submit the "documentation" in certain cases.
 
I can affirm JoeF statement with information from my adjudication officer.

The 'Help Line' does not have to give you correct information. If you believe that, ask them for their name/ ID or whatever and say that you would like to quote him or her as a reference ... just try that !

Alex
 
Rollstreams: Congrats on completing the Process.

As for the other issue, I would agree with JoeF that the people at the National Customer Service Center don't know what the hell they're doing. I called them six times and I got six different answers for the same question.

I live in Washington, DC

Here is my timeline:

PD: Sept.6, 2005
FP: March,7 2006 (result was reported to the USCIS the same day)
ID: ???
Oath:???

As far as I know there's no problem with my case. I've never been in trouble with the law, not even a speeding ticket. The DC Office is currently processing cases with PD Oct. 25, 2005. I filed an inquiry and they told me to wait 30 days for a response. I'll let you guys know what happened.
 
I can't believe everybody here is still getting worked up over whether or not to list traffic tickets/citations! The bottom line is: List them, won't hurt.

I did not list the only citation I ever got in the U.S. (failure to obey highway sign) but am planning on volunteering it during the interview with the documentation that I paid etc. etc. etc.

Cheers!
 
FBI number to call?

rollstream,

please share the FBI number that you called after finger prints to check on whether the FBI sent information back to USCIS.

I'm in a similar scenario. My fingerprints were taken two weeks ago, and if I can call the FBI to follow up on it, I'd love to take that opportunity.

Please help.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! on becoming a Citizen.
 
aspiringcitizen said:
rollstream,

please share the FBI number that you called after finger prints to check on whether the FBI sent information back to USCIS.

I'm in a similar scenario. My fingerprints were taken two weeks ago, and if I can call the FBI to follow up on it, I'd love to take that opportunity.

Please help.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! on becoming a Citizen.
Click to expand...

check out one of the sticky posts which i posted the FBI phone number.
 
Based on my experience with some of the "resident" lawyer-wannabes here, I wouldn't bet my 2 cents on them, :).

Laws aren't meant to be read literally: otherwise, many of us would have gotten cited for j-walking in quite a few US cities.

there is always a materiality clause in the law. I doubt the ins is going to deport you for not reporting that $5 parking lot citation you got at the local library.

Use your common sense, sleep tight and forget about those "resident" lawyer types - they play a lawyer here because they cannot play a lawyer in the real world.
 
Chill out guys :)

Holy c***. I thought by sharing my journey i would put you guys at ease about the whole thing. I am shocked by 26 follow ups to my posting today morning. C'mon guys keep things in perspective and keep your life moving forward. Don't let this process consume your life, at least that is my philosophy :)

As for traffic tickets, i did not know and so did not answer yes. If i had known i would have said no and got the supporting documents. But again i am one of those guys who trust my instincts and go with it. But if you want every i dotted and t crossed, then best bet is to hire a lwayer.

Good luck & speedy Citizenship.
 
JoeF said:
Similarly with the mis-information line..
Click to expand...

given the amount of mis-information you get here, :)

everyone makes mistakes and I am sure the phone operators on the ins lines aren't as thoroughly vetted in the immigration laws of the land as we had desired. Then it is only a fool's dream that they should.

so take whatever you get at a grain of salt, whether it comes from the ins phone line, a lawyer, or a lawyer-wannabe in the virtual world. at end of the day, you got to ask yourself "does it make sense?", because you are the one and only one responsible for any consequencies.

"I heard it from a lawyer" or "I heard it on an internet forum" wouldn't save you in court.
 
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