Will this court summons affect my ability to obtain citizenship?

B

Brit12345

New Member
I'm currently a college student, and we are given a school-issued pass for the metro subway, which is the main transportation for a lot of students. Last fall, I was riding on the metro when I got asked by an officer to show either a metro pass or ticket, but I had accidentally left it back in my dorm. The officer wrote me a summons ticket for the city circuit court. I went to the court and showed them my pass and was free to go. Now, I'm applying for citizenship and must answer "Yes" for the question regarding court citation/summons.

However, I called the court and they said my name doesn't show up anywhere, so I'm assuming my records got expunged? Or were they never entered into the system? Am I supposed to be told that my records have been expunged?

Either way, I'm now scared that I will be denied citizenship for this incident. My records are otherwise clean and I have been a permanent resident for over 7 years now. Please help me as to how to proceed. Thank you!
 
Be truthful in your N400, never assume that they won't dig it up even if you think it was 'expunged'. Just be prepared to speak do it, not like its a felony, seems rather minor.
 
Relax.

You won't be "denied citizenship for this incident."

It's not a crime listed that that bars you from citizenship. It's not even a crime of moral turpitude. In fact, by definition, it's not a crime but an infraction/citation.

You will get your citizenship, if you actually read the sticky thread on "Traffic tickets and naturalization", you will see that a lot of times people don't even bother to state they had traffic tickets on their n400 application, due to the non importance of them. Even if you choose to state this incident on your n400 form, you may get no more than a passing question but will probably be ignored.

To give you some perspective, I was arrested for a DUI, in comparison to your infraction, it's a very serious offense. I received my citizenship and the DUI arrest wasn't a problem.
 
Hi,
I have had a green card for the past 5+ years and am planning on filing the n-400 in a couple weeks. Can a dui (no accident/injuries, paid a fine, license suspended for 30 days & subsequently reinstated in a cpl months) from a long time ago (almost fifteen years ago) impact the n-400 naturalization process ? I will provide details about the dui in my n400 application form & answer any questions if asked.
Other than that incident, i have a clean history/record (in all areas). Am not too worried about this, but wondered if something like this could potentially be an issue ?
Thanks in advance.
 
someone somewhere said:
I have had a green card for the past 5+ years and am planning on filing the n-400 in a couple weeks. Can a dui (no accident/injuries, paid a fine, license suspended for 30 days & subsequently reinstated in a cpl months) from a long time ago (almost fifteen years ago) impact the n-400 naturalization process ? I will provide details about the dui in my n400 application form & answer any questions if asked.
Other than that incident, i have a clean history/record (in all areas). Am not too worried about this, but wondered if something like this could potentially be an issue ?
Click to expand...

As long as you can document the disposition of the old DUI you should be fine. It is primarily the criminal side of the case that will interest USCIS--not the license suspension which is a separate civil process with the DMV. For such an old DUI any final disposition whatsoever--guilty, not guilty, no contest, expunged, dismissed, whatever--that can be documented should be fine. The only thing that WOULDN'T be okay is if the DUI was never addressed in a proper manner and there is still an old warrant outstanding.
 
I got caught jumping a turnstile in the NYC subway and had to pay a $100 fine. No issue at the Citizenship interview.

MAKE SURE to mention it in your application though.
 
Thanks for your response !

I contacted the Department of Revenue (who handles driver license records etc) and was told that they can provide me with a copy of my driving history + a license reinstatement letter from 2002 (when the incident occurred). Other than that they have no other records from that time period. Hopefully these documents suffice.
 
You need to talk to the courts not the DMV. The two bureaucracies are not always in synch. It is sometimes possible to have your license reinstated but still have a warrant out for your arrest. It is the latter not the former that will be of greater concern to USCIS.
 
Thanks !
I will call them up (Court) and ask if they can send me something (assuming they still have a record from back then) ... a letter that essentially says: 'all clear'. What a pain :)
 
I've always had the impression that courts keep criminal records for a LONG time--certainly more than 15 years--more like 30-50 years. However, perhaps that is only for felonies--misdemeanors (which a DUI would be) might be for a shorter time period. If the court no longer has a record of the case you might try getting a full criminal history from the state. If the record has been deleted, the history might show you have no criminal record but that would be good documentation to bring. Good luck! You will need something addressing the criminal side of this not just the printout from the Dept of Revenue re the license suspension from back then.
 
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