N-400 question on 'Taxes' and 'Speeding ticket'

[Nevin 12]

Hey friends,

I will be eligible to apply for citizenship on May 1st 2015. I have couple of questions related to my Taxes and a speeding ticket.

First question "My taxes"

In 2012 I had multiple 1090's and missed filing one of the 1090's as my employer had failed to send me the 1090. It was my mistake i should have not forgotten and contacted my employer. Had i not forgotten i would've definitely paid, anyway it surely is my negligence . All said and done i wasn't unaware of this until 2014 when IRS got hold of me they sent the paper work stating that i owe taxes. It was a shocker looking at the penalties and all. I called IRS and they setup a payment plan which i am paying every month even now.

Will USCIS treat my case as regular and still consider my application or are there chances that they might deny me due to delinquency in paying taxes?

Here is my tax payment history:

started to work in the USA from 2009 Oct

2009 Filed my taxes

2010 Filed my taxes

2011 Filed my taxes

August 2012 i became a CPR

2012(2x1090's and 1xw2) - Filed jointly but missed filing one of the 1090

2013 Filed my taxes jointly

2014 Filed my taxes jointly

Second question "speeding ticket"

I got a speeding ticket in 2011 which was close to $800 which has been paid off. Some people in the forum say that we need to mention any speeding ticket which is above $500. Is that true? Do i need to mention this and provide IRS with the payment receipt? I don't see anywhere in the application that we need to mention about driving tickets.

Any feedback on the above questions will be helpful.

Thanks All!

[Alphonse 2]

Hi Nevin,

First of all, I will just tell you to relax, your case is not as complicated as you make it sound. USCIS will not deny you just because you owe taxes. They will adjudicate base on the actions you have taken to address the delinquency. In you case, you have set up a payment plan so you are in good shape. Just make sure that you answer the question accordingly on the N400 form and submit copies of your payment agreement and other taxes. You need to keep the original to show them during the interview should the question arise.

As for the speeding ticket, there is the question on the N400 form pertaining to any arrest, citation etc.. you should say yes to that and provide a copy of the settlement or final notice from the court showing that the fine was taken care of. You are good to go, do not worry too much.

[JimmyHou 611]

Hey friends,

I will be eligible to apply for citizenship on May 1st 2015. I have couple of questions related to my Taxes and a speeding ticket.

First question "My taxes"

In 2012 I had multiple 1090's and missed filing one of the 1090's as my employer had failed to send me the 1090. It was my mistake i should have not forgotten and contacted my employer. Had i not forgotten i would've definitely paid, anyway it surely is my negligence . All said and done i wasn't unaware of this until 2014 when IRS got hold of me they sent the paper work stating that i owe taxes. It was a shocker looking at the penalties and all. I called IRS and they setup a payment plan which i am paying every month even now.

Will USCIS treat my case as regular and still consider my application or are there chances that they might deny me due to delinquency in paying taxes?

Here is my tax payment history:

started to work in the USA from 2009 Oct

2009 Filed my taxes

2010 Filed my taxes

2011 Filed my taxes

August 2012 i became a CPR

2012(2x1090's and 1xw2) - Filed jointly but missed filing one of the 1090

2013 Filed my taxes jointly

2014 Filed my taxes jointly

Second question "speeding ticket"

I got a speeding ticket in 2011 which was close to $800 which has been paid off. Some people in the forum say that we need to mention any speeding ticket which is above $500. Is that true? Do i need to mention this and provide IRS with the payment receipt? I don't see anywhere in the application that we need to mention about driving tickets.

Any feedback on the above questions will be helpful.

Thanks All!

Taxes: probably no problem. Take evidence of everything related to the agreement. You did fail to pay taxes that you owes so you need to indicate this in answer to the question in the form. Attach an explanation. Since you are in the process of settling things with the IRS and you can demonstrate that you are, there should be no problem. I assume you filed jointly when you're married and you filed separately when you were unmarried. If this wasn't the case, you're going to have to file an amendment.

Actually you have to indicate all speeding tickets. The instructions say that you only have to attach evidence for tickets over $500, but you have to disclose everything. So you definitely have to say that yes, you were cited. Attach the receipt of payment and go to the court and get the final disposition or dismissal papers for the charges. You will need both. Submit copies and take originals with you to the interview. This should not be a problem in and of itself However an $800 ticket is unusually high and is indicative of something more serious than speeding If whatever the offense was (for example if it was alcohol related) reflects poorly on your moral character, then you might be questioned about it. If tthe incident was more than five years ago, then it would be outside of the statutory period for naturalization and should not affect your application. From reading the policy manual, it's not entirely clear to me whether the statutory period for applications by marriage is still five years, or is only three years. So whether or not you'll have a problem with this depends on what your $800 final was for. If it's for speeding, I don't think it'll be a problem, but I'd love to know how fast you were going!

[KierenHby 899]

Taxes

USCIS will not deny as long as you are truthful about your tax delinquency. You mention it was an oversight in a particular year. More importantly, the one-off ommision doesn't appear to be a trend as you seem to have filed every other year. Make sure to carry evidence of communications between you and the IRS, including the payment plan as well as payments you've made (bank debits, cc statements, etc)

It is possible USCIS might hold off on adjudicating your N400 till you're fully paid and IRS certifies you non-delinquent. This is an assumption on my part, I hope to be wrong.

Ticket

One speeding ticket is not an automatic bar to the moral clause as long as it is disclosed, cleared by courts and does not involve related mishaps, ie alcohol, reckless driving, etc. An $800 "speeding ticket" seems unusually high for simply speeding. Again, it must be disclosed, and be prepared with evidence from the court that you're in the clear.

Overall, you should be ok but be prepared for any stumbles if you're unlucky enough to be assigned a particularly picky officer.

Good luck!

[KierenHby 899]

Oops mistakenly posted twice

Edited April 6, 2015 by Kiran n Suds

[Nevin 12]

Hi Nevin,

First of all, I will just tell you to relax, your case is not as complicated as you make it sound. USCIS will not deny you just because you owe taxes. They will adjudicate base on the actions you have taken to address the delinquency. In you case, you have set up a payment plan so you are in good shape. Just make sure that you answer the question accordingly on the N400 form and submit copies of your payment agreement and other taxes. You need to keep the original to show them during the interview should the question arise.

As for the speeding ticket, there is the question on the N400 form pertaining to any arrest, citation etc.. you should say yes to that and provide a copy of the settlement or final notice from the court showing that the fine was taken care of. You are good to go, do not worry too much.

Thankyou Alphonse! That ticket was combined for a 100mph speeding+ window tint+GPS mounted under the rear view mirror. Sounds crazy but yeah it was $800 ticket

Taxes: probably no problem. Take evidence of everything related to the agreement. You did fail to pay taxes that you owes so you need to indicate this in answer to the question in the form. Attach an explanation. Since you are in the process of settling things with the IRS and you can demonstrate that you are, there should be no problem. I assume you filed jointly when you're married and you filed separately when you were unmarried. If this wasn't the case, you're going to have to file an amendment.

Actually you have to indicate all speeding tickets. The instructions say that you only have to attach evidence for tickets over $500, but you have to disclose everything. So you definitely have to say that yes, you were cited. Attach the receipt of payment and go to the court and get the final disposition or dismissal papers for the charges. You will need both. Submit copies and take originals with you to the interview. This should not be a problem in and of itself However an $800 ticket is unusually high and is indicative of something more serious than speeding If whatever the offense was (for example if it was alcohol related) reflects poorly on your moral character, then you might be questioned about it. If tthe incident was more than five years ago, then it would be outside of the statutory period for naturalization and should not affect your application. From reading the policy manual, it's not entirely clear to me whether the statutory period for applications by marriage is still five years, or is only three years. So whether or not you'll have a problem with this depends on what your $800 final was for. If it's for speeding, I don't think it'll be a problem, but I'd love to know how fast you were going!

Thank you! that was the only time i got pulled over and got a ticket. I will carry the ticket receipt when they call me for interview. thanks again!

Taxes

USCIS will not deny as long as you are truthful about your tax delinquency. You mention it was an oversight in a particular year. More importantly, the one-off ommision doesn't appear to be a trend as you seem to have filed every other year. Make sure to carry evidence of communications between you and the IRS, including the payment plan as well as payments you've made (bank debits, cc statements, etc)

It is possible USCIS might hold off on adjudicating your N400 till you're fully paid and IRS certifies you non-delinquent. This is an assumption on my part, I hope to be wrong.

Ticket

One speeding ticket is not an automatic bar to the moral clause as long as it is disclosed, cleared by courts and does not involve related mishaps, ie alcohol, reckless driving, etc. An $800 "speeding ticket" seems unusually high for simply speeding. Again, it must be disclosed, and be prepared with evidence from the court that you're in the clear.

Overall, you should be ok but be prepared for any stumbles if you're unlucky enough to be assigned a particularly picky officer.

Good luck!

i hope they dont put my application on hold. Lets see. Edited April 7, 2015 by Nevin