Please help about citizenship application

S

sunesh369

Registered Users (C)
I have seen some posts in this form about traffic violations. Here is my question:

I got a speeding ticket in upstate NY when I was driving from NJ to Toronto 4 years back (I lived in NJ then). I was asked to appear in the court in upstate NY. The way I handled it was that I found a lawyer in that county from the internet and mailed my ticket plus fine plus his fees etc... I was told by him that everything has been handled and that the case is closed - fines paid, etc.. I donot have any records of this. MY NJ license doesnot show anything about this offense.

On the N-400 application where should I list this?
What should I list?
Do I need to get any documents from the court? I don't even know which court to get this from, etc.. I have absolutely no more info on this other than what I have listed above. I dont even remember how much fine I paid. What do I need to do..

Please help
 
This issue of whether to report minor traffic tickets on N-400 and during interview has been discussed many times on this forum. Occassional minor traffic violations has nothing to do with moral character and CIS is not interested in them. Here are some examples of behaviors that might show a lack of good moral characters, as described in CIS' booklet of "Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants", Chapter on "Becoming a U.S. Citizen", page 97:
- Drunk driving or being drunk most of the time.
- Illegal gambling.
- Prostitution.
- Lying to gain immigration benefits.
- Failing to pay court-ordered child support.
- Commiting terrorist acts.
- Persecuting someone because of race, religion, national origin, political opinion, or social group.

So CIS is not interested in your occasional minor traffic tickets since they have nothing to do with lack of good moral character unless it is related to "drunk driving". However, if an applicant does report traffic violations with a penalty of less than $500, the interview officer may ask for a payment receipt to make sure he doesn't owe the government any money. If you have paid the fine for a minor traffic ticket but cannot provide a receipt, then it is better not to report it on the N-400 form nor mention it during interview. It may complicate and delay your N-400 application.
 
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Sunesh,
hope u got the answer from njgoose(which i agree),if not just look up for n400 traffic tickets on the search option,i just got 71 threads and 5 locked threads...
u will be able to find all answers related to traffic tickets...
 
Well the problem is there really isn't a definitive answer. If you report it, USCIS may ask for proof which you don't have, and if you don't report it there is a slim possibility you could be in trouble for lying.

My personal view is the less ammo you give USCIS, the less they can use against you.
 
$500??

Can somebody provide me link to the INS document taht says that we are not supposed to have proof of payment if the traffic violation is for amount less than $500?

Thanks
 
well i did not go through the last part of nj goose's reply,
am sorry declare the tickets and take a copy from the court house(not all immigration officers adjudicate the same way,they are humans just like us and unfortunately in uscis if there are 100 officers tehy have 100 ways of following a case...)
it takes 30-45 mins to get a confirmation from the court house,but if ur out of luck,there have been instances where cases have been delayed as io have sent ppl to get proof of taking care of tickets....
about ur irs,just talk to ur accountant or who ever filed ur tax and get a copy from them,that is more than suicient...
i have always had h&r block do my taxes,so i just got a copy from h&r block and took it with me to the iv,she just asked i i had it,i showed her..she said all 3 yrs from h&r block i said yes and thts it....
 
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