Ughh... complicated situation :( I need your wisdom!

[slee251 0]

Hello, I hope that you have a nice day.

I already filled in N400 in March, got everything done, and got my brown letter stating I need to bring passport and 2 copies of photo of myself when interviewing. Brown letter told me that I have passed FBI investigation. No problem, I thought. Then, I was involved in a car accident where I do NOT have insurance and I was at fault. I covered the cost of fixing cars without alerting insurance agencies. Nobody was hurt as I was going under the mile limit (30mph) and police officer gave me two tickets with following reasons:

Driving with no insurance (court presence required)

Turning too wide to the left so that I crossed the lane where I shouldn't be (shouldn't be a problem)

I live in Illinois- according to cyberillinois.gov, driving with no insurance counts as petty offense and requires a minimum fee of $500. Would this impact my current application? Would I be deported shortly thereafter? I will be seeing jury within 4 days. I got the full coverage of insurance right after the incident- that was very, very stupid of me.

In interview, should I mention this? Would this negatively impact my application? Please share your wisdom.

[DC85 113]

yes , you need to mention that. I checked the fine for this offence , first time, it can range from 500 to 1000. it may affecet your N400, they won't deport you for such a thing. My advice go get yourself a lawyer, maybe he/she can work it out. hire a lawyer before you meet the jury. Take this seriously.

Second consult with immigration lawyer regarding this offence. review this link

http://www.ehow.com/info_7753392_fines-driving-insurance-illinois.html

[slee251 0]

yes , you need to mention that. I checked the fine for this offence , first time, it can range from 500 to 1000. it may affecet your N400, they won't deport you for such a thing. My advice go get yourself a lawyer, maybe he/she can work it out. hire a lawyer before you meet the jury. Take this seriously.

Second consult with immigration lawyer regarding this offence. review this link

http://www.ehow.com/info_7753392_fines-driving-insurance-illinois.html

Thanks for your suggestion. Given I am a student, I prefer the ways that won't cause me monetary challenges. Would be there any cheaper alternative? I was thinking about flat-out admitting the fact that I messed up, learned the lesson and got the insurance immediately. Since there wasn't bodily harm, I think that there won't be any charges, wouldn't it be?

[BigDaddy28 228]

Thanks for your suggestion. Given I am a student, I prefer the ways that won't cause me monetary challenges. Would be there any cheaper alternative? I was thinking about flat-out admitting the fact that I messed up, learned the lesson and got the insurance immediately. Since there wasn't bodily harm, I think that there won't be any charges, wouldn't it be?

addmitting the fact that you are wrong is the most moral thing but it will give you a hard time later. Try to get a lawyer to see how he can lower that charge to a lesser one so it wouldn't be as bad. You will still have to mention those on your N400. To get your citizenship, there is no alternative. You have to have a lawyer.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Thanks for your suggestion. Given I am a student, I prefer the ways that won't cause me monetary challenges. Would be there any cheaper alternative? I was thinking about flat-out admitting the fact that I messed up, learned the lesson and got the insurance immediately. Since there wasn't bodily harm, I think that there won't be any charges, wouldn't it be?

I don't believe there is a cheaper alternative. By your own admission, you are guilty, and as a result, if you plead so in court you may be made to pay the appropriate fine. A lawyer will end up costing more than the fine itself and will not be able to get you free from the charges.

You will need to disclose this incident during your citizenship interview but as long as you are compliant with the law, making your appearances in court and taking responsibility for the accident, you should be fine. One a more positive note still, you will not be deported for this offense.

Good luck!

[immibie 23]

Yeah I think you should pay the fine and move on, attorney's fee is going to cost you more just to lower that $500 fine. But disclose that during the interview sincerely, and be prepared for a really good reason why you drive without insurance. They may ask why and for how long have you been doing this, etc.

[Autumnal 25]

You might be able to request a consultation with an attorney, which should be inexpensive to free, to sound out your options. There may be legal assistance on your campus as well, so try considering that.

Disclose this to USCIS during your interview or such. They take "the whole truth" very seriously, and you're better to disclose and let them have the information. I'd also consult about whether you can pay off the fine in stages if you're broke. IL isn't the nicest state for that, but sometimes they'll allow arrangements.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

When you go to the interview, they go over the entire application, line by line. When it gets to the part that says ...have you been arrested, detained, etc, that's when you say "I have had a traffic violation since I filled out the form', Then they will want to see the official court paperwork of the charges and how it came out and a receipt showing you paid the fine. They make notes on your application to change your answer. Take all your paperwork about the incident with you.

[slee251 0]

Thank you for your all kind answer. It seems like USCIS do give out citizenship if that was just "petty offense"- if it was a murder, felony, it would be a permanent ban but mine is not that case. I guess I'll try to lower that amount and be honest and sincere to USCIS officer as hard as possible.

I've got another question for you guys.

Up until 2012, my parents were handling taxes in behalf of me. Most likely, they would've included me as a dependent- thus I don't have any tax filings prior to 2012. Should I just bring tax form of 2011 and 2012 where I reported my own gain? Or should I ask my parents to give their tax filings?

Again, thanks for the help

Edited June 1, 2013 by slee251

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

It never hurts to take anything you think you might need. There are officers all over the US and some may be more picky than others. (For example, my husbands officer didn't look at any documentation he brought, even though the yellow letter requested specific originals to be presented.) So you can take your tax returns you filed and maybe the last one your parent's filed that shows your name listed as a dependent if you like. Did you send tax returns with the application? Did you get a letter asking you to bring tax returns?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Being a dependent on someone else's taxes does NOT absolve you of the need to file your own.

You need to file your own taxes if you were making any money. Then in the box where it says "can someone else claim you as a dependent" you say yes. You still do your own taxes.

People think that "being a dependent" means that your taxes are on their tax return, but that is NOT true. It just changes the exemptions for the respective parties.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I agree with Harpa. If you earned more than $9350 in 2010, you would have been required to file your own tax return. That would include all money from a job, interest received, tips, a trust fund....any income. I had assumed you meant you didn't file because you weren't earning enough prior to 2011.

Edited June 1, 2013 by Nich-Nick

[Autumnal 25]

Can your parents provide a copy of their tax returns where you were claimed as a dependent? I assume they listed your SSN to do so, and that would provide proof your income was claimed somewhere.

You need to file your taxes on your own, even for those years you were claimed as a dependent. Fortunately it's never too late to introduce yourself to the IRS. Depending on when your interview date is, or whether you submitted your N-400 application already, you should prepare the forms yourself or with a tax advisor's assistance and file them in person at an IRS tax office. Make an appointment and see if you can't get someone to manually enter details or the like.

My ex did not file for 4+ years while he lived in Canada, unaware he had to continue filing in the U.S. When he moved back to the U.S., he walked into the IRS office closest to the border and submitted those completed 1099 forms for the years spent abroad. The IRS officer got everything in the system right then and there, and we had hard copies to show he wasn't in default any further for a failure to file. This was a few years ago, but the IRS doesn't tend to prevent people from paying their taxes and filing correctly. If you explain you honestly didn't know, they can be very kind.*

*Take the "set up an appointment" option with a grain of salt as we did this a few years ago. I'd suggest calling the IRS information line, explaining yourself ("Hi, I realized my parents claimed me as a dependent when they filed for tax years 2009 - 2011, but I didn't realize I had to submit my own tax returns. I want to get my returns filed right away. Can I make an appointment at an IRS office in my city or is there a better option?")

Up until 2012, my parents were handling taxes in behalf of me. Most likely, they would've included me as a dependent- thus I don't have any tax filings prior to 2012. Should I just bring tax form of 2011 and 2012 where I reported my own gain? Or should I ask my parents to give their tax filings?

Again, thanks for the help

[stevie b 141]

Thank you for your all kind answer. It seems like USCIS do give out citizenship if that was just "petty offense"- if it was a murder, felony, it would be a permanent ban but mine is not that case. I guess I'll try to lower that amount and be honest and sincere to USCIS officer as hard as possible.

I've got another question for you guys.

Up until 2012, my parents were handling taxes in behalf of me. Most likely, they would've included me as a dependent- thus I don't have any tax filings prior to 2012. Should I just bring tax form of 2011 and 2012 where I reported my own gain? Or should I ask my parents to give their tax filings?

Again, thanks for the help

I just spoke with a friend of mine with the same situation, but his was drunk driving. when he spoke with an IO at uscis, they told him this check mark would be a red flag and it was up to him if he wanted to proceed.

he extended his green card instead and lost his fee to avoid any complications

[slee251 0]

Update of this case: June 3rd

I went in to the court, pleaded guilty and promised that I would do never such a thing. The judge thought poor of me (it also helps the fact that 90 percent of people there were getting misdemeanor for driving a car when their license was suspended) and ordered a 3 month court supervision and 100 dollar fine. I asked the clerk whether that was conviction (when paying my fines), she simply answered: "if you keep yourself free of trouble for 3 month and pay your fines, it won't be considered as conviction". So I think I managed that out okay, since the fine was less than 500, on the court supervision which means that my record will be clean after three month.

When I got into accident, I actually got a two ticket. One was for driving without insurance, which I mentioned earlier, and the other one was "improper use of lanes" which was fined for 120 dollars. Of that, the clerk told me that I have to mention that I am convicted. I will mention this to USCIS officer of course, but I don't think it does not sound as serious as "operating vehicle uninsured". What do you think, folks?