Traffic tickets and naturalization (threads merged)

kbalabha65 said:
I called the Traffic Court in San Jose this morning and explained to them my request for a history of all the tickets I had and the court disposition. I was told to contact the court clerk (ie stand in the 3 hr line) and fill in a form with my driver licence, name etc and will get a copy of the court record. I called another the traffic court in another state (Michigan) where I recall getting a ticket 9 years ago and they too checked my record and are sending me a copy of the court record. It did not take much time to make these two calls (but then I had tickets only in these two states and knew the city where I got the tickets). Since I declared almost all of the traffic tickets I got (about 6 in the last 15 years) I plan to atleast show the IO my driving record and the court records...that too if asked. Not to rat hole further on the "to declare or not to declare" traffic tickets, IMHO its better to declare and get proof (and get piece of mind) rather than lying under the oath.

Again miss the whole point of the question. Not providing what is not asked has nothing to do with lying under oath. You don't provide other irrelevant stuff in the application, such as how much you eat every day, in N400. So why provide a traffic ticket where it is irrelevant? You do provide that in State Farm insurance application, I might add.
 
citizen1980 said:
here is the link to N400 instruction. Go to page 2 and read the question 'what do I send with my application?'

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/n-400ins.pdf

I did mention my parking and traffic tickets that fall under '$500 or less and no arrest' on N400 just to be on the safe side. I also included the receipt of payment along with copy of ticket...however I do not have court disposition....Do I have to get a letter from Court?

Thanks guys


PD 09/01/2006
FP 09/29/2006 (Hackensack)

This is just become funnier and funnier. Yes, in my opinion, you need to find court disposition on a parking ticket, and if you don't have it, you will be deported immediately after interview, according to query11. Also a parking violation is one of the worst kind of moral character. Because you park without paying the meter, so millions of people 's time has been wasted and naturalization officer will not be very happy to see that. As a result, you might not be offered a parking spot when you go to your interview.
 
NJGoose said:
Whether or not one needs to report non-DUI traffic tickets is becoming a believe on this forum. One way or another, you won't get denied. But if you believe that reporting is required by law, then do yourself a favor: make sure that you get payment receipts for all your tickets and bring them to the interview. Otherwise your application may be delayed.

Of course, if you provide unnecessary stuff, officer will need time to review the garbage so your application will for sure be delayed.
 
odessit said:
This topic wasnt about DUI, citations and other ticket crap that you're discussing. It was about missing evidence cases and the time it usually takes to finalize these cases.

very well said, finally someone agree with me that tickets are crap!
 
naturalizer123 said:
Remember also tell them that in addition to moral characters, you are requesting a piece of crap and you will pay for it.
It is a small price to pay for not losing sleep for years.
 
NJGoose said:
It is a small price to pay for not losing sleep for years.

Actually, not a small price for someone. Refer to the OP, who will stuck in the process for years. In my opinion, it is a big price and a lesson to others.
 
I agree that minor traffic tickets should not be listed on the N-400.

Could one of the people who says you have to list your tickets please cite:

1. A single case where an applicant did not list the tickets, and had his case delayed or denied because of this

or

2. A single case where someone was denaturalized for not listing traffic tickets on the N-400
 
naturalizer123 said:
Actually, not a small price for someone. Refer to the OP, who will stuck in the process for years. In my opinion, it is a big price and a lesson to others.
The original poster did not pay a small price for getting ticket payment receipts to bring to the interview. That is why he was stuck.
 
Is this the definitive discussion on N-400 significance of traffic violations?

There have been numerous (endless???) discussions about traffic violations. The most definitive discussion I have seen is this reference:

<b> <i> “Disregard for Traffic Regulations Could Result in the Denial of US Citizenship, ABA Section of International Law, Summer 2005, Volume VIII, Issue 3” </i> </b>

Written by Ileana McAlary who is an immigration lawyer with Miller Johnson.

It is on-line (see page 10) at:

http://www.abanet.org/intlaw/commit...ffic regulations citizenship McAlary Johnson"

Would this data be worth capturing in the FAQ or similar? Having said all of that, don’t forget that documentation is NOT required if no arrest and the only penalty was a fine of less than $500 and/or license points. Reference: Form N-400 Instructions. Page 2.
 
Thanks for sharing the info. This article is really an in-depth analysis on the issue, which shows the differences of a professional and a lay person. :)

Apparently this is a disputable area whether to mention minor traffic citations in M400. I assume that we all have traffic violations - I have 2 speeding tickets. Can we do a survey here:

1) how many people voluntarily mention it in N400 and got no trouble at later on during interview?

2) How many people did not mention in N400, but challanged by IO in the interview, and got denied?

3) How many people did not mention a word in N400 and not questioned at all, and got his/her citizenship with no problem?

, for one, had 2 speeding tickets ($250 & $380) in the last 5 years. I will file my N400 soon but would probably not mention it to avoid unnecessary explanation and request for further document etc. What do you think?

Please share your experience. Thanks!
 
You have two tickets for $250 & $380?

I think you will be flagged by background check. I hope they are not for reckless driving because if it is then I think it is equivalent to DUI.

I had 3 tickets and I mentioned all three.
 
They are all speeding tickets, one is on highway in 1999 ($250), and another is on a country road with speed limit of 35mph. I contested both cases in the count. The first was settled with less amount, but second one was rejected.

After reading further, I guess that I'd better mention them on my N400. But how and where to get supporting documents such as so-called "count-deposition"? Do I have to visit the count to get it? Thanks!
 
"Can we do a survey here"

Already did one. You can see it here: http://immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=223211

Now that we've done the survey, could one of the people who says you have to list your tickets please cite:

1. A single case where an applicant did not list the tickets, and had his case delayed or denied because of this

or

2. A single case where someone was denaturalized for not listing traffic tickets on the N-400
 
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Sampai,

You are expected to list all citations period and it is end of story. If you donot you are taking a big risk.

Even no one gets caughts still it is a big risk.

Have you read Murphy's law and do not be one of its statistic.
 
suriyan said:
Nice poll sampai. This way the statistics will do the talking! No bickering from users.
Totally agree,the poll with 11 respondents approx. .000001% of the people who apply for n400 is very decisive.
 
Traffic tickets

sampai said:
Based on the small sample of poll results thus far, if you're going to mention traffic tickets on the N-400, there's about a 50 percent chance that you'll have to show court dispositions to the IO.

By court disposition, will proof of the payment enough or we need to get anything more from the court.
 
invest2bfree said:
Sampai,

You are expected to list all citations period and it is end of story. If you donot you are taking a big risk.

Even no one gets caughts still it is a big risk.

Have you read Murphy's law and do not be one of its statistic.


invest2bfree,

What did they ask you for your tickets? Will the proof of fines payments be enough or do we need to go to court to get any special document. If so, how to get one?
 
Sorry to be repetitive but remember if you were not arrested and your fine was less than $500 you do NOT, repeat NOT have to provide any documentation whatsoever .... its says this very clearly on the N-400 instructions !!!!!!!!
 
rwsh said:
Sorry to be repetitive but remember if you were not arrested and your fine was less than $500 you do NOT, repeat NOT have to provide any documentation whatsoever .... its says this very clearly on the N-400 instructions !!!!!!!!
o.k. my question is what to keep ready for the interview. Many people have been asked for the documentation as part of the interview as it appears from the poll and my question is what documentation i.e traffic tickets payement receipts or anything would be sufficient.

I repeat this question is for N-400 interview.
 
That article is consistant with what an attorney I engaged to review my wife's and my N-400 applications said.

She basically said "disclose all moving violations in the 'citations' question, otherwise the USCIS may claim that you lied on the application".
 
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