Traffic tickets and naturalization (threads merged)

rvkurian said:
Disclosure requirements specifically exclude traffic offenses and citations that did not lead to an actual arrest and that had fines of less than $500.
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You've misinterpreted the section of the instructions that you quoted. You are required to list ALL citations, arrests etc., but what the section you quoted is saying is that you don't need to submit supporting documentation for traffic offenses with a fine of less than $500. Therefore, you still have to disclose such traffic offenses.
 
Oh Lord, here we go again with the traffic tickets:confused:. I too get confused when people start that debate. I have already decided not to disclose anything about my traffic tickets on my interview, but bring proof of payment just in case. But I'll certainly not volunteer the info to the IO.:eek:
 
LMP said:
I have already decided not to disclose anything about my traffic tickets on my interview, but bring proof of payment just in case. But I'll certainly not volunteer the info to the IO.:eek:
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Why take the chance? Part 10 question 16 of the N-400 form is very clear. It states: "Have you ever been arrested, cited or detained by any law enforcement officer (including USCIS or former INS and military officers) for any reason?".

The only mention of traffic violations is in the section of the N-400 instructions that details what documents must be sent with the application. It states: "All applicants must send certain documents with their application. For example, if you have been arrested or convicted of a crime, you must send a certified copy of the arrest report, court disposition, sentencing, and any other relevant documents, including any countervailing evidence concerning the circumstances of your arrest and/or conviction that you would like USCIS to consider. 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 and/or points on your driver's license.".

I can't see any ambiguity in the question and the instructions. No place does it say anything about not including citations (the result of being 'cited') for any type of traffic violation. Indeed, the word 'ever' implies the opposite - everything must be declared. The only relief is relating to supporting documentation - the instructions go on to say that for minor traffic violations you do not need to supply further documentation, for example court records.

Therefore, by not disclosing traffic-related citations you are concealing information that the form requires you to reveal. The instructions also state: "If you knowingly and willfully falsify or conceal a material fact or submit a false document with this Form N-400, we will deny the Form N-400 and may deny any other immigration benefit."
 
LMP said:
Oh Lord, here we go again with the traffic tickets:confused:. I too get confused when people start that debate. I have already decided not to disclose anything about my traffic tickets on my interview, but bring proof of payment just in case. But I'll certainly not volunteer the info to the IO.:eek:
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Good choice. It's exactly what I did. The IO only asked me if I've ever been arrested (he mentioned nothing about citations). Needless to say, I didn't volunteer any traffic ticket information, although I had as much proof of payment as I could find.
 
Jackolantern said:
It was a traffic violation.
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It doesn't fall into the same class of traffic violations (I'm not even sure that it's classified as a traffic violation) tracked by the DMV. Summonses for E-Z Pass violations are issued by the E-Z Pass authority, which is not affiliated with motor vehicle authorities. Secondly, they are issued to the vehicle after a camera snaps a photo of its license plate, in the same manner as getting clocked by a speed trap or a red light camera. Even if the titled and registered owner of the vehicle was behind the wheel at the time of the violation, there is absolutely no possible way to prove that.
 
Vorpal said:
Good choice. It's exactly what I did. The IO only asked me if I've ever been arrested (he mentioned nothing about citations). Needless to say, I didn't volunteer any traffic ticket information, although I had as much proof of payment as I could find.
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1) So how did you handle the oath paperwork? I heard, it says on it to disclose every violation including traffic violation (not sure if this is true).

2) If the oath paperwork requires to disclose traffic violation, does it ONLY refer to violations after the interview for naturalization?
 
The oath form n-445 requires you to disclose citations between interview and oath. Again, minor citations are generally ignored by USCIS.
 
new_member12 said:
1) So how did you handle the oath paperwork? I heard, it says on it to disclose every violation including traffic violation (not sure if this is true).

2) If the oath paperwork requires to disclose traffic violation, does it ONLY refer to violations after the interview for naturalization?
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As Bobsmyth pointed out, the oath letter only asks the applicant to disclose traffic tickets that were received between the interview and the oath. However, the IO presiding over my oath ceremony stated several times that she is only concerned with arrests and does NOT want anyone to disclose traffic tickets. Even if traffic tickets were required to be disclosed, I haven't had one in over 3 years, so my answer would still be "NO".
 
OT:Questions on Traffic ticket

I have a silly question
I live in NY. Last week I parked my car in Croton Harmon train station . My inspection on car expired in Oct 2008. I completely forgot about that.I just realized that since I had parked my car in train station parking area, would I gotten a ticket for having expired inspection sticker in my car. I returned back from NYC at night and am afraid if there was a ticket on my windshied and I may not have paid attention.
What is my question? My question is that is there any way for me to know if I have got any tickets on that day? I mean do I need to call Croton Harmon court or MTA police ???? I am confused. I don;t want them to issue a warrant against me for ignoring the ticket.
I know this sounds pretty paranoid but I want to make sure I don't have any tickets
 
So basically you're worried about a potential warrant out for your arrest for a traffic that you never saw on your windshield? Unless you knowingly disregarded a citation, I don't think this it something you need to loose sleep over. Even if there was a warrant for such a unpaid citation I doubt it would show up during the USCIS background check.
 
Guys....STOP UNNECESSARILY SCARING THE OP!!! :)

jimgreener, if it so happened that you were issued a PARKING (your vehicle was parked in a municipal parking lot, so this would not be a moving violation, nor would the DMV have a record of it) ticket that may have been lost, you will receive an outstanding fine notice from the township where the fine was issued after the statutory response period, which is usually 30 days, expires. Don't bother ordering the DMV transcript, as parking violations DO NOT appear on it. In fact, the DMV and the Traffic Violations Bureau have nothing to do with parking violations, which are usually under the jurisdiction of the local Department of Finance. No warrant for your arrest will be issued. Again, the most that will happen is that you'll receive a letter asking you to pay the fine. If this happens, just pay the fine and forget it. Since parking tickets are usually issued to the vehicle, not the driver, don't bother disclosing it on your N-400 or at the interview. Most importantly, RELAX!!! You're worrying over nothing.
 
nkm-oct23 said:
There was a news about the NY guy with over $85000 in unpaid parking tickets..
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Was he a Russian diplomat, by any chance? ;)

There was a news story about Russian diplomats breaking every single parking rule in NYC, up to and including parking their cars in the middle of sidewalks. As a result, the Russian embassy amassed several hundred thousand dollars worth of parking tickets and refused to pay, citing diplomatic immunity. As a result, several Russian diplomats were detained by the NYPD. While this was happening, it was uncovered that American diplomats were doing the same exact thing in Moscow. Needless to say, both countries started flexing diplomatic muscles and the situation never got past that.:rolleyes:
 
sai-2367 said:
Agreed, but if the license is suspended it will appear on the record. Hence I suggested applying after 4 weeks or so. Having said this, chances of his being reported are close to nill since he did not have any ticket on his windshield.
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NYS does not suspend driver licenses for non-payment of parking tickets. Only the DMV has the authority to suspend a driver license and, as I've mentioned previously, parking tickets don't fall under the jurisdiction of the NYS DMV. The most that the DMV can do is suspend your vehicle registration and/or prevent an individual from renewing their vehicle registration if the Department of Finance provides the DMV with information regarding defaulted (severely delinquent) parking fines. Trust me on this one, I speak from personal experience.
 
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