N-400: Do I need to report a VWP Refused Entry?

[Spoom 8]

Hi folks,

It's been a while! Just getting ready to finally file my N-400 paperwork and got all my proof of payment for traffic and parking tickets ready juuuust in case (ugh).

My question relates to the same area on the form, Part 11 Question 23:

Have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained by any law enforcement officer (including any and all immigration officials or the U.S. Armed Forces) for any reason?

Back in 2005 I was turned around when entering the US at the US - Canada border in Detroit due to lack of verifiable ties to Canada. I came back a week later with all the stuff on the checklist that they gave me (lease, cash on hand, school records, utility bills, etc.), and they let me into the country at that point under an I-94.

Does this count as a "detainment" for the purposes of question 23 on the N-400, and thus is it reportable on the form? I'm going to expand on this one on a separate sheet if it is reportable, and I've mentioned it to USCIS in the past (like on the DS-160 where they specifically asked if I'd ever been refused entry previously).

Thanks!

[Spoom 8]

Additionally, while I have proof of payment for all three tickets (mostly via credit card / bank account statements), I only have the court disposition for one. Do I need court disposition for all three?

[kovacs 20]

Regarding the traffic tickets, you are fine with what you have.

[Spoom 8]

Also, do traffic tickets trigger a yes answer to Part 11 Question 22? (Basically, do they qualify as an "offense"?)

Have you ever committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit, a crime or offense for which you were not arrested?

Edited December 4, 2015 by Spoom

[kovacs 20]

Technically, yes. However I and many others mark "no" on that question for traffic tickets under $500. My interviewer did not care when I mentioned my 2 tickets to him. He wrote "2 speeding tickets" on my application in red.

But if you want to be 100%, say yes, and attach supporting documentation.

[Spoom 8]

Thanks! Any idea about the border turnaround? I'm guessing it won't matter much either way and if there's no consensus here, I'm probably going to report it (with an attachment explaining further).

[kovacs 20]

May as well report it. Good chance that there is a USCIS record of it, somewhere.

Not worth the risk to omit it.

[Spoom 8]

I know there's a record of it as I reported it earlier on my DS-160 (when it was explicitly required as they asked if I'd ever been turned around at the border). Thanks!

[Tom_Jim 40]

The border holding was a detainment (were you free to leave on your own?). I would list it - because that appears on CBP's system. Should pose no issues.