N-400 Denied, based on unknowingly registering to vote

Basic_Instinct

New Member
Good day, all! Well; not so good, for me.

I've just received a denial letter, for my N-400 application, from Immigration. My situation if fairly unique, and I'd like to know if I should appeal the decision, or just re-apply.

When I relocated to another state - to Indiana, from Washington, DC - I had to change over my driver's license. Indiana's BMV allows for people to register to vote, at the time you obtain your driver's license. During the process, I wasn't told that I was being registered for federal elections (as Permanent Residency does allow us to vote in SOME local elections, in SOME cities), and just simply signed a keypad...assuming that I was just signing to obtain my driver's license.

Well - during my citizenship interview - I was told that I was registered to vote in federal elections, and that I to submit any pertinent information to further my case. I went to the local voter's registration office, and sure enough, I was registered. I had no knowledge of being registered to vote, and did not vote in any federal or state elections. The voter's registration card has the same signature that's on my driver's license (transposed), and I did not receive any paperwork for me read, during the exchange. Otherwise, I would've known that they were registering me.

The denial letter states that I have not established that I am a person of "good moral character", even though I submitted the voter's registration cancellation, and an explanation of the circumstances.

What should I do?
 
Indiana's BMV allows for people to register to vote, at the time you obtain your driver's license. During the process, I wasn't told that I was being registered for federal elections (as Permanent Residency does allow us to vote in SOME local elections, in SOME cities)...
Did anywhere in Indiana (and in particular, the town or county for the address on your license) allow permanent residents to vote in local elections? If not, your registration would have been only Federal.

Was that registration within the past 5 years before your filing your N-400 application?

I had no knowledge of being registered to vote, and did not vote in any federal or state elections.
From your paragraph which I partially quoted at the top of this post, it appears that you knew you were being registered to vote; you just didn't realize it was for Federal elections.

The denial letter states that I have not established that I am a person of "good moral character", even though I submitted the voter's registration cancellation, and an explanation of the circumstances.
But you submitted that information only after they pointed it out to you in the interview; you did not provide the information of your own initiative at the interview. So the "good moral character" denial is for not revealing material facts at the interview.

What should I do?
If the town or county allowed permanent residents to vote in local elections, and you did not select YES to "I am a US citizen" on the voter registration, you can use those facts to appeal. Otherwise you have to wait 5 years to reapply.
 
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I am new in forum and would like to get and gather all the information I could to get my N400 application started.
I am on the same boat. I was accidentally registered when applying for my State ID

Please give me some sound advise
 
This is an important issue. Having been long in the US for a long time, I was actually afraid that I was registered to vote automatically at some point. So, when I applied for citizenship, I had to scrub all the voter databases on all the places I had lived, esp. Chicago/IL where I was sure I had been registered to vote automatically during the 2007/8 elections. Thankfully, I was not registered to vote.

I think that people who are not citizens need education, clear information that registering to vote when you are not a citizen is a crime, and can result in dire outcomes. The way things are right now, there is a lax attitude to registering people to vote. The assumption is that everyone is a citizen.

I don't think you have to wait five years to reapply. I think that you can re-apply now. All you need to do is to be very clear from the beginning, that yes I was registered to vote, etc. Disclose everything upfront. And I think once you do that, you will be fine. Good luck.
 
There is a BIG GRAY AREA in voter registration process. Feds opened MANY CHANNELS to have more voters registered across the years. These channels includes professional and unprofessional sources such as DMV, Libraries, Post offices etc.. Many may fall unknowingly with the unprofessional agents offering to register for voting, without checking the proof of citizenship. This would ruin the entire citizenship path for many immigrants. This should be considered when such denials are being finalized.
 
Lots of states are trying to force automatic voter registration for political reasons. I can’t imagine how many immigrants will be trapped in this mess. I bet many immigrants got ballots mailed to them last year and probably mailed them back. This is a automatic bar to any immigration benefit and leads to deportation
 
Any updates on this thread?
Where are the people who were in the same situation....

It would be nice to hear their experiences....
 
H
Any updates on this thread?
Where are the people who were in the same situation....

It would be nice to hear their experiences....
How come you registered to vote on ID man!? I know it happens when you apply for driver license but for ID no body gets asked if you get registered to vote or no
 
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