Traffic tickets and naturalization (threads merged)

my own experience
i got speeding ticket which i contested by a lawer and got it dismissed in the court.i put that one on n400
second one i got two weeks before mailing my n400.i did not mention that one on n400.when IO came to that point,he just asked me besides traffic violations , had i another issue with police.?i said no..he moved to next..
hope this help.
(by the way i contested second one and got it dismissed last week :))
 
spiderman03 said:
Does the number of speeding citations effect our citizenship application? I had two speeding citations back in 2000 & 2003 and I mentioned them in the applications. Any advice?
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I read somewhere that a pattern of many and frequent speeding tickets could be interpreted adversely in terms of good moral character. But in general, I have read experiences on this forum where five and six speeding tickets over the course of 5+ years has not been an issue for anyone.

Speeding tickets that are also part of convictions for reckless driving, driving under the influence, etc, could go directly against your application for naturalization, but most people do not have this kind of experience.
 
NewRunner said:
I read somewhere that a pattern of many and frequent speeding tickets could be interpreted adversely in terms of good moral character. But in general, I have read experiences on this forum where five and six speeding tickets over the course of 5+ years has not been an issue for anyone.

Speeding tickets that are also part of convictions for reckless driving, driving under the influence, etc, could go directly against your application for naturalization, but most people do not have this kind of experience.
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Numerous court cases have already set precedents that minor traffic violations, even several in a short period of time, do not constitute bad moral character. If you search the web, you'll find various examples of those cases.

About a year ago, a member of this forum, based in NYC, had his application denied on the basis of poor moral character for having 2 or 3 speeding tickets in 8 years. He appealed the decision through an attorney and never came back to the forum to post the results of the appeal. I sent him a PM a few months ago, but haven't heard back from him until last week. As a result of the appeal, he was granted a hearing this past April. As of right now, he's still awaiting a decision. This was the only case of its kind that I've heard of in recent history. I'm confident that the denial will be overturned, but dealing with it is still a hassle. Search the forum for posts by nyc_newbie (there are only a few) to find out more about this case.
 
Traffic Court Date After Upcoming Naturalization Interview in NJ

I have a traffic court date in September (could not be set earlier) to contest a 4 point $140 fine moving violation which happened last weekend. My naturalization interview is scheduled in August in Newark NJ. I mentioned a 2 point moving violation (1999, paid) and a parking ticket (paid) in my application.
Should I plead guilty and pay the fine to rule out problems that may be caused by unsettled traffic ticket in the naturalization interview?
 
eper9 said:
I have a traffic court date in September (could not be set earlier) to contest a 4 point $140 fine moving violation which happened last weekend. My naturalization interview is scheduled in August in Newark NJ. I mentioned a 2 point moving violation (1999, paid) and a parking ticket (paid) in my application.
Should I plead guilty and pay the fine to rule out problems that may be caused by unsettled traffic ticket in the naturalization interview?
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It is up to you. It may or may not cause problems. You are taking chances if you don't plead guilty and the court date is after the interview date. If you plead guilty, you can always lower it by going to traffic school but you avoid potential problems with your oath being postponed due to an unsettled legal matter.
 
I don't have problems to mention tickets except the fact I simply don't remember exact date of one which I got 5 years ago.

Can I write an approximate date or I must be precise?

Is there any place online where I can go and get all my tickets information? May be, I simply can go to DMV and ask them to give me list?

Note that I did traffic school every time so they must be screened from public view somehow - they didn't affect my insurance anyway.

Please advice,

Leonid.
 
leonidb said:
I don't have problems to mention tickets except the fact I simply don't remember exact date of one which I got 5 years ago.

Can I write an approximate date or I must be precise?

Is there any place online where I can go and get all my tickets information? May be, I simply can go to DMV and ask them to give me list?

Note that I did traffic school every time so they must be screened from public view somehow - they didn't affect my insurance anyway.

Please advice,

Leonid.
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Do yourself a favor....Traffic tickets* are totally irrelevant!

*Those less than $500 and non DUI-related.
 
a different type of ticket....

after reading through the myriad of pages of all traffic citations, tickets arrests and violations I have yet to read any that have incurred a DUI.
I was wondering if any of you have any knowledge of anybody been denied citizenship due to that offense.
I placed myself through that situation 12 years ago, I am currently filling out the N-400 application and was struck with more reality about that incident. I have paid my dues to society and the courts, I have all necessary proof that clears me of that. Heck...I'm a non drinker now....is my mistake from 12 years ago still probably going to haunt me ??....other than that I have a spotless driving record, I pay my taxes and am a productive citizen in my community...Any thoughts or related experiences are greatly appreciated....
I am also trying to apply for the local police dept and have been given the clear on that incident but need to be a citizen before my application process for that career move begins.
 
Hi,
Just want to tell about my wife's interview experience.
We didn't mention about any traffic ticket in our N400 application.
Our IO asked about it and my wife honestly told him that she got a ticket a month prior to the interview.
She was asked to settle it and to send in her receipt before she could get the Oath invitation.
She did as asked and a few days after mailing in the receipt, she got the Oath invitation.

Our IO was very nice and didn't ask for much, only about traffic ticket and very basic paperwork (green card, passport photos, SS card and original passport).

hh023
 
hh023 said:
Hi,
Just want to tell about my wife's interview experience.
We didn't mention about any traffic ticket in our N400 application.
Our IO asked about it and my wife honestly told him that she got a ticket a month prior to the interview.
She was asked to settle it and to send in her receipt before she could get the Oath invitation.
She did as asked and a few days after mailing in the receipt, she got the Oath invitation.

Our IO was very nice and didn't ask for much, only about traffic ticket and very basic paperwork (green card, passport photos, SS card and original passport).

hh023
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Did the IO specifically ask your wife if she had any traffic tickets, despite the fact that she didn't mention them on her N-400?
 
formerf1 said:
Thinking the same....and I seriously doubt IO specifically asked for it. But never know
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I remember reading a post where the IO specifically asked the applicant if he/she had any traffic tickets. However, something like that has only appeared on this forum once, from what I can remember.
 
my own experience

OK, here is my record of offenses:

- 1 speeding ticket (paid, lost all records of it, don't even know what city it was in)
- 1 written warning
- several verbal warnings
- 1 arrest (see http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=292133)
- 2 parking tickets
- 1 time I was questioned by a police officer for something I did not do (released without charges)

I reported on my N-400 my speeding ticket, my arrest, and my written warning. I DID NOT report my verbal warnings, my parking tickets, or my questioning for something I did not do. This was based on advise from this thread:
http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=292134

At the interview, I explained all these incidents to the IO and volunteered to give the IO a written copy of elaboration of these incidents (I put all of this in several little tables, one for each category, and brought it to the interview, hoping that we could just append it to the application if need be).

The IO refused to take any of my written stuff and didn't really care about traffic tickets or verbal warnings or parking tickets or me being questioned. I asked the IO repeatedly -- do you want a list of these?? Do you want moer details about these?? The IO kept saying no, they only care about "crimes" -- the IO was interested in my arrest, but said that traffic violations DO NOT count against your moral character. The IO did not seem to consider paid traffic tickets "crimes". Likewise, parking tickets don't matter.

None of my tickets, offenses, etc. were drug or alcohol related. No tickets were over $500 (not even close).

Your mileage with your IO may vary.

IN CONCLUSION: I advise reporting your traffic tickets and any time you even got pulled over, period. If you don't have exact dates, report a time range (that is what I did). They are unlikely to count against your good moral character.

My interview experience:
http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=301821
 
WhoRunTings said:
IN CONCLUSION: I advise reporting your traffic tickets and any time you even got pulled over, period. If you don't have exact dates, report a time range (that is what I did). They are unlikely to count against your good moral character.

My interview experience:
http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=301821
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While opinions on reporting traffic tickets vary greatly, there is absolutely NO NEED to report every time an applicant got pulled over. If you do that, you may as well report every single interaction you've ever had with a police officer for any reason. My wife's aunt is a police officer in NYC, does that mean that I should have reported every time we've had dinner with her on my N-400?

Seriously, there's absolutely no need to overcomplicate things. If you choose to report traffic tickets, that's one thing. However, if a police officer pulled you over to tell you that one of your lights is out and let you go without a ticket, there's no need whatsoever to disclose it.
 
Vorpal said:
While opinions on reporting traffic tickets vary greatly, there is absolutely NO NEED to report every time an applicant got pulled over. If you do that, you may as well report every single interaction you've ever had with a police officer for any reason. My wife's aunt is a police officer in NYC, does that mean that I should have reported every time we've had dinner with her on my N-400?

Seriously, there's absolutely no need to overcomplicate things. If you choose to report traffic tickets, that's one thing. However, if a police officer pulled you over to tell you that one of your lights is out and let you go without a ticket, there's no need whatsoever to disclose it.
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I agree. Most immigration forms, N400 included, need common sense while filing out.
It makes the process smoother for the applicant and relieves unecessary workload for IO, and agency as a whole.
 
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cpzinga said:
BTW, Why do we need to disclose verbal warnings? I don't think they are recorded in thier system!
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You don't need to disclose verbal (or written, for that matter) warnings. In my personal opinion (and the instructions given to me by a USCIS customer service rep), you don't even need to disclose minor traffic violations. However, the latter issue is always up for debate.
 
Stopped by a police officer for driving with headlights turned off ...

I was stopped by a police officer for driving with headlights turned off. The police officer told me verbally that it is a moving violation but he is not giving me a traffic ticket. He did not ask for my driving license, car registration or auto insurance.

Is this considered as citation or detention? What should be my answer to the question: "Were you ever cited, detained or arrested?" on the N-400 application. My interview is in the next couple of days and I am just wondering whether I should mention this incident to the IO or not.

Thanks in advance for your help !!!!
 
coolguy446 said:
I was stopped by a police officer for driving with headlights turned off. The police officer told me verbally that it is a moving violation but he is not giving me a traffic ticket. He did not ask for my driving license, car registration or auto insurance.

Is this considered as citation or detention? What should be my answer to the question: "Were you ever cited, detained or arrested?" on the N-400 application. My interview is in the next couple of days and I am just wondering whether I should mention this incident to the IO or not.

Thanks in advance for your help !!!!
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This is barely a minor traffic offense. It is not worth mentioning to an IO and it definitely doesn't come close to a 'Yes' response on that N-400 question. I don't think it is an issue and I don't think you should bring it up.
 
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