N-400 Application Form and Speeding Ticket

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hb0211

Registered Users (C)
Help me answer these quesion.My question is concerning N-400 Application form.I don't know what to fill in Q15 to Q18 in

http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/n-400.pdf
application form.?

I have been caught speeding by cops few times and each time I have paid fine and I think I am done with until I saw this form.

Q15 - Have a ever commited a crime or offence for which you have not been arrested.

Is "speeding" a crime or offence in INS terminology ? I was NOT arrested.I was given ticket and let go.So what will be answer of this question for me ? YES/NO ?

Q16- Have you EVER been arrested,cited or detained by any law enforcement officer(including INS and military officers) for any reason ?

Any reason ? Oh..Yes but does "speedi ng" come under citation ? What should be my answer ? YES/NO ?

Q17 - Have you ever been charged with committing any crime or offence ?

Any crime or offence ? Again...where does "speeding" ticket fall ? Does it come under crime or offence ? Does the speeding ticket by cops mean I was charged ?

Q18 - Have you been convicted of a crime or offence ?

I think the answer will be NO assuming I have just the speeding ticket.What do you say ?

Your answer will be well appreciated.
 
Speeding

Speeding is an offence under most state laws (or maybe all state laws I don't know). Citation is the ticket that you received from the officer. Therefore, you (as well as me and many others;) ) have commited an offence for which you were cited.

Now being charged is different. It must be a serious crime or an offence and there must be a prosecutor filing charges. (please correct me here if I'm wrong).
You didn't get charged for speeding you got cited.

1. So, you commited an offense.
2. for which you got cited
3. but you were never charged
4. you were never arrested
5. you were never convicted
(speaking strictly about speeding tickets)

I also had few traffic tickets and answered YES to questions 15 and 16 on page 8. I answered NO to questions 17 - 21.
For me the good news is that I haven't gotten any tickets for past 6 years or so. The couple I got were so long time ago that I don't remember the exact dates. I just put month and year and hope it won't cause any trouble at the interview.

For me this was the most confusing part of N-400. They should make the instructions more explicit.
Good luck with yours!
 
Thanks for clarifying - seems logical.

The only other thing to keep in mind is to take some documentation related to the ticket ( either the ticket itself, traffic school if any, or a certificate of disposition from the traffic court indicating the ticket was paid off - you can get this by just calling the court clerk - and they will send you a cert for no charge) for the interview.

Ive read some other postings where this was asked for, and people had to scramble to get a hold of it at the last minute.
 
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