Naturalization and having bad credit

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fisherman

Registered Users (C)
I am about to apply for citizenship but little hesitant since I have a very bad credit history. I defaulted on my credit card and student loan payments last year and have creditors hounding me by phone and mail. And a lawyer threatening to garnish part of my weekly income.

And can't get a lawyer since I am broke.

N-400 application doesn't request any information about having a bad credit, but I am afraid all that mess will show up when they do a background check.

Any advice. Thanks.
 
Credit history is not a factor of citizenship eligibility. The only possible issue that I forsee is if the student loan that you've defaulted on was issued by the government. If it wasn't, go ahead and file your N-400.
 
Vorpal said:
Credit history is not a factor of citizenship eligibility. The only possible issue that I forsee is if the student loan that you've defaulted on was issued by the government.
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Or was issued privately but backed by the government. It may not prevent your naturalization unless you're ignoring court orders, but it is important to note that student loans issued by or backed by the government cannot be discharged via bankruptcy; they will haunt you for LIFE until paid off.

There was a story a couple years ago about a disabled man who stopped paying his student loans when he got disabled, and the government ultimately ended up taking out a piece of his Social Security to put towards repaying the decades-old loans. So if you can make sacrifices to pay those student loans, you better pay them, because each month they go unpaid the interest will build up and you ultimately will have to pay back the loan plus interest someday, even if it comes out of your Social Security when you're 70.
 
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What kind of student loans do you have? Federal or private?
I agree with the two previous posts. The only thing I want to add Fisherman, is that student loans are the only loans that you do have to pay back no matter what happens. Those are the only loans that can't even be discharged in bankruptcy (as opposed to credit cards and other loans) so you should work out a payment plan with your lender or forbearance or something until you get back on your feet.
In the meantime, I would say file your N-400.
 
FriscoDude said:
What kind of student loans do you have? Federal or private?
I agree with the two previous posts. The only thing I want to add Fisherman, is that student loans are the only loans that you do have to pay back no matter what happens. Those are the only loans that can't even be discharged in bankruptcy (as opposed to credit cards and other loans) so you should work out a payment plan with your lender or forbearance or something until you get back on your feet.
In the meantime, I would say file your N-400.
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you can get rid of your student loans if you can prove undue hardship which is pretty hard to get. talk to a lawyer if you want to puruse this.
 
thankful said:
you can get rid of your student loans if you can prove undue hardship which is pretty hard to get. talk to a lawyer if you want to puruse this.
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Yes, that is true but it is hard and from what I understood, you have to have made a certain number of payments in the first place for this to be approved. That's not common but that's possible indeed.
 
Thanks everybody for the advice.

The student loans are private, but goverment pay part of the interest.

I think I go ahead with filling N-400 application, and see what happen next. The fee ($675) will probably put me in the poor house, but got no other choice at this moment.
 
fisherman said:
Thanks everybody for the advice.

The student loans are private, but goverment pay part of the interest.
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With it being government-subsidized, you probably will be held to the stringent repayment requirements.

I think I go ahead with filling N-400 application, and see what happen next. The fee ($675) will probably put me in the poor house, but got no other choice at this moment.
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Of course you have a choice. You can decide not to apply for citizenship at this time, and just keep using your green card until you can better afford to apply for citizenship ... unless your green card is about to expire soon. Put that $675 towards your student loan or other important day-to-day expenses.
 
fisherman said:
Thanks everybody for the advice.

The student loans are private, but goverment pay part of the interest.

I think I go ahead with filling N-400 application, and see what happen next. The fee ($675) will probably put me in the poor house, but got no other choice at this moment.
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Why don't you have a choice, if you don't mind me asking? Citizenship can wait, really.
 
you can also ask the USCIS to waive the application fee. They do not grant it often, but if you are as financially desperate as you say give it a shot.
 
fisherman said:
Thanks everybody for the advice.

The student loans are private, but goverment pay part of the interest.

I think I go ahead with filling N-400 application, and see what happen next. The fee ($675) will probably put me in the poor house, but got no other choice at this moment.
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How is it possible that the loans are private but the government pays the interest?

Is it a stafford loan, a perkins loan or a private loan?
 
What about taxes? If your financial problems have made you delinquent with your taxes, your N-400 won't be approved anyway until you resolve it, either by paying the back taxes in full or getting the IRS to agree to accept a payment plan and you're making the payments on time.
 
Thanks again for valuable advice. I try to answer all of your questions with following.

The studen loans are from MOHELA and SALEME (sp?) and I know they can't be written off. I am not sure if it is stafford loan, or perkins loan.

My taxes are all paid, so no worry there.

The reason I got to hurry is that my parents are old (and my father sick) in the old country and would like to spend some times with them as they need somebody with them. I am not sure how long I be out of country (might be more than two years) and would like to ensure my return to U.S. at later date.
 
If you are not behind on taxes..

this matter shouldn't even come up. One of my friends was behind on taxes and he had to hire a lawyer and reapply after rejection and once he had a payment plan with IRS, it worked out.
Good Luck
 
fisherman said:
The studen loans are from MOHELA and SALEME (sp?)
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You are probably referring to Sallie Mae. Since you've mentioned that the government pays some of the interest, I assume that the loans are subsidized. My suggestion would be to arrange an alternate repayment method. You may be eligible for forbearance or lower monthly payments, if you can prove that making full payments will cause you financial hardship. Since you're dealing with the government, they WILL garnish your paycheck if you don't make a repayment agreement with them.
 
Fisherman,

Credit history has no bearing with N-400 process. But you need to try to get rid of your credit card debt. You should try to consolidate all your credit card debt. In some cases, you can settle your credit card debt by lowering your balances. There are some agencies that help people consolidate cc debt and settlement.

As for student loans, you can put it hold for a while, if you can prove that you are having financial difficulties. You can talk to them about it.

Since you want to apply for N-400, you should somehow manage the application fee (e.g., borrowing it from friend, family, relative).

Good Luck.
 
Your credit history has absolutely nothing to do with your N-400 application or immigration status, period. It's like going to court for a traffic infraction and worrying about how your bad credit with affect points on your license. Do you see the point? -ss
 
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