Traffic tickets and naturalization (threads merged)

Vorpal said:
In NYC, where auto insurance premiums sometimes exceed the monthly payments for the vehicle itself (I'm not kidding, either), it's very common for residents to obtain an out-of-state license through a relative or a friend (Florida, New Jersey and Connecticut seem to be the most popular) and register their vehicle at the address listed on the license. In fact, a friend of mine did this for several years while he was in college. He's been pulled over several times in NYC and told the cops that he's visiting friends, if they asked him what he's doing here.
Click to expand...

They have to make sure by dong this they have not much chance of
getting an insurance fraud charge. Any fraud involding money is a CIMT.
 
WBH said:
They have to make sure by dong this they have not much chance of
getting an insurance fraud charge. Any fraud involding money is a CIMT.
Click to expand...

That very well may be, but most people who pull this trick don't have full coverage and won't try to pull any insurance scams. Due to exorbitant auto insurance costs in NYC, those who get their vehicles insured/registered elsewhere do so just to be able to afford to drive.
 
Hello Members

Today i had my interview at around 8:30 A.M.. As soon aswi entered in IO OFFICE, she asked me to show her my green card and passport only. She went through my whole n-400 application and asked for updated information, i told her i got one more traffic ticket after filing n-400 application. I took my original ticket with me and paper from traffic court which indicates i am contesting traffic ticket. she took the court paper and filed it along with other paper. In mean time she murmered, traffic ticket does not count. she went ,probably her supervisor office, she came after few minutes. She asked me six question about us civics and read , write test. i completed everything successfully. she corrected, question no.17 in my application in citation,arrested section. she made it to no and continued. after 22 to 25 minutes , she handed me n-652 and congratulate me and wait for oath letter in mail. So what i learned today that even if you have minor violation traffic ticket and you have not paid for or if you are contesting, please be honest tell the truth. who knows every IO is diffrent than other...........continue about my interview experience in a few minutes in interview experience section.
 
Traffic/Speeding tickets under $500

Do we need to declare Traffic tickets under "Good Moral Conduct" section

16. Have you ever been arrested, cited or detained by any law enforcement officer?

I have couple of parking tickets and couple of speeding tickets in past 10 years. Most recent being last year for one for parking and one for speeding. All tickets were under $170.

Unfortunately I said no to the question. I should have visited this forum before sent out the application....:(
 
reddyr3369 said:
Unfortunately I said no to the question. I should have visited this forum before sent out the application....:(
Click to expand...

I believe it should be "fortunately"

Only people visiting thos forum or other similar forums bother to have tghis question. Most of people just take for granted that traffic tickets are
non-issues and happily filed their application and happily get citizenship
 
Minor traffic tickets are not used in the determination of moral character. Although there's nothing in the instructions that states you don't need to disclose minor traffic tickets, the majority of the evidence suggests that USCIS is not concerned with them and as such many don't report them outright.
If you're still concerned, you can always update the IO during your interview of your past minor traffic tickets.
 
I didn't report any tickets (because I actually have none), but was asked during the interview. So, I wouldn't report them either on the application (if it is common every day stuff), but would have the paperwork on hand during the interview.

Remember - they don't actually want to cut your head off. They do that many times a day and they really don't want to spend ages on your file. I was out after 15, max 20 min.
 
Broke,help!

I have the same problem,My Oath ceremony was on Jan.12,2009. I was cited for not stopping on "Stop" sign which in truth is I stopped but the officers view is obstructed by a petshop building. In fear I will be turned away I missed the oath ceremony,but was given another schedule on Feb.9,2009,but the court day for the citation hearing is on March 13,2009. can I answer yes and attend the ceremony even though my citation is not done yet. I'm broke and don't have the money to pay fine.Help me on this?(to go or settle for a later schedule)
 
Stop sign citation!

My Oath Ceremony is on Jan.12,2009. I got a Stop sign citation on Jan.11th 09. For fear of being turned away for that ticket I missed the ceremony cause I have to find a way to pay to settle the fines, but not enough time. I'm broke and can't pay the fine and to add a damage an additional on my car insurance payments. I did stop, the officer who ticketed me has barely two feet of view due to the building obstruction. I was given another Oath ceremony schedule on the 9th of Feb.,2009,but my court hearing was scheduled on March 13,2009.Should I go ahead to the scheduled Oath ceremony with my unsettled ticket or not?
 
You should go to oath ceremony and explain it to the IO there.
Since this is not a major violation (like DUI) it won't have any effect on your citizenship but don't hide it.
Note: This is not a legal advice .
 
Evidence suggests it's highly unlikely they would pull you away from an oath ceremony for not having settled minor traffic citation before oath.
 
N400Atl said:
Yes, you will have to show the proof. Take the receipt from the court. It will be marked paid or something that nature.
Click to expand...

There's no requirement that you will have to show proof of payment for a minor traffic ticket , neither is there any definitive certainty that they will even ask to see proof of payment. A verbal "yes" or "no" on the applicant's part to the question of "has it been paid" (if they even ask ) is normally sufficient if you decide to declare the minor traffic ticket (which evidence shows USCIS is not interested in seeing most of the time). Some IOs may make it a hassle, but most of the time you should be ok.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Bobsmyth said:
There's no requirement that you will have to show proof of payment for a minor traffic ticket , neither is there any definitive certainty that they will even ask to see proof of payment. A verbal "yes" or "no" on the applicant's part to the question of "has it been paid" (if they even ask ) is normally sufficient if you decide to declare the minor traffic ticket (which evidence shows USCIS is not interested in seeing most of the time). Some IOs may make it a hassle, but most of the time you should be ok.
Click to expand...

What if the "citation" was not a fine but just a warning, as it happened in my case? I got one for having one of my headlights not operating properly - I just got a warning and couple of days later I replaced the headlamp. I can take the warning note with a proof of the repair. Will that suffice?

AP
 
tabaliya said:
What if the "citation" was not a fine but just a warning, as it happened in my case? I got one for having one of my headlights not operating properly - I just got a warning and couple of days later I replaced the headlamp. I can take the warning note with a proof of the repair. Will that suffice?

AP
Click to expand...

Just to clarify, I'm in between the ID and Oath too. Got this warning about a month after interview. Should I answer "Yes" in the oath letter when I get it (for the question about citations etc.)

AP
 
A warning is not a citation. A citation implies you must go to court and enter a plea. Warnings do not count as citations, so don't worry about it.
 
Bobsmyth said:
A warning is not a citation. A citation implies you must go to court and enter a plea. Warnings do not count as citations, so don't worry about it.
Click to expand...

So not even report it on the form saying "Yes" to the question?

Thanks for the prompt answer.

AP
 
I had a ticket that was under $500 if paid directly but the traffic school fees pushed it just over $500. Just wondering what the situation is here. It might be helpful to someone else since tickets seem to be pushing $400+ these days. What happens if the court imposed traffic school fees makes it go up? I am past the interview, but I need to fill out the N-445 for the oath. For that, I will bring the ticket and receipt and assume that it will be sufficient. BTW, I really wanted to have a trial by written declaration - but because of my oath I don't want to take the chance that its "not finalized". BUT, I would have my receipt for the bail which is the same amount as the ticket. That seems like it should be enough to me to show that its "being taken care of". In fact maybe I could bring the receipt and say "I paid it". All true. I do a trial by written declaration for every ticket. Make 'em work for their conviction. Cops don't like paperwork so it often works, (I think its at least 33% no response on the cop side so its dismissed) I am 6 out of 7 for this. I like to think it was my skill in coming up with a good defense (by reading online mostly), but it was probably because the cop didn't do his work. Its usually worth a shot, its not that hard to fill out the papers. In fact the more people that do it, the more they will get bogged down in paperwork, and the more likely it is to work. In my newest particular ticket, because of the particular citation, its a long shot anyway... speeding tickets are the easiest to contest but this one is happens to be a red light camera with pictures and everything. Hard to come up with any defense that makes sense for this one. So I guess I will just pay it and attempt to do driving school. Might have to go in front of a judge to ask for driving school as #7 (the one that blew my perfect record) is just under 18 months back. The extra money, time, work and hassle is worth it in the long run if the citation can be kept off the records. Lower insurance rates in the future will more than make up for the extra cost and hassle in the present. Suggest it to anyone - do the trial by written declaration as a first choice - make sure you ask for trafiic school in the event that you lose - technically by pleading not guilty, you are waiving your right to traffic school, but I can't imagine a judge not granting it if you ask for it nicely. Second choice is to pay it and do driving school. BUT never, ever, ever just pay a ticket outright.

P.S. Forget about going to court unles you have a darn good case. Cops get paid overtime for court so THEY WILL show up. Sometimes people get lucky with this and the date may fall in vacation or a bad day, but this generally doesn't work. The above is for CA - check your particular state rules.
 
I decided to get my speeding ticket records just in case but having a really hard time locating my records.I guess I will go get my records at DMV and might be able to find the locations where I got my tickets.I know one of them was in FL,AL and GA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top