application question n-400

[dave patel 0]

Hi

I would really appreciate if you people would help me. it has been sleepless nights for weeks. I am trying to apply for US citizenship and it has been almost six years while I am here in US. Through out the period I have 4 tickets all of them speeding. However, in four I had two reckless driving citation but when I went to court then judge amended the charge to improper driving and just speeding. Now I found out these two question in n-400 bugging me all the time

#16. Have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained by law enforcement officer for any reason?

#17. Have you ever been charged with committing any crime or offense?

I had one fine of $250 and another fine of $50 for those amended tickets. WHat should I do?

Please help me understand the question

Thank You

[NexGen 8]

The correct answer to both questions is "Yes". There is a section in the application where you can list the traffic offence and disposition.

I, too, had a reckless driving citation amended to a mere speeding infraction, which I disclosed in my application, and again, during the interview. Provided the fine has been paid, a speeding ticket, by itself, should not be an impediment to your naturalization application. Make sure that you bring proof of payment to the interview. You can make a print out of the court disposition from the county clerk online system.

Edited January 9, 2016 by NexGen

[dave patel 0]

The correct answer to both questions is "Yes". There is a section in the application where you can list the traffic offence and disposition.

I, too, had a reckless driving citation amended to a mere speeding infraction, which I disclosed in my application, and again, during the interview. Provided the fine has been paid, a speeding ticket, by itself, should not be an impediment to your naturalization application. Make sure that you bring proof of payment to the interview. You can make a print out of the court disposition from the county clerk online system.

Thank you for your response. since after amendment, they are all infraction. Are we charged of crime or offense?..Did u had any trouble at the interview explaining the situation? and how did IO reacted to this..did he took lightly or its a big issue?

[NexGen 8]

Speeding infractions are traffic offenses so they need to be disclosed. I simply said that I had a reckless driving charge reduced to a speeding ticket and that I had paid the fine and voluntarily taken a defensive driving class to reinstate my driving points. I showed the IO a copy of the court disposition, certtificate of defensive driving class and DMV record showing my reinstated driving points. You don't have to, but you can request your DMV record through the state website. It costs about $10 or thereabouts. But like I said, this is not mandatory or even necessary. The IO barely blnked but he took the copies that I had made and inserted into my immigration file. They are more concerned about criminal charges, and not traffic offenses.

Under their own rules, USCIS should not even require proof of payment of a traffice offense if the resulting penalty was less than $500, but that does not seem to stop some IO's from requesting during the interview. So to be safe, bring copies to the interview.