N-400 Jury Duty..

[higgibaby 0]

Ok, after reading the last post about voting, which is terribly scary, and my heart goes out to that couple as its so serious...I wish them all the best.

But recently around 3 months ago, I got a letter asking about Jury duty, which I filled out and signed and sent back to the city hall. Now on that form I clearly stated that I wasn't a US citizen, but if you wasnt, it had a box to write your GC # in the box provided which i did...In all fairness should I have just totally disregarded this notice...I can't perform Jury duty without being a citizen, so why would they ask for my GC details? Are the government spying on me?

Edited July 7, 2010 by higgibaby

[v333k 59]

Ok, after reading the last post about voting, which is terribly scary, and my heart goes out to that couple as its so serious...I wish them all the best.

But recently around 3 months ago, I got a letter asking about Jury duty, which I filled out and signed and sent back to the city hall. Now on that form I clearly stated that I wasn't a US citizen, but if you wasnt, it had a box to write your GC # in the box provided which i did...In all fairness should I have just totally disregarded this notice...I can't perform Jury duty without being a citizen, so why would they ask for my GC details? Are the government spying on me?

Actually, you did the right thing by filling it out and sending it back. No, many people got those forms and I think the way they get issued is based on residence (which is taken from DMV) based on drivers licenses. Therefore, when sending back a form telling them that you are not a citizen, that's all that matters and not if you are a GC holder or not. The reason they ask for your GC A# is because some people try to avoid and get out of jury duty, so if everyone can just check a box that says you are not a citizen without any supporting documentation, then most people will do that and never have to serve in jury duty.

Just to comfort you, I received one when I was a student on F-1 Visa so no spying is going on...

[lawrencetoland 3]

Why does everyone hate jury duty? I never get picked.

[higgibaby 0]

Actually, you did the right thing by filling it out and sending it back. No, many people got those forms and I think the way they get issued is based on residence (which is taken from DMV) based on drivers licenses. Therefore, when sending back a form telling them that you are not a citizen, that's all that matters and not if you are a GC holder or not. The reason they ask for your GC A# is because some people try to avoid and get out of jury duty, so if everyone can just check a box that says you are not a citizen without any supporting documentation, then most people will do that and never have to serve in jury duty.

Just to comfort you, I received one when I was a student on F-1 Visa so no spying is going on...

Thank you V333k for that reassurance. I read your posts often, and your an excellent source of info which really helps...thanks again.

Mark.

[ELW 5]

Gosh I got scared there for a moment! My husband recently got his first jury duty notice (I have NEVER got one in my life!) and we checked NOT A CITIZEN and sent it back - never saw a place to write the green card number! I scanned it and looked it over carefully again, nope, no space to write it. I guess each county is different. (Or maybe they only ask for federal jury summons? We got a county one.)

[CaptainPenguin 5]

You did the right thing and should not worry, I received one a few years ago as well but after you decline and tell them, you are not a USC you are out of the waters. It will be fine, happens all the time. Now if you would have served on a jury, that would have been a different story.

[v333k 59]

Thank you V333k for that reassurance. I read your posts often, and your an excellent source of info which really helps...thanks again.

Mark.

:thumbs:glad I could be of help

[warlord 73]

Yep it's common for non US citizens to get jury duty. I have been selected several times when I was living here on my work status. I just would call them by phone and tell them I wasn't a citizen and that was that. Either way works fine and yes, there is nothing more you need to do...

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Over the years I got probably 8 or 9 of those notes. Even my brother, who only came on vacation to the US a couple times in all those years (he has a California driver license), got two of those.

Initially, I threw all of them away, not responding. That basically tells me that they most likely do not enforce jury duty. The last time I got one (a few years back) I sent it back and marked it "Not a US citizen." Since then I have never received another one.

P.S. I never noticed a field asking for the A number though.

[antda 13]

Hi Higgibaby,

You did the right thing here, by telling them that you are a green card holder instead of a US Citizen. You cannot be on a jury if you are not a US Citizen, nor can you vote if you are not a US Citizen.

You did the right thing too, by responding to such accordingly as to what is being said on the jury duty letter, as you legally have to reply to such, regardless. So in that sense, you did obey the law there, as failure to respond to jury duty notices can be of serious consequences there. Frankly, they shouldn't have put you on the list, so it is their fault there, not yours, for having such a notice.

It won't count against you, as you did not actually serve on the jury. All you did was respond to the jury duty letter, as you were legally obligated to do such. It does not count against you when you file for citizenship, so no worries there, especially when you specifically told them that you were a premanent resident and not a US Citizen. Though if it does come up in your citizenship interview (which I doubt that it will, but be prepared just in case), just tell the immigration officer that you only responded to the letter and told them that you were a greem card holder, as you didn't know what else to do, and you did not actually serve on the jury or claim US Citizenship in any way.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your journey too.

Ant

P.S. Lol..This reminds me of a funny story....I got a jury duty notice/summons actually, right before I was about to file for US Citizenship...But it was for Canadian jury duty....And if I didn't respond to it, I was going to face serious legal consequences (big fines)....No joke there! So I just sent them back their response, a letter, explaining my situation, as to why I could not currently serve on a jury there since I'm currently in the USA and can't travel back to Canada for jury duty. Lol..I haven't heard back from them since..I guess they were happy with my explaination..lol...

But yeah, that's the drawbacks of having dual citizenship..Having to serve on jury duty for both countries..(lol...wonders when I will get my American jury duty notice, now that I have my US Citizenship..lol..)

Edited July 11, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA