N-400 Part 10 - Q4,8,15,16

[NWLady]

Hi everyone, sure am glad I found this forum. Spent last night reading and am by now positively paranoid

I have been here for almost 17 years, and am now finally getting around to applying for citizenship. It would have been cheaper had I done it the first time I wrote for the application papers, I think the fee was $300 or something back then. Oh well. Thought I would run some things by you folks on this board and perhaps get a lawyer also before sending off that app. I know they (the government) keeps good records of the most amazing facts about us, so [Paranoia due to having several friends who hold security clearances & told me about what is listed about them].

Here are my questions:
N-400 Part 10, Question 4 asks: Since becoming a lawful permanent resident, have you ever failed to file a required Federal, State, or local tax return?
More than 10 years ago my ex-husband forgot to file the taxes, we were separated at the time so I handed him my tax papers and didn't find out he never filed until I got a back tax bill from the IRS the year after. It was for a few hundred dollars, and yes - it is paid.
I listed it pretty much as such on the N-400 application. Any issues?

N-400 Part 10, Question 8 asks: Have you ever been a member of or associated with any organization, associaatin, fund foundatin, party, club, society, or similar group in the United States or in any other place?
Boy do I have a long list, most of them charities and clubs. I have racked my brain trying to come up with all since childhood. What will they do if I forget one? To clarify--I am in no way politically or religiously active, just about all of these are either clubs or charities.

N-400 Part 10, Question 15 asks: Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested? and question 16 asks Have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained by any law inforcement officer (including USCIS or former INS and military officers) for any reason?
Item 1: 3 speeding tickets, all on freeway--these were just tickets, no DUI / Reckless driving or any other punishable by jail sort. One of them is a long time back, will they be happy with year and month or will I be in trouble if I don't get them the exact date?

Item 2: My husband and I were held in a room and questioned by a Canadian officer when entering Canada some years back? --From reading in here this does not count because it is not a US officer, am I correct?
A friend and I were pulled aside and questioned at the US border crossing 12 years ago, this was the US Border patrol--I presume this does count? I no longer have any clue of the date, I may even have the year wrong. Will I get in trouble for that?

Item 3: And this is the part that really worries me: I was unemployed in 2001-2002 and fell for a job scam when they first appeared. Really, really stupid I know--but cannot take it back now. The "Employer" in guise of a known / high profile organization [spoofed website etc. etc.] corresponded with me for a couple of weeks, long enough to convince me they wanted me to work for them. Then came light one I SHOULD have seen. They wanted to pay me for expenses in relation to that job, up front--wierd I thought but ok. Then they asked me if I could be so kind to forward the bulk of the money to their vendor. Flag number two and I missed it. I thought it was wierd but thought ok. When the check came I felt like something was off so I took it to the teller to check if there were funds to cover it. Little did I know, it was false.
Long story short, I was questioned by police, gave them all information / correspondence, the local police handed the case to the FBI as 4 other people in the country also had fallen for this. I was detained but not arrested and no charges were filed. The check was large enough to be in the "serious" category.
So how do I go about disclosing this? What documents do I need to bring? Do I need a lawyer? I would not dream of NOT disclosing it as there were reports taken and a case number issued.

Anyone here know of a good Washington State immigration lawyer?

Thank you so much for any help you can give.

NWLady

 

[NewRunner]

N-400 Part 10, Question 4 asks: Since becoming a lawful permanent resident, have you ever failed to file a required Federal, State, or local tax return?
More than 10 years ago my ex-husband forgot to file the taxes, we were separated at the time so I handed him my tax papers and didn't find out he never filed until I got a back tax bill from the IRS the year after. It was for a few hundred dollars, and yes - it is paid. I listed it pretty much as such on the N-400 application. Any issues?

From your explanation above, it would appear that you have resolved this outstanding issue with the IRS. As such, the answer would be No.

N-400 Part 10, Question 8 asks: Have you ever been a member of or associated with any organization, associaatin, fund foundatin, party, club, society, or similar group in the United States or in any other place?
Boy do I have a long list, most of them charities and clubs. I have racked my brain trying to come up with all since childhood. What will they do if I forget one? To clarify--I am in no way politically or religiously active, just about all of these are either clubs or charities.

The intent of this question is to identify whether you belong to any associations that represent a danger to the U.S. government or the U.S. national interest. It is up to you what you list here, but pick two or three of the charities, associations, organizations that you are most involved with, and just list those. I just put down two university alumni organizations.

N-400 Part 10, Question 15 asks: Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested? and question 16 asks Have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained by any law inforcement officer (including USCIS or former INS and military officers) for any reason?
Item 1: 3 speeding tickets, all on freeway--these were just tickets, no DUI / Reckless driving or any other punishable by jail sort. One of them is a long time back, will they be happy with year and month or will I be in trouble if I don't get them the exact date?

You can refer to detailed explanations I have provided about dealing with speeding tickets in the "Traffic Tickets and N-400" posting which is a "sticky" at the top of this forum. In summary, I do not believe it is necessary to disclose "minor traffic offenses", which carry fines of less than $500 and do not include drugs or alcohol.

Item 2: My husband and I were held in a room and questioned by a Canadian officer when entering Canada some years back? --From reading in here this does not count because it is not a US officer, am I correct?
A friend and I were pulled aside and questioned at the US border crossing 12 years ago, this was the US Border patrol--I presume this does count? I no longer have any clue of the date, I may even have the year wrong. Will I get in trouble for that?

Both of these incidents would appear to represent "ordinary" secondary screening for border control purposes. I would not consider these as being "detained" unless the Canadian and U.S. officers had reason to suspect you of criminal wrong doing. I do not think you need to disclose them. If the IO asks you about the U.S. border incident during your interview, you can provide the explanation and say that you assumed that it was secondary screening and not a "detention".

Item 3: And this is the part that really worries me: I was unemployed in 2001-2002 and fell for a job scam when they first appeared. Really, really stupid I know--but cannot take it back now. The "Employer" in guise of a known / high profile organization [spoofed website etc. etc.] corresponded with me for a couple of weeks, long enough to convince me they wanted me to work for them. Then came light one I SHOULD have seen. They wanted to pay me for expenses in relation to that job, up front--wierd I thought but ok. Then they asked me if I could be so kind to forward the bulk of the money to their vendor. Flag number two and I missed it. I thought it was wierd but thought ok. When the check came I felt like something was off so I took it to the teller to check if there were funds to cover it. Little did I know, it was false.
Long story short, I was questioned by police, gave them all information / correspondence, the local police handed the case to the FBI as 4 other people in the country also had fallen for this. I was detained but not arrested and no charges were filed. The check was large enough to be in the "serious" category.

Not sure why this freaks you out. You appear to have been the victim of a fraud. You reported it to the police. They cleared you.

If you were fingerprinted as part of the questioning, your fingerprints will most likely register a hit in the FBI fingerprint database.

You can answer Yes to the question of "ever being detained" for this incident, but you can provide an explanation about what happened. I would perhaps express the explanation in simpler terms. I was the victim of a check-cashing scam which involved receiving and depositing what I thought were paychecks, but were in reality fraudulent checks. I notified the police and the bank when I got suspicious. The police called me in for questioning. I discovered then that I was one of multiple victims of this scam and I was cleared by the police of any wrong doing.

Hope these responses help. Don't be too paranoid. You can completely psych yourself out and second-guess yourself if you subscribe to all the worst-case scenarios written about on this forum...

 

[NWLady]

NewRunner, thank you so much; and you're right, I'm probably over thinking it. I should just send the thing and get it over with.