speed ticket with licence suspension

Z

zopak

Registered Users (C)
Hi.

Much more than 5 years ago I had a speeding ticket where I got summoned to court and got a few hundred dollars fine, 2 points to lic. and 1 month driver licence suspension, as it was slightly over 100 mph at a 70 mph zone. On my form n400 i am going to report it... However i dont know what to check yes from questions 15-20 in part 10. can you help? (and i do not have any other type of offense or citation etc... whatsoever, except a few minor traffic tickets before that such as red light)
 
Where did you receive this 100mph+ ticket? Different states handle such violations differently - in some (most) states, it would be a misdemeanor while in California it is explicitly defined as an infraction without any jail time. You need to find out about this.
 
it was in CA and yes the officer had marked it as an infraction on the ticket, and not the misdemeanor box. I still have all the copies of the ticket and other papers. so if it was an infraction it is fine but if it was a misdemeanor it is not? and what is the answer to my question?
 
zopak said:
it was in CA and yes the officer had marked it as an infraction on the ticket, and not the misdemeanor box. I still have all the copies of the ticket and other papers. so if it was an infraction it is fine but if it was a misdemeanor it is not? and what is the answer to my question?
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A misdemeanor is a criminal offense and must be reported. Since your offense was an infraction, there is no need to disclose it.
 
Under the CA penal code, infractions are listed under crimes and offenses so you would answer questions 15-20 accordingly since your infraction is considered an offense.
 
Vorpal said:
A misdemeanor is a criminal offense and must be reported. Since your offense was an infraction, there is no need to disclose it.
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False. The license suspension means it does not meet the criteria of under $500 and points on the license, so it must be disclosed and documentation must be provided.
 
It depends on how much the fine was too. Last I heard when a friend of mine got a ticket for going 105 in a 70 limit was that she had to pay $1200.00 in fine and a suspended license. Only the OP could answer this.
 
the fine was less than 500. However.. whether to report it or not is not my question. I will report it to be safe. My original question was, for questions 15-20, based on just this offense, (as I have no other offense of any other type) which ones should be yes?
 
zopak said:
the fine was less than 500. However.. whether to report it or not is not my question. I will report it to be safe. My original question was, for questions 15-20, based on just this offense, (as I have no other offense of any other type) which ones should be yes?
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The only questions you would answer YES to is 17 and 18 since they involve being charged and convicted of an offense.
 
Jackolantern said:
False. The license suspension means it does not meet the criteria of under $500 and points on the license, so it must be disclosed and documentation must be provided.
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I beg to differ. The OP states that the fine was a "few hundred dollars" and 2 points on his driver license. If the "few hundred dollars" was more than $500, then it should be disclosed. If not, then no.

In certain municipalities, it's possible to have your driver license suspended for non-payment of parking tickets. Does that mean that those should be disclosed as well? I highly doubt it.
 
Vorpal said:
I beg to differ. The OP states that the fine was a "few hundred dollars" and 2 points on his driver license. If the "few hundred dollars" was more than $500, then it should be disclosed. If not, then no.
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The instructions say "Note that unless a traffic incident was alcohol or drug related, you do not need to submit documentation for traffic fines and incidents that did not involve an actual arrest if the only penalty was a fine of less than $500 or points on your driver's license."

The license suspension means that it is a traffic citation or conviction that does not meet the criteria of the only penalty being a fine of less than $500 or points on your driver's license, so it should be disclosed with documentation.

In certain municipalities, it's possible to have your driver license suspended for non-payment of parking tickets. Does that mean that those should be disclosed as well? I highly doubt it.
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Parking tickets are more complicated as they don't necessarily mean the owner is guilty of anything because the car could have been parked by somebody else, or the ticket(s) could have been removed from the car before the owner saw it, resulting in unknowing non-payment. I still lean towards disclosing it, but it's not such a straightforward determination as a speeding ticket.
 
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License suspension or not, the OP's offense still falls under a minor traffic ticket, which, according to USCIS themselves, do not need to be disclosed. Before we begin beating the dead horse again, here's an extremely poignant post from the "Traffic Tickets" sticky:

http://forums.immigration.com/showt...zation-(threads-merged)&p=2191763#post2191763

Interestingly, the user responsible for the post never made any other posts on the forum. He is, however, 100% dead on.
 
Jackolantern said:
So you don't understand the phrase "only penalty".
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I understand it perfectly. Speaking of understanding, read the top of page 60:

http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/About Us... Guide/Permanent_Residents_Naturalization.pdf

"Except for minor traffic offenses that did not result in your arrest (and drunk driving is not considered a minor traffic offense), you should always reveal any arrest, whether or not charged..."

A license suspension is NOT an arrest. You do understand that, right?
 
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Vorpal said:
A license suspension is NOT an arrest. You do understand that, right?
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Correct, it's not an arrest. But it's a penalty that goes beyond a $500 fine and points on the license. Just like a $501 fine would be a penalty that goes beyond those bounds.

Anyway, no use in arguing this any further. I say you're wrong, you think I'm wrong, and nothing will change on either side.
 
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