Did I commit an offense or not?

[conquest 0]

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO it was dismissed. That means its like it never happened. It shouldnt even appear on any record of any kind. Even if you got arrested and it was dismissed you souhldnt have to say any thing. Having it dismissed is like saying well we were wrong and we should have never arrested you so it doesnt count.

In your case it says its dissmissed and sorry we should have never given you a citation. Even if you did it they couldnt prove it and there for in their minds it never happened

[Cuchita 1]

[Stella08 0]

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO it was dismissed. That means its like it never happened. It shouldnt even appear on any record of any kind. Even if you got arrested and it was dismissed you souhldnt have to say any thing. Having it dismissed is like saying well we were wrong and we should have never arrested you so it doesnt count.

In your case it says its dissmissed and sorry we should have never given you a citation. Even if you did it they couldnt prove it and there for in their minds it never happened

But shouldn't it ask then "Have you ever been arrested AND convicted?" or "Have you ever been arrested AND charged with any crime?". I mean, it also asks you about the outcome of the arrest/citation and so forth. E.g. the application form gives you the option to say "No charges filed". So you always can say "Yes, I have been arrested but the charges were dismissed". I'm sure, you get documentation for that, too, don't you?

The question on the form is pretty simple: Have you ever been arrested?

[conquest 0]

I think for a trafic citation its not that big a deal I dont think they care. If it was such a concern then this would be something you would ask immigration.

It would definately bring up a red flag so you would need to be prepared to cover it. Traficcitations are more considered infractions al though it says citation I dont believe its thought of as so.

For example you were cited for a misdemenor amount of marijuana that is a citation

[Stella08 0]

I think for a trafic citation its not that big a deal

I absolutely agree and that's why I don't see a reason why I should omit it and run risk to be accused about lying on my application form.

[KyngSilva 0]

You broke the law, you got cited - regardless of the outcome and what they say about the dollar amounts. Remember one of the keys to citizenship is good moral character. So list it and then you wont have to worry =)

[conquest 0]

just because one gets cited does not constitue breaking the law. Being dismissed says you didnt. Many people get arrested or cited falsely but when its dismissed then that means as far as the court system goes you didnt do it. there is a difference.

I will agree that it should be listed but it will bring a up a red flag, but to say one gets cited and that is a guilty convivtion is no right. There is no difference than going to court and proving your inocence or going to court and having it dismissed it is one in the same and one would be free and as inocent as if it had never happened

[jsnearline 2]

A minor traffic violation is not a crime, but it is a civil offense. My wife got a speeding ticket, so we answered "yes" to questions 15 - 18, filled out the explanation table that follows and included a copy of her driving record. The driving record indicates the outcome of the citation as a conviction because she chose to pay the fine instead of going to court.

The instructions say to report all offenses, even minor one, and even those that have been removed from your record. They also say that if you do not declare something, even if it is minor, your application can be denied if they find out about it.

I'd say it's best to err on the side of caution. We'd rather have USCIS decide the citation was not a big deal than for them to deny the application because we didn't report it.

[jasminelily 1]

A minor traffic violation is not a crime, but it is a civil offense. My wife got a speeding ticket, so we answered "yes" to questions 15 - 18, filled out the explanation table that follows and included a copy of her driving record. The driving record indicates the outcome of the citation as a conviction because she chose to pay the fine instead of going to court.

The instructions say to report all offenses, even minor one, and even those that have been removed from your record. They also say that if you do not declare something, even if it is minor, your application can be denied if they find out about it.

I'd say it's best to err on the side of caution. We'd rather have USCIS decide the citation was not a big deal than for them to deny the application because we didn't report it.

So what about parking ticket? I paid the fine. Should I include it?

[jsnearline 2]

If it were me, I'd report it. They certainly wouldn't deny your application because of a parking ticket.

The thing is you don't want to give the adjudicating officer ANYreason to deny your application. Check out this story in the New York Times from last year.

Perfectly Legal Immigrants, Until They Applied for Citizenship

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/12/us/12nat...ial&st=cse#

Edited April 1, 2009 by jsnearline

[Stella08 0]

just because one gets cited does not constitue breaking the law. Being dismissed says you didnt. Many people get arrested or cited falsely but when its dismissed then that means as far as the court system goes you didnt do it. there is a difference.

I will agree that it should be listed but it will bring a up a red flag, but to say one gets cited and that is a guilty convivtion is no right. There is no difference than going to court and proving your inocence or going to court and having it dismissed it is one in the same and one would be free and as inocent as if it had never happened

Who said that? I didn't read that in this thread. People just said you should answer "yes" to the question "have you ever been arrested?". That's all.

As I said, the application form also gives you the opportunity to explain what happened.

A minor traffic violation is not a crime, but it is a civil offense. My wife got a speeding ticket, so we answered "yes" to questions 15 - 18, filled out the explanation table that follows and included a copy of her driving record. The driving record indicates the outcome of the citation as a conviction because she chose to pay the fine instead of going to court.

The instructions say to report all offenses, even minor one, and even those that have been removed from your record. They also say that if you do not declare something, even if it is minor, your application can be denied if they find out about it.

I'd say it's best to err on the side of caution. We'd rather have USCIS decide the citation was not a big deal than for them to deny the application because we didn't report it.

100% agree

[jasminelily 1]

If it were me, I'd report it. They certainly wouldn't deny your application because of a parking ticket.

The thing is you don't want to give the adjudicating officer ANYreason to deny your application. Check out this story in the New York Times from last year.

Perfectly Legal Immigrants, Until They Applied for Citizenship

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/12/us/12nat...ial&st=cse#

Thanks a lot for the reply! I'll just disclose it with the disposition, then attach the fine letter, the cashed check image and a DMV record to satisfy them.

[KyngSilva 0]

just because one gets cited does not constitue breaking the law. Being dismissed says you didnt. Many people get arrested or cited falsely but when its dismissed then that means as far as the court system goes you didnt do it. there is a difference.

I will agree that it should be listed but it will bring a up a red flag, but to say one gets cited and that is a guilty convivtion is no right. There is no difference than going to court and proving your inocence or going to court and having it dismissed it is one in the same and one would be free and as inocent as if it had never happened

So Conquest why does one get cited if they are not breaking a law? It was dissmissed because the cop and the bus driver did not show up. Not because he was cited falsely. It's still on your record. Might show up on your driving record, but shows up on the Federal systems. And yes there is a federal system because when you apply for a law enforcement job with the Federal goverment, they ask you to get a print out from the BCA Just my 2 cents.

[wannabe_texan 0]

If it were me, I'd report it. They certainly wouldn't deny your application because of a parking ticket.

The thing is you don't want to give the adjudicating officer ANYreason to deny your application. Check out this story in the New York Times from last year.

Perfectly Legal Immigrants, Until They Applied for Citizenship

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/12/us/12nat...ial&st=cse#

Not wanting to hijack the thread, but I don't understand why this kind of information as was noted in this article, doesn't come up at AOS? I remember that NickD referenced in another thread, that the N400 was like you are completely new again to USCIS, without your AOS and I-751... (he put it much more eloquently than that), I don't understand why?

[Stella08 0]

If it were me, I'd report it. They certainly wouldn't deny your application because of a parking ticket.

The thing is you don't want to give the adjudicating officer ANYreason to deny your application. Check out this story in the New York Times from last year.

Perfectly Legal Immigrants, Until They Applied for Citizenship

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/12/us/12nat...ial&st=cse#

Not wanting to hijack the thread, but I don't understand why this kind of information as was noted in this article, doesn't come up at AOS? I remember that NickD referenced in another thread, that the N400 was like you are completely new again to USCIS, without your AOS and I-751... (he put it much more eloquently than that), I don't understand why?

I wonder if they had to file AOS since they immigrated as (minor?) children of greencard holders. And since they got their greencards 25 years ago they probably got cards without an expiration date and maybe they never had to deal with immigration again until they filed for citizenship.

What I'm wondering about is the last sentence in the article. I didn't know that minor US citizen children can sponsor their parents.