Traffic tickets on N-400

[CoffeeBeans 1]

As I posted in my original post, I have already submitted my N-400 WITHOUT writing the tickets information. My interview is scheduled for 19th Oct if you see my signature. I was looking for suggestion of what to do next, since I didn't write my tickets assuming that anything under $500 need not to be written but I was wrong.. Now what?

I see two consistent points in the answers to your post : (1) be as honest as you can be in regards to disclosure of past offenses, no matter how trivial in nature and status of the outcome (2) if the offenses fit the no documentation required criteria, you do not need to provide documentation on them.

Since you have already filed your N400 and cannot retrieve it back now to add the two offenses you did not declare, you can declare them in your interview and know no documentation is required on them. If you are concerned the case officer may ask you for proof the fines have been paid for, feel free to gather the receipts and take them with you to the interview. Otherwise, you can politely point out to the case officer your driving license is still in good order, and that is good proof enough you have paid the fines.

What is it that you are still not clear about ?

Cheers

[Shakil 4]

Yes, thats what I have been trying to gather. I was just trying to reply JustBob's post when he said he didn't wanna reply but just couldn't help it and ... I was just explaining what the Original post was about. I will take the driving record with me to the interview.

[millic 0]

I just had my interview yesterday and passed. I had mentioned all my 9 tickets(traffic < $500) in the application and also carried the paperwork(dmv record, ticket/court notification, payment proof but did not get court dispositions). IO just confirmed with me if they were all traffic tickets and did not ask for any paperwork.

[warlord 72]

Yes few people will ever have issues if they don't declare their simple speeding tickets. Those people generally will have to just get proof of them during the interview and usually it's because they have other issues on their application other then just a speeding ticket.

The best advice is to go out and contact the USCIS directly. These free forum boards have lots of misleading facts by people who have no clue how the system actually works. Others can be just one persons experience.

This topic has always been a huge discussion and if you are worried about it, go out and do the research and contact several lawyers and get a consensus, call up the USCIS and speak to someone directly, make an Info-pass appointment etc. and find out from the source.

Doing a simple call or appointment can save you a lot of hassle tracking down unneeded proof etc. If worst comes to worst, they will ask you to just submit proof after the interview. Then you can go about trying to track things down. But seriously this topic always has had 2 sides on every forum out there. People just base it off their own experiences. As I mentioned, I based mine on talking to a lawyer, talking directly to a USCIS rep and then asking my IO about it. But that was my my experience only. Things may have changed since my experience and what I was told by 3 official sources. So it's best to go to them yourself to find out...

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Yes few people will ever have issues if they don't declare their simple speeding tickets. Those people generally will have to just get proof of them during the interview and usually it's because they have other issues on their application other then just a speeding ticket.

The best advice is to go out and contact the USCIS directly. These free forum boards have lots of misleading facts by people who have no clue how the system actually works. Others can be just one persons experience.

This topic has always been a huge discussion and if you are worried about it, go out and do the research and contact several lawyers and get a consensus, call up the USCIS and speak to someone directly, make an Info-pass appointment etc. and find out from the source.

Doing a simple call or appointment can save you a lot of hassle tracking down unneeded proof etc. If worst comes to worst, they will ask you to just submit proof after the interview. Then you can go about trying to track things down. But seriously this topic always has had 2 sides on every forum out there. People just base it off their own experiences. As I mentioned, I based mine on talking to a lawyer, talking directly to a USCIS rep and then asking my IO about it. But that was my my experience only. Things may have changed since my experience and what I was told by 3 official sources. So it's best to go to them yourself to find out...

There is a lot of truth in that statement, and so many variables on how each case is handled. I always wondered how certain posters can offer advice when they are two or more steps behind in the process than the topic under discussion.

The wife succeeded in getting through the whole process, from K-1 to Naturalization, with one minor snag at the interview in Manila: Her fingerprints were unreadable first time through. We went lean on all the filings, offering exactly what was asked for only. And we lucked out that the same IO handled both interviews in the US, for AOS and for Naturalization. Mostly, we ignored the general consensus to be found here on Visa Journey, of panicking and overloading the filings in order to avoid any possible complication, except a few herniated disks carrying the packet to the do when I have more time pile. Of course, we didn't find out about Visa Journey until after the AOS was approved, so we avoided a lot of bad advice just by our absence.

Some things were helpful here:

1) Early biometrics which shortened our timelines for ROC and Naturalization considerably.

2) Kathryn41's help in confirming one confusing aspect of the N-400 for 3 Year filers. Pretend all the questions are for three years of data instead of five years.

Edited September 23, 2011 by Crusty Old Perv

[lax75 2]

I'm getting ready to file for my N400 and have a traffic tickets concern also.

My State's (Georgia) DMV will only provide a 7-year history. Nothing beyond that. I did have a few traffic tickets older than 7 years. My question is, how do I get a full history that will show ALL my lifetime traffic tickets so that I provide a complete historical record?

OR Do I just list the traffic tickets that are shown on the 7-year history?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I'm getting ready to file for my N400 and have a traffic tickets concern also.

My State's (Georgia) DMV will only provide a 7-year history. Nothing beyond that. I did have a few traffic tickets older than 7 years. My question is, how do I get a full history that will show ALL my lifetime traffic tickets so that I provide a complete historical record?

OR Do I just list the traffic tickets that are shown on the 7-year history?

If I didn't have any tickets with fines or $500 or more, or didn't result in any time in custody, other than a traffic stop, and I paid them all on time so that they didn't issue an arrest warrant for failure to appear, or pay the fine on time, I probably wouldn't list them. But I might take a copy of my driving record to the interview with me if I was worried that something might come up, just to ease my mind.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

As I posted in my original post, I have already submitted my N-400 WITHOUT writing the tickets information. My interview is scheduled for 19th Oct if you see my signature. I was looking for suggestion of what to do next, since I didn't write my tickets assuming that anything under $500 need not to be written but I was wrong.. Now what?

You want a suggestion?

Here it is.

The I.O. will go through your application line by line. When he comes to point 16 you will say: "oh, Sir/Ma'am, I am not sure if I answered this correctly. Back in 19xx I got a ticket for xx and about 2 years later I got one for xx. I do remember with absolute certainty that the fine was waaaaaay less than $500, but I am now uncertain if I should have listed these two incidents nonetheless."

That covers it.

Check mark. Next point.

[NickD 202]

Stepdaughter at that point was asked if she had any traffic violations, said yes, two when she was 17 years of age. IO said, a decision cannot be made at this time until you provide proof that you paid those fines. She never paid those fines, we did! As a minor had to appear in traffic court with her, this was further ironic, she was going through mid-terms, so we tried to help her. They said only she can get the proof those fines were paid as she was a minor at the time.

She had a further penalty to pay, was driving her car where she wasn't suppose to, parked in the back yard each time for a month and disabled the ignition system. But then we get a letter stating this proof of payment is not necessary, something that foreign speaking IO dreamed up. But was accused of battery charges when she was 17 month and four years of age. That was too much, time to call my senators office. A miscommunication was the reason given.

In that long drive to O'Hare last Thursday, all excited about studying in Liverpool, when she wasn't playing with her new international cell phone or listening to MP3's, we talked about her seven years living with me. Actually thanked me for "getting on her back" to get a good education. Was a bit hesitant about marrying my wife with a teenage daughter due to her. Already raised three teenage daughters, a nightmare for a dad. But managed to survive this one as well.

This proof of paid traffic violations in my experience is more BS, just like showing a worthless joint utility bill. But did that, if you don't, just causes a lot of frustration and delays. Hopefully you will get a decent IO.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Yes,

although the N-400 form and its instructions clearly say that no documentation is needed for such minor stuff, my I.O. had a look at my court paperwork as well. Took him only 10 or 15 seconds, but he asked for it. So if somebody does have documentation, it's good advice to bring it along as the I.O.s have a lot of discretion and no two are alike. For that very reason it's important not to hide anything but rather list too much than not enough. When it came to the membership in organizations, I even listed AAA and Costco/Price Club. Well, they asked for it, they got it.

[NickD 202]

At the advice from our attorney, we also listed such sinister anti-government organizations like the American Red Cross and the United Way plus a number of others my wife joined when she was doing volunteer work while waiting for her green card. No distinction is made in this question and conceivably could run into problems if you don't list them.

Its not about the nature of these organizations, its about your honesty and completeness of filling out this form. Now I didn't list the AAA as not really a fund raising organization, but more of an insurance thing. Wife's name is on our joint account with the AAA, so submitted that as evidence that we were married. Funny, they never asked her if we were sleeping together.

Edited October 6, 2011 by Kathryn41
to remove quote at quote OP's request

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Correct.

The U.S. government asks us specifically about our contacts with the law and our memberships in organizations since we were born.

It's our job to list them all; it's their job to determine what's important to them and what's not.

Not listing something because "we" thought it's not important is not an accepted excuse.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I have had to fill out similar forms for the US Government, and knew a few folks whose job it was to review those forms for completeness. I guarantee they don't care if you have a membership at a big box store, nor do they care about your roadside service provider. They don't even seem to care if you have a family member that walked away from a Federal Minimum Security Prison, although the "fugitive from justice" for occupation and "whereabouts unknown" for current address kept them giggling for months when I applied for a Secret Clearance.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

You are correct.

We don't have any statistics about this, but I agree with your assessment that a whole bunch of I.O.s really don't care about this stuff. But that one I.O. who didn't get laid or his supervisor with the grumpy wife and the 7 children might be like me, a real pain in the buttocks with a face attached to it, and he would rip you a third one so big that you could drive an 18-wheeler through it.

Then, when you learn that your application has been denied because of misrepresentation, you wonder why the #### you didn't list this easy-as-sh*t stuff in such an important application and listened to a crusty old perv instead of the voice of reason.

Too late then.

The instructions are clear. My advice: follow them to the letter and sleep like a baby without having nightmares for the rest of your life.

[NickD 202]

Statically, far fewer errors can be made filing for the five rather than the marriage three year, no reason for that single IO to ask you to provide proof that you jointly purchased a can opener or whatever they dream up next. Three of our friends had excessive delays due to uncalled for proof with marriage, did eventually get their certificates but added months and a lot of frustration to their process.

Doing volunteer work when my wife first came here was really good for us, was a bit disturbing she was working for free with people getting good paychecks. But got a good reputation for being a hard very efficient worker. Word sure travels fast, with countless calls for more volunteer work. When she got her EAD card and applied at the hospital for a position, they already heard about her. Said even if she didn't get that job they would find something else for her. We were proud to list all the organizations she did volunteer work for, although she said her IO quickly glanced at that long list and made a positive comment to that effect. Could have made a difference in passing the first time. Who knows?