Argh...lost that...
I had composed a long post...got a server is too busy went I posted...argh. Lemme try again.
So, yesterday, just for sh**s and giggles, I called the National Service Center to see what their take on traffic tickets were. After a long hold, finally I got a nice lady on the phone. I asked her what the official position of USCIS was regarding disclosing traffic and parking tickets. After some amount of computer and (presumably) script lookup, she responded with "Clearly, minor traffic tickets and parking tickets do not need to be disclosed". So, then I checked case law on find law to see if I could find any denials for civil infractions. I found 3 interesting cases. I am pasting the information below.
Case 1:
Alcohol Dependence or Alcohol Abuse as Evidence of Lack of Good Moral Character, Immigration and Nationality Law Handbook, 2004-05 Ed., Vol.1, citing to 8 CFR §316.10(a)(2) and Interpretation 316.1(e).
States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, found that an alien who had 16 traffic tickets between September 1956 and June 1958 involving speeding 5-10 mph over limit, improper or prohibited turns, failure to change address on driver’s license, insufficient lights, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, excessive noise, and failure to stop after slightly damaging an automobile was eligible for U.S. citizenship. In the court’s view, the traffic tickets did not warrant denial of the petition for Naturalization. The Odeh Court explained that the applicant’s actions did not constitute the incidents envisioned by Congress as detracting from a person’s qualification for citizenship.
Case 2:
Last year, in Cajiao v. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Dept. of Homeland Security, Civil Action No. H-03-2582 (2004), the District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, also held that an applicant who had been convicted of a DWI did not lack “good moral character.” The applicant in Cajiao admitted that he was guilty of driving while intoxicated. However, the applicant contended that he became intoxicated involuntarily as the result of inhaling paint fumes at his place of employment in December 1998. USCIS insisted that the applicant failed to accept responsibility for his crime of DWI because he continued to argue that he was not voluntarily intoxicated and because he failed to complete the terms of his probation. On those grounds, it denied him citizenship. The court reversed the USCIS decision.
Case 3:
Recently the author was able to successfully reverse a denial of a Naturalization Application. The applicant for U.S. citizenship had received nine civil infractions most of which resulted from speeding 10-20 mph. However, at least two of the nine civil infractions were due to vehicular collisions and driving without a license. The applicant did not disclose these civil infractions on Form N-400 Application for Naturalization after being advised by a USCIS National Customer Service representative that traffic tickets were not the type of violations that needed to be disclosed on the Naturalization Application. During the Naturalization interview, however, the applicant voluntarily disclosed that he had received nine traffic tickets during the previous five years. The Naturalization Application was denied on grounds that the applicant’s history of civil infractions demonstrated a disregard for the traffic laws of the United States and, thus, the applicant was charged with lacking “good moral character.” The author appealed the denial of U.S. citizenship and was granted the relief requested: reversal of the previous decision and the approval of the Application for Naturalization. Based on this experience, it is the author’s recommendation that applicants for U.S. citizenship disclose civil infractions on FormN-400 even if not required to do so. In a separate page, an applicant should describe the nature of the civil infraction(s), the disposition of the matter, such as whether fines were assessed and paid and, if probation was imposed, whether the applicant complied with the terms of his or her probation. Failure to disclose civil infractions on a Naturalization Application could result in a finding that the applicant lied to obtain an immigration benefit. The process to obtain a reversal on a decision to deny U.S. citizenship can be very time consuming and costly.The proper procedure to be followed by an applicant denied U.S. citizenship on this or any other ground is to file a motion for a new hearing on Form N-336 with the district office where the Naturalization interview took place. The motion should request a new hearing with a different interviewing officer and must lay out all the facts surrounding the previous interview and explain in detail the reason(s) why the decision on Naturalization must be reversed. Most requests are resolved at the district level. An applicant for U.S. citizenship whose Naturalization Application has been denied should retain legal counsel for the appeal process. Failing to follow the proper procedures established by USCIS for appealing a denial of U.S. citizenship could have devastating consequences for Permanent Residents.
Author of this article (not Gaude...lol) - Ileana McAlary is an associate of Miller Johnson, with offices in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Ileana is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School and she studied at the University of Havana Law School in Havana City, Cuba for two years. Ileana is fluent in Spanish and focuses her practice on the areas of immigration law and business law. Welcome!We are pleased to bring you the ABA International Law and Practice Section: Immigration and Naturalization Committee Newsletter. Please send all future submissions and/or suggestions to either Susan Cohen
atscohen@mintz.comDisclaimer: The materials contained herein represent the opinions of the authors and editors and should notbe construed to be those of either the American Bar Association or Immigration Section. Nothing contained herein is to be considered as the rendering of legal advice for specific cases, and readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel. These materials and any forms and agreements herein are intended for educational and informational purposes only.
So, it appears to me (Gaude), that the NSC information is dated. Please do include all traffic tickets...They should not affect your application. Even in dire cases, where people were driving like nutters, they seem to have reversed the denial. Seems that if you are a reasonable driver and not a menace to society (specifically during the statutory period), you should have no issues. Pay no heed to the NSC script readers...
Hope that helps
-- Gaude
