Did I commit an offense or not?

[jsnearline 2]

The thing that jumped out at me in the article was the guy who got denied because he had failed to file an address change, so if they can deny you for that, they certainly could deny you for not failing to declare a traffic violation or parking ticket on your N-400.

From what I've read other places,one should not assume that the adjudicating officer has access to your prior I-485 and I-751 cases. They're supposed to make a good faith effort to track down your A-file, but they can make decisions without it.

[jasminelily 1]

Called the parking management division of municipal court in the afternoon (didn't know they have a whole individual parking management division, guess it's a huge revenue bottom line improver) by transferred from calling the court's number switchboard. Anyways, the lady said parking ticket doesn't goes on my driving record, but she did said it's a citation and it stays on the court record forever. I'm going to have to go there (the physical parking management division located in the basement of the court house?! still can't believe it! PMD?! WT HECK?! Sorry for my language) and pay $3.70 to get a copy of the official archieve record that I paid by check for a parking ticket that I had more than 3 years ago, although I already have a cashed check image to show that they cashed the check from my online banking. Also going to pay $12.00 for a certified driver record from DPS when it gets close to the time I file, just to throw it in there for the peace of mind/arguament sake of disclosing parking/traffic ticket or not, others please no need to comment, I know it's not required but I'm going to include it in my packet for the "just in case IO woke up on the wrong side of the bed" reason.

Edited April 2, 2009 by jasminelily

[Stella08 0]

The thing that jumped out at me in the article was the guy who got denied because he had failed to file an address change, so if they can deny you for that, they certainly could deny you for not failing to declare a traffic violation or parking ticket on your N-400.

From what I've read other places,one should not assume that the adjudicating officer has access to your prior I-485 and I-751 cases. They're supposed to make a good faith effort to track down your A-file, but they can make decisions without it.

Well, I'm still not sure if he he got denied and might get deported because he failed to file a change of address or if this is happening because immigration had sent him a letter (to the wrong address) with some charges and he ignored it (because he never received it).

In a current Florida case, a British-born businessman saw his naturalization derailed and was detained for deportation because he forgot to update his home address with the immigration agency, Mr. Brauwerman said. He was charged with ignoring a notice in which immigration examiners mistakenly accused him of a felony he had never committed.

[Stella08 0]

Called the parking management division of municipal court in the afternoon (didn't know they have a whole individual parking management division, guess it's a huge revenue bottom line improver) by transferred from calling the court's number switchboard. Anyways, the lady said parking ticket doesn't goes on my driving record, but she did said it's a citation and it stays on the court record forever. I'm going to have to go there (the physical parking management division located in the basement of the court house?! still can't believe it! PMD?! WT HECK?! Sorry for my language) and pay $3.70 to get a copy of the official archieve record that I paid by check for a parking ticket that I had more than 3 years ago, although I already have a cashed check image to show that they cashed the check from my online banking. Also going to pay $12.00 for a certified driver record from DPS when it gets close to the time I file, just to throw it in there for the peace of mind/arguament sake of disclosing parking/traffic ticket or not, others please no need to comment, I know it's not required but I'm going to include it in my packet for the "just in case IO woke up on the wrong side of the bed" reason.

I think this is the best way to go and this way you should be able to sleep well at night. You got all the paperwork you might need and nobody can accuse you of making a false statement on your application.

The info about the parking ticket being a citation and staying on your record forever is an interesting one. I expected that they would erase it eventually.

[jasminelily 1]

Called the parking management division of municipal court in the afternoon (didn't know they have a whole individual parking management division, guess it's a huge revenue bottom line improver) by transferred from calling the court's number switchboard. Anyways, the lady said parking ticket doesn't goes on my driving record, but she did said it's a citation and it stays on the court record forever. I'm going to have to go there (the physical parking management division located in the basement of the court house?! still can't believe it! PMD?! WT HECK?! Sorry for my language) and pay $3.70 to get a copy of the official archieve record that I paid by check for a parking ticket that I had more than 3 years ago, although I already have a cashed check image to show that they cashed the check from my online banking. Also going to pay $12.00 for a certified driver record from DPS when it gets close to the time I file, just to throw it in there for the peace of mind/arguament sake of disclosing parking/traffic ticket or not, others please no need to comment, I know it's not required but I'm going to include it in my packet for the "just in case IO woke up on the wrong side of the bed" reason.

I think this is the best way to go and this way you should be able to sleep well at night. You got all the paperwork you might need and nobody can accuse you of making a false statement on your application.

The info about the parking ticket being a citation and staying on your record forever is an interesting one. I expected that they would erase it eventually.

On the fine bill that they sent me 3 years ago that I dig out from the bottom of my drawer, it said offense decription: parked on reserved zone, offense date and offense time, etc. I did ask her on the phone how long do they keep those archive, she said "forever", but when I go there today afterwork (they do open till 7pm, very convenient timing), I'm going to ask again. She also said it's a parking citation and it doesn't go on driving record (so I have perfect driving record so far, yay!). It's best to keep all papers, otherwise I wouldn't even have an idea of what date/ticket number, etc. information that I need to get the official paid fine record. I sure hope it will drop some day, like 5 years, 7 years. I think it depends on the statue of limitation. May be different city has different system. I have no idea. Anyone knows?

[motu 6]

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#

Absolutely disagree. On my own application I answered No and didn't disclose any traffic violations (yes I had a few) - the story quoted is about domestic violence which is a completely different offense.

Yes, many people are scared of this process and will even disclose the criminal offense they committed in their dreams, I chose not to do so and had no problems in my citizenship application (currently my wife is applying for hers - the timeline is hers not mine - for those that get confused by that). Good Luck

[jsnearline 2]

This is from page 8 of the M-476 A Guide to Naturalization

Even if you have committed a minor crime, USCIS may deny your application if you

do not tell the USCIS officer about the incident. Note that unless a traffic incident was

alcohol or drug related, you do not need to submit documentation for traffic fines and

incidents that did not involve an actual arrest if the only penalty was a fine less than

$500 and/or points on your driver’s license.

My interpretation of this is that you should report traffic violations on the application itself but you don't need to submit additional documentation about them as long as the penalty was less than the limit stated and no alcohol or drugs were involved.

Edited April 2, 2009 by jsnearline

[KyngSilva 0]

Motu ...it's not about being scared, it's about how each IO functions differently, and wants different things. Some of them are very nit picky about things. They can easily make their case for denial that you did not disclose all the information on your N-400. You signed your document attesting that you have not lied on your application and all the information is correct. Most people advise others to fill it in because it's not going to hurt your file to put it in there. It's up to the IO then to either ask more into it or disregard the traffic citation.

[jasminelily 1]

This is from page 8 of the M-476 A Guide to Naturalization

Even if you have committed a minor crime, USCIS may deny your application if you

do not tell the USCIS officer about the incident. Note that unless a traffic incident was

alcohol or drug related, you do not need to submit documentation for traffic fines and

incidents that did not involve an actual arrest if the only penalty was a fine less than

$500 and/or points on your driver’s license.

My interpretation of this is that you should report traffic violations on the application itself but you don't need to submit additional documentation about them as long as the penalty was less than the limit stated and no alcohol or drugs were involved.

I agree with jsnearline. Also I will bring evidence to prove the result, either paid fine, charges being dropped, whatever it is that you did to took care of it. You know just in case they ask, some IOs can be pain of the butt if you're not careful. I don't think it will affect the IO's decision if it's something everyone must had it at least once or twice in their life, like one or two small speeding tickets, so I would rather disclose it and let the IO decide if it's important to them or not. It's better than this: later on they find out you had speeding tickets and you didn't disclose them, which give them an excuse to say you have bad moral character of lying or purposefully hide the fact to get the citizenship, that may lead to de-naturalization (although minimal chance).

Edited April 2, 2009 by jasminelily