N-400 Application - got the "yellow letter" today

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brahmachari99

Registered Users (C)
Weird! Received yellow letter, says I was arrested. I was not! WTH?

Just received the yellow letter today. It asks me to bring two documents: 1. Driver's license. 2. It says "you had indicated in your application that you were arrested. Bring originals or certified copies of all arrest records and court dispositions.... ".

I have neither ever been arrested, nor did I indicate so. The question in N-N400 is "Have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained...." To which I replied yes, and clearly listed my minor TRAFFIC CITATIONS (speeding)! What worries me is why CIS is under the impression that I was arrested, instead of receiving just a routine traffic citation. Perhaps it is just standard boilerplate text that they use in the yellow notices?

What proof do I need to bring? I have paid all traffic fines but do not have any receipts/proof of that. Am I worrying too much or is this really an issue?
 
I am in the same limbo. I expect to receive the same stuff.
I mentioned one traffic ticket.
You should contact county court - they can give you one receipt that you have paid the fine.
However the IO will most likely not look into it.

This is the problem of divulging too much info - we get screwed.

But there is no consensus on this forum on whether and at what time you should mention the traffic tickets.
 
brahmachari99 said:
Just received the yellow letter today. It asks me to bring two documents: 1. Driver's license. 2. It says "you had indicated in your application that you were arrested. Bring originals or certified copies of all arrest records and court dispositions.... ".

I have neither ever been arrested, nor did I indicate so. The question in N-N400 is "Have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained...." To which I replied yes, and clearly listed my minor TRAFFIC CITATIONS (speeding)! What worries me is why CIS is under the impression that I was arrested, instead of receiving just a routine traffic citation. Perhaps it is just standard boilerplate text that they use in the yellow notices?

What proof do I need to bring? I have paid all traffic fines but do not have any receipts/proof of that. Am I worrying too much or is this really an issue?
Click to expand...


If you and new_LPR answered Yes to the question about ever being "arrested or cited" then the letter you have received is a standard RFE letter that everyone who answered Yes to that question gets. USCIS does not make the assumption that you were arrested. They are just alerting you that if you were arrested, you should bring all the necessary documents to show how the situation was resolved.

In the case of traffic ticket citations, the N-400 instructions very clearly point out that there are no documentation requirements for minor traffic offenses (no drugs, no alcohol, and fines < $500). However, the reason that there are differing opinions on the forum about documentation requirements is because different IOs in different DOs may interpret the rules differently. You really have to read forum experiences for your specific DO to understand how IOs in that office approach documentation requirements for resolution of minor traffic offenses. For example, in the Wash DC DO located in Fairfax, VA, they generally don't ask for documentation related to minor traffic offenses.

It is not fair to suggest as new_LPR does that "there is no consensus on this forum on whether and at what time you should mention the traffic tickets". It isn't a consensus-related issue, it is a "do what is appropriate for your DO" issue. From experience, this issue has been treated differently in some DOs versus others. But the overwhelming majority of cases (see the Traffic Ticket sticky and poll) do not result in applicants being asked to show documentation for resolution of minor traffic tickets.
 
NewRunner is 100% correct. If you answer "YES" to the question about having been arrested, detained, or cited, you'll automatically receive a yellow CFR letter asking for arrest records. If you disclosed traffic violations, make sure to bring proof of payment or traffic court dispositions, no matter how minor the violations were. Despite the fact that M-476 clearly states that no documentation needs to be submitted for minor traffic tickets, the practice of asking for proof varies from one IO to another. Yes, different IOs within the same DO are known to treat this issue differently. This is why I firmly believe that minor traffic violations shouldn't be reported. They are not counted toward the good moral character requirement.
 
same here. I mentioned speeding tickets and got the exactly same letter "....arrested....". Will get the receipts from court to show I did pay the fines.
 
All the gurus - pl respond :)

Got the "Yellow letter" today and our IL for 9/16/2009. The yellow letter says for us to bring "originals or certified copies of all arrest records and court dispositons showing how each incident was resolved."...

OK, never been arrested, only got traffic tickets (all less than $150). Now, I paid off all these tickets on the web (Court web site) and I have printouts of the recpts.

So, my question is - for our interview, should I go out and get court dispositions for these traffic tickets (bit of a hassle .. but I will do it if you gurus think it's necessary:rolleyes:) OR I can just go with my printouts?:D

Thanks for all your help so far!

Time Line -
Mailed app - 6/29
FP - Self - 7/16, Spouse 7/28
IL & Yellow letter 8/17
ID - 9/16 at Mount Laurel, NJ.
 
Do we need to resolve/pay all tickets if we get yellow letter ?

Hi,

I also got the yellow letter. I have one open ticket and I am seriously thinking if I want to resolve it before the trial date.

Do I have a chance against the officer to walk in for the interview without the resolution on the last ticket ? All other tickets (3) were payed and resolved.

Any responses will be highly appreciated.

thanks,
some_guy03

P.S. interview date sep 1st
 
Do we need to resolve/pay all tickets if we get yellow letter ?

Hi,

I also got the yellow letter from USCIS stating that I need to show resolution on any criminal or other cases on interview date. In my application, I mentioned about my traffic tickets. I have one open ticket and I am seriously thinking if I want to resolve it before the trial date.

Do I have a chance against the officer to walk in for the interview without the resolution on the last ticket ? All other tickets (3) were payed and resolved.

Any responses will be highly appreciated.

thanks,
some_guy03

P.S. interview date sep 1st
 
If you disclose traffic tickets that are pending, you should take care of them prior to the interview or the oath. It's possible that the decision on your application may be delayed until the ticket is paid or dismissed.
 
Experts, I also received the same letter today. I have also reported my citations in the form. I was never arrested. I am seeing lot of discussion around this that what we should bring for interview as a proof. I have DMV 10 year driving record which mentions that Pull Notice, P&M code, Arrest Report Subrecord as ‘NONE’ along with my violations with court# and Docket# and Disposition as B. I believe this ‘B’ is for billed and paid code. Is this sufficient as a proof or I have to have some proof from local court that I was never arrested?

Please advice.

Thanks,
 
andy505 said:
Experts, I also received the same letter today. I have also reported my citations in the form. I was never arrested. I am seeing lot of discussion around this that what we should bring for interview as a proof. I have DMV 10 year driving record which mentions that Pull Notice, P&M code, Arrest Report Subrecord as ‘NONE’ along with my violations with court# and Docket# and Disposition as B. I believe this ‘B’ is for billed and paid code. Is this sufficient as a proof or I have to have some proof from local court that I was never arrested?

Please advice.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Documentation does not need to be provided for minor traffic citations under $500. The IO will ask you if you were ever arrested, to which you would answer no since you disclosed you never were.
 
The question itself is very confusing.They asked that 'Have you every arrested, cited....' and I answered 'Yes'. Because I was cited for Traffic Violation. In section bellow, I had given the dates when I was cited. So a DMV driving record is enough as a proof that I was never arrested or I have to get something from Superior court that I was never arrested.
 
andy505 said:
The question itself is very confusing.They asked that 'Have you every arrested, cited....' and I answered 'Yes'. Because I was cited for Traffic Violation. In section bellow, I had given the dates when I was cited. So a DMV driving record is enough as a proof that I was never arrested or I have to get something from Superior court that I was never arrested.
Click to expand...

DMV record is fine. The IO will probably not even ask you.
 
Fines payment issue

I do not know about Naturalisation interviews , but here is what happened at our green card interview:
The officer asked my husband if he has ever been arrested. He replied no.She asked this 3 times and he replied the same. She then said "You have and I have proof " It was for some ticket that my husband had already paid .Apparently , they had sent out a notice later for a fine over the ticket amount which my husband had not even recieved. The total was $35. But the officer was nice and asked my husband to produce the proof he had paid it, and come back in a few days.
Moral I got from this story : Do not treat any amount lightly .You may get lucky, but then , you never know!
 
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