Big problem

[limejello 0]

First... I appreciate the great advice that all of you offer here, so I'm reaching out to you again. We CANNOT afford an immigration attorney in any respect. I have nobody who will loan me money to get one, and I'm making barely above minimum wage, so I can't swing one on my own. So this question is more of a "if you couldn't afford an attorney, and were in my situation, what would you do?".

My husband applied for citizenship back in July, and had his interview in October. Of course, the N-400 has questions about registering to vote. This didn't even faze me when I was filling it out. Then, when I voted, I saw my husband's name on the voter rolls as "inactive, ask for ID". I went online and did a search, and lo and behold, his name is on the voter roll. I'm fairly sure what happened is that when he was getting his state ID when he first came to the US (and his English wasn't very good), he must've pushed the button to register to vote at the DMV. It's now been over a month since his interview, and we haven't heard anything from immigration. I've been working pretty much non-stop, so we haven't had a chance to fix anything, either at the board of elections or with immigration.

At this juncture, I'm thinking that the wisest choice would be for us to withdraw his application for naturalization, then get his name off the rolls and reapply later explaining what happened. What do you all think I should do?

[MayLiana72 2]

I don't think it is considered as registration to vote. It was a mistake and he didn't use it, right? Do you have in your state a special card to show your registration?

I don't think you need a lawyer. You can always explain what happened. Did he has any additional question about it in his interview?

[nwctzn 55]

First... I appreciate the great advice that all of you offer here, so I'm reaching out to you again. We CANNOT afford an immigration attorney in any respect. I have nobody who will loan me money to get one, and I'm making barely above minimum wage, so I can't swing one on my own. So this question is more of a "if you couldn't afford an attorney, and were in my situation, what would you do?".

My husband applied for citizenship back in July, and had his interview in October. Of course, the N-400 has questions about registering to vote. This didn't even faze me when I was filling it out. Then, when I voted, I saw my husband's name on the voter rolls as "inactive, ask for ID". I went online and did a search, and lo and behold, his name is on the voter roll. I'm fairly sure what happened is that when he was getting his state ID when he first came to the US (and his English wasn't very good), he must've pushed the button to register to vote at the DMV. It's now been over a month since his interview, and we haven't heard anything from immigration. I've been working pretty much non-stop, so we haven't had a chance to fix anything, either at the board of elections or with immigration.

At this juncture, I'm thinking that the wisest choice would be for us to withdraw his application for naturalization, then get his name off the rolls and reapply later explaining what happened. What do you all think I should do?

Given your tight budget and given that he registered accidentally I would get a letter from the board of elections telling that he never voted. Since he registered accidentally but never voted he should be fine and get approved. Things would be harder to explain if he indeed had voted before. Once you get the letter from the Board of Elections, I would schedule an infopass appointment with the USCIS and give it a shot.

[mamaSue 38]

Limejello.....I seriously wouldn't panic, or worry about paying an attorney huge amounts of money.

Unless he actually posed as a USC, I don't see it as a problem. Ticking the wrong box or pushing the wrong button is an understandable error.

As nwctz suggests, I'd just get some proof that he didn't intend to vote, and go for an infopass. I wouldn't withdraw the application... that would probably ring more bells.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

First check you local election laws, there are a few places that allow non citizens to vote in local elections. It may help but propably not. Write a letter to the local election board asking them to remove your husbands name from the roles if you aren't covered above, as not being qualified. You may want to see if you can find out how he registered to help build your story about what happened. This could be a huge horrible thing as they are currently checking records and may ( read that probably ) catch it at their review. Immigration tends to be very strict about claims to citizenship. Be as prepared as possible for the issue to come up and you will need to defend it well as it can not only cause him to be denied it could cause them to strip him of current immigration status. Yes this is the gloom and doom version of what will happen. It is always best to prepare for the worst as everything else is an easy path. Do your best to find out how his name got on the roles.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

First... I appreciate the great advice that all of you offer here, so I'm reaching out to you again. We CANNOT afford an immigration attorney in any respect. I have nobody who will loan me money to get one, and I'm making barely above minimum wage, so I can't swing one on my own. So this question is more of a "if you couldn't afford an attorney, and were in my situation, what would you do?".

My husband applied for citizenship back in July, and had his interview in October. Of course, the N-400 has questions about registering to vote. This didn't even faze me when I was filling it out. Then, when I voted, I saw my husband's name on the voter rolls as "inactive, ask for ID". I went online and did a search, and lo and behold, his name is on the voter roll. I'm fairly sure what happened is that when he was getting his state ID when he first came to the US (and his English wasn't very good), he must've pushed the button to register to vote at the DMV. It's now been over a month since his interview, and we haven't heard anything from immigration. I've been working pretty much non-stop, so we haven't had a chance to fix anything, either at the board of elections or with immigration.

At this juncture, I'm thinking that the wisest choice would be for us to withdraw his application for naturalization, then get his name off the rolls and reapply later explaining what happened. What do you all think I should do?

There are hundreds of good immigration attorneys who will give you a one time free phone consultation. Call several and

see if they all give the same answer.

[sasaqlain 24]

Your panic is irrational. No need to worry. First off, mistakes are made all the time. In NY, I am allowed to vote in local elections, so my name might even appear on listings. Secondly, I am a college Student and since I receive Financial Aid, The official website states me as a US citizen, instead of permanent resident. I know its a mistake on their part, as i never claimed to be a US citizen. I sleep well and when asked during the interview, I'll state the same that I never claimed to be a US citizen. if it comes up, i'll give the interviewer a piece of my mind. I don't have time to be fixing errors made by the government officials in whatever capacity they might be working in. Secondly, if at some point in time, i clicked the wrong box, it would be considered an error made by any reasonable man/woman and the law takes such actions with a lenient eye. Don't worry and just go in the normal flow. You are fine. Unless, he has voted, you have noting to show concern for.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

This is a serious problem and people saying "don't worry" are wrong.

First you need to find out how he got on the roll. If the question said anything about "USC's only" then he's in trouble. Claiming to be a USC is a lifetime ban and he could be deported. Simply withdrawing the application may not be enough.

Here are a few posts about it:

- http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/306110-n400-mistake-reagdring-voter-registration (This one is your exact situation - basically - registered to vote at the DMV. The member has not been back to update what happened. I admit I assume this means they were denied).

- http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/358739-denial-of-citizenship (This one he applied for a job that in the fineprint said "USC's only")

- http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/300849-n400-naturalization-interview-false-claim-issue/ (This one claimed to be a USC to get a job and admitted it)

- http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/337558-voting-while-still-an-lpr-what-will-happen/ (This one registered to vote and DID vote and though it wasn't the OP that did it, the OP is still on these forums and might respond with what happened if you ask in thread)

- http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/356255-naturalization-interview-concern/ (this one actually admitted it applying for LPR and wasn't penalised)

I know you said you don't have the money for an attorney but more importantly if you don't want your husband to be deported, you DON'T have the freedom to NOT hire an attorney.

Your panic is irrational. No need to worry. First off, mistakes are made all the time. In NY, I am allowed to vote in local elections, so my name might even appear on listings. Secondly, I am a college Student and since I receive Financial Aid, The official website states me as a US citizen, instead of permanent resident. I know its a mistake on their part, as i never claimed to be a US citizen. I sleep well and when asked during the interview, I'll state the same that I never claimed to be a US citizen. if it comes up, i'll give the interviewer a piece of my mind. I don't have time to be fixing errors made by the government officials in whatever capacity they might be working in. Secondly, if at some point in time, i clicked the wrong box, it would be considered an error made by any reasonable man/woman and the law takes such actions with a lenient eye. Don't worry and just go in the normal flow. You are fine. Unless, he has voted, you have noting to show concern for.

No, it wouldn't be considered an error. It would be considered a false claim of US citizen. You are a fool if you think ignoring this is okay. I suggest you speak to an attorney about ignoring all this information listing you as a US citizen when you're not. When it comes to immigration YOU need to prove you're innocent, not them. So unless you can prove that you didn't tell someone to tick a box, it is assumed you did.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Unless he actually posed as a USC, I don't see it as a problem. Ticking the wrong box or pushing the wrong button is an understandable error.

This is very serious. Ticking the wrong box is NOT an "understandable error" when ticking that wrong box may give you privileges you wouldn't otherwise get had you not ticked that wrong box.

It is extremely important to always be careful regarding NEVER having anything claim you are a USC when you're not. If you notice something, fix it asap. Read forms, be careful what boxes you tick.

False claims to USC are unwaiverable with a lifetime ban and deportation.

[Darnell 8,478]

I say it's not the husband's fault, at all.

I say it's the DMV's fault,

with this 'motor-voter' stuff enacted at the state level.

IMO, there was no 'box to tick' at the DMV - the DMV simply 'did it' and it's all a big mess, an error performed by the DMV.

[so, look into that, soonish]

[nwctzn 55]

This is a serious problem and people saying "don't worry" are wrong.

We did not say it is not a serious problem. It sure is. However, the applicant was registered "automatically" at the DMV which happened and still happens to many applicants. The reason we say not to worry is that the big positive here is that the applicant did not vote or did not use the US citizenship claim to get a job for example. If that would be the case, then he would be in really really big trouble.

I read about many cases where applicants were able to clarify with USCIS that they were registered to vote accidentally and at the end their naturalization were approved.

So the steps that need to be done:

1. Find out how the registration did happen at the DMV?

2. Inform the Board of Elections to be removed from the voter list.

3. Get a letter from the Board of Elections confirming removal and also confirming that the applicant never voted.

4. Schedule an infopass appointment at the local USCIS office and clarify situation with an officer.

---

Edited November 24, 2012 by nwctzn

[MIDUVIL 34]

We did not say it is not a serious problem. It sure is. However, the applicant was registered "automatically" at the DMV which happened and still happens to many applicants. The reason we say not to worry is that the big positive here is that the applicant did not vote or did not use the US citizenship claim to get a job for example. If that would be the case, then he would be in really really big trouble.

I read about many cases where applicants were able to clarify with USCIS that they were registered to vote accidentally and at the end their naturalization were approved.

So the steps that need to be done:

1. Find out how the registration did happen at the DMV?

2. Inform the Board of Elections to be removed from the voter list.

3. Get a letter from the Board of Elections confirming removal and also confirming that the applicant never voted.

4. Schedule an infopass appointment at the local USCIS office and clarify situation with an officer.

---

My 2 cents even if I'm not an expert. I don't think that you have to be worry, this kind of thing may exist much more than you can imagine, with DMV; if you don't really read the document and ticked the wrong box, and English is not your primary language.

A lot of people come in this country and they don't even speak English, so you imagine all the mistakes that they can make...

He didn't vote, that is a good thing, so the best is to follow the steps proposed by nwctzn.

And PathaN,

In my country they said "prudence is the mother of safety".

And if you know it, you better fix it- you don't know what can happen, and because you sleep well doesn't mean that you are not sleeping on a nest of snakes. You can ignore that you are sleeping on a nest of snakes and sleep well, except when they react...

Good luck!

Edited November 24, 2012 by MIDUVIL

[Darnell 8,478]

Who imported all the snakes into France? I'm stumped.

[MIDUVIL 34]

Who imported all the snakes into France? I'm stumped.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, it was to tell to be careful.

(By the way, I wanted to tell you that have two adorable girls)

[Darnell 8,478]

time for dancing !