Traffic tickets and naturalization (threads merged)

fizk said:
In my opinion, you might be better of paying the amount and carry the certified copy of court record at the interview. At the interview, if officer find out that you have a pending court hearing, he might delay the case. What if you don't appear at the court, what id you don't pay the fine, all this possible after the interview. It's better you close it before the interview.

I'm in a similar situation, I got a speeding ticket in CT, luckly my court date is before interview date. My lawyer told me, at any cost, resolve it before th interview and pay the fine and get the certified copy.
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Or better yet, see if you get a prayer for judgment if you have a clean record or a reduced charge. I really fail to see how a pending court case for a simple traffic ticket after your interview has anything to do with your moral character, unless you flat out tell the IO you have no intentions of paying it and will speed every chance you get or unless there is something else that triggers the IO to question your moral charater.
 
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Nimche said:
Hello guys,

I got a nice speeding ticket last week, Mr. motorcycle officer was an AH not becasue he stopped me, but just becasue he lied and said I was going 85 but in reallity I was going exact 80 m/h.
Speed limit was 35 m/h... no Im just kidding. It was 65.
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doing 85 in a 65 zone is 20 mph over the limit and per many state laws considered reckless driving. You should be lucky you werent arrested for that ..
 
VivaLasVegas said:
doing 85 in a 65 zone is 20 mph over the limit and per many state laws considered reckless driving. You should be lucky you werent arrested for that ..
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Just to let you know, 100 m/h is reckless driving which will cause to get arrested (probably) at least here.

85 m/h is usuall.


Thank you for your input..

But you didn't say what to do? except you thought I should be arrested.
 
vorpal, when is your infopass? do you have the list of questions you want them to ask. you and i 'talked' about the 1-2 time frame and the new 'timeframe' i was given last week (12-24 months). called again yesterday, got another IO (different gender) and again was told it will take 12-24 months. the eprson even refused to look at my file. just asked when i did my fingerprints (feb 13th) and then i got that timeframe. when i said my name and background checks have been cleared i got the "so what? there are hundred of thousands of people waiting with cleared background checks."
coffee anyone?
:)
also, since i have your attention, living in long island, which DO would be my DO? i don't have a specific date for the move yet but should happen in next few months. i will delay as much as possible but don't really know whether i'll get my IL in the meantime (especially if the 12-24 months is true). would it be manhattan office or garden city?
thanks
 
Usually if you go 20 MPH over the Speedlimit in most states it get's you arrested no matter what the "usual" speed is of other drivers.
 
vlorak said:
vorpal, when is your infopass? do you have the list of questions you want them to ask. you and i 'talked' about the 1-2 time frame and the new 'timeframe' i was given last week (12-24 months). called again yesterday, got another IO (different gender) and again was told it will take 12-24 months. the eprson even refused to look at my file. just asked when i did my fingerprints (feb 13th) and then i got that timeframe. when i said my name and background checks have been cleared i got the "so what? there are hundred of thousands of people waiting with cleared background checks."
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I think they may have given you this bogus timeframe because your case is still somewhat new. Considering the fact that the USCIS is "predicting" a maximum timeframe of 15 months, where exactly does 24 months come from? I would love to get this in writing and forward it to every major news outlet in the U.S. Since the media is already after USCIS like a pack of rabid dogs, the fact that they are purposely misinforming applicants would add a whole lot of fuel to the fire.

As far as my InfoPass goes, I'm going on April 14. I'll be out of town from tomorrow until Sunday, so make sure to let me know if you come up with any additional questions.

vlorak said:
also, since i have your attention, living in long island, which DO would be my DO? i don't have a specific date for the move yet but should happen in next few months. i will delay as much as possible but don't really know whether i'll get my IL in the meantime (especially if the 12-24 months is true). would it be manhattan office or garden city?
thanks
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Since you're on Long Island, you'll most likely be interviewed at the Garden City office. However, it's still possible that your interview may be held at 26 Federal Plaza, depending on the workload. One of my Brooklyn friends interviewed in Garden City, and another friend from Baldwin interviewed at Federal Plaza.
 
thanks vorpal. i am hoping GC will be my place for interview since my driving skills are quite questionable :).
i know i need to sit back and wait. the problem is getting all these new decisions, trying to hire new ppl yet we don't seem to see the results. there are dec. applicants already with ILs and then JUly applicants wondering what the heck is going on. i will wait until april 18th when it will be 2 months since my background check cleared and then schedule something to talk to an IO. over the phone isn't working anymore. i will think of other questions absolutely. have a safe journey
 
Nimche said:
Just to let you know, 100 m/h is reckless driving which will cause to get arrested (probably) at least here.

85 m/h is usuall.


Thank you for your input..

But you didn't say what to do? except you thought I should be arrested.
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This is what I would do: go to your interview, but don't mention the speeding ticket. If the IO asks you if you've ever been to court, as was the case with warlord, say no (provided you haven't been to court for any other reasons). Since your court appearance is 4 days AFTER the interview, you wouldn't be lying. Once again, this is only a personal opinion. If you decide to follow this opinion, and the interview doesn't turn out your way, don't come looking for me with the intention of ripping my head off! :D

Also, I'd think twice about pleading guilty and paying the ticket. For instance, a typical speeding ticket in NYS carries a 3-4 point penalty on your driver license. My father pleaded guilty to a speeding ticket a few years ago (45 in a 35 zone), and his insurance got jacked up by $700 a year for the following 5 years. I'm not sure what the laws in CA are, but I can't imagine that they'd be much different.
 
vlorak said:
thanks vorpal. i am hoping GC will be my place for interview since my driving skills are quite questionable :).
i know i need to sit back and wait. the problem is getting all these new decisions, trying to hire new ppl yet we don't seem to see the results. there are dec. applicants already with ILs and then JUly applicants wondering what the heck is going on. i will wait until april 18th when it will be 2 months since my background check cleared and then schedule something to talk to an IO. over the phone isn't working anymore. i will think of other questions absolutely. have a safe journey
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Don't drive into Manhattan, just hop on the LIRR, take it to Penn Station and catch the N or R to City Hall, C or E to Chambers St., or 4,5,6 to Brooklyn Bridge. 26 Federal Plaza is about 2 blocks from any of those train stations. It'll save you a lot of headache and a ridiculous parking fee.
 
Vorpal said:
This is what I would do: go to your interview, but don't mention the speeding ticket. If the IO asks you if you've ever been to court, as was the case with warlord, say no (provided you haven't been to court for any other reasons). Since your court appearance is 4 days AFTER the interview, you wouldn't be lying. Once again, this is only a personal opinion. If you decide to follow this opinion, and the interview doesn't turn out your way, don't come looking for me with the intention of ripping my head off! :D

Also, I'd think twice about pleading guilty and paying the ticket. For instance, a typical speeding ticket in NYS carries a 3-4 point penalty on your driver license. My father pleaded guilty to a speeding ticket a few years ago (45 in a 35 zone), and his insurance got jacked up by $700 a year for the following 5 years. I'm not sure what the laws in CA are, but I can't imagine that they'd be much different.
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Thank Vorpal and Bobsmyth and the rest. It sure helped to solve the problem.
I will let you know, I hate to be in this situation.
 
Traffic ticket

I got a traffic ticket ~7 years ago. I don't even remember the date/year to be exact, but it was before I got my green card.
Should I mention that? if needed, how do I get the needed info?
 
You don't need to mention that old info even your DMV doesn't have it in your record now.... however, if it was serious one like drunk driving, but then you were not even eligible to drink then....
 
well, I don't think he means he's "overruling" the wording; I think he means that it has happened to a lot, and is generally harmless.
Also: USCIS CS reps advise people exactly like that when they called the CS line: "if they were minor, don't mention it", although it's not 100% correct. Perfection would be to say "yes" to question #16 due to traffic tickets,
BUT : a lot of people have neglected to mention traffic tickets (minor, under $500 fine) on the N-400, and me, too. I also panicked but members here have advised me just to make sure that I take court dispositions to the interview, in case they ask, and mention that you honestly misunderstood the question (#16 on N-400). Most of the time, that worked fine, and most of the time, they were not even interested in seeing the doc's and just corrected it right there and then. some looked at the proof, some didn't care. I'm just gonna get my documentation for peace of mind, and just take it with me, just in case they ask about it.
(this is assuming the tickets were minor, fines paid, and under $500, and didn't involve DUI, etc)

here's my own post about this:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=277543
 
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You can mentioned it on N-400 but do not need to get the court disposition if it is less than $500 fine and not a DUI fine. I have IL with instrcutions mentioning the same.

If the ticket is not paid for they will know during your back ground check.
 
Citizenship999 said:
You can mentioned it on N-400 but do not need to get the court disposition if it is less than $500 fine and not a DUI fine. I have IL with instrcutions mentioning the same.
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This is true, but there have been many instances where the IO demanded proof of payment or court disposition for non-DUI tickets with penalties significantly less than $500. I recently contacted customer service and asked if traffic tickets need to be listed. The rep explicitly stated (read from his computer, in fact) that minor traffic offenses do NOT need to be disclosed. Ultimately, whether or not to disclose a non-DUI offense that's under $500 is up to the applicant.
 
Vorpal said:
This is true, but there have been many instances where the IO demanded proof of payment or court disposition for non-DUI tickets with penalties significantly less than $500. I recently contacted customer service and asked if traffic tickets need to be listed. The rep explicitly stated (read from his computer, in fact) that minor traffic offenses do NOT need to be disclosed. Ultimately, whether or not to disclose a non-DUI offense that's under $500 is up to the applicant.
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I swear I called the 1800 number a few years back and am almost certain I got that same response that minor traffic tickets did not have to be disclosed. Furthermore I certainly remember that for my GC I did not have to disclose minor traffic tickets. Only after being on this board did I get confused with this..I wished USCIS would clarify it better in their N-400 instructions.
 
I thought the same thing...but luckily the IOs seem to be aware of this bs., so i guess ala one has the proof one should be ok...(even without, but better be safe)
 
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