Help would be appreciated.

[Ninna 1]

I’m not sure if I am posting in the right place. But for a quick summary my husband came here in 2010 based on marriage to me a us citizen. Just this past month we turned in his n400 application  and went to his biometrics appointment a few weeks ago. My husband has established good moral character all these years. He did have a dismissed assault charge back in 2012 or 13. No conviction. Simply dismissed. So we are now in the process of waiting for his interview. My question is- he owns a business here in the states and he just received a letter from the usda on suspicion of food stamp trafficking in the store and wanting to disqualify him of having it In the store if found to be true.  We have obtained a lawyer and he will respond to this charge letter and hopefully get things overturned or somthing better than what they are wanting to accuse him of. The only thing my husband does is occasionally offer credit to a customer that wants to come back and pay later. And they would come back and sometimes pay with food stamps. My husbands did not know that this is wrong and against the foodstamp rules and feels very remorseful and hurt and shocked. He didn’t think that offering credit occasionally to customers is wrong. So we will try our best to fight this. My question is we should be expecting his interview any month now. Do we just go and hopefully things go well. Or what should we expect? I’m sure these kind of things take some time to resolve and I don’t know that they will be resolved before the interview. Someone please give us some guidance. Some hope. Sorry for the long post I appreciate anyone taking the time to read and help. 

[debbiedoo 2,339]

offering credit to customers is fine. accepting food stamps for payment of such, is not. i dont own a store and i know this. I am positive he was provided guidelines on foodstamps and their use and remittance when he got the permit to accept them. It was up to him to learn and FOLLOW those rules.

 

depending on how the business is set up, it will go against the business and not him personally.

 

he will likely lose the right to accept food stamps at all.

 

ignorance of the law is no excuse for not following the law.

[Ninna 1]

My main concern is this affecting his naturalization. I don’t want this to be under his record of fraud or something horrible of that nature since the business is in his name. Doesn’t the uscis look back 5 years from the time of application.  Do we still have hope of a successful interview? Nothing has occurred as of yet. We have ten days to reply to the charge letter and his lawyer that specializes in food stamp violations  will be calling him Tuesday. 

Edited October 20, 2018 by Ninna

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

Better listen to the lawyer at this point.

clearly a violation of the law and He should have known as said above 

i know when you open any business there is a mountain of paperwork you have to know the rules and laws /  this is part of owning a business and being responsible as the business owner.

having a good accountant,  a lawyer known for business law (as no way could anyone read the piles of mail that u get upon opening a business) is necessary.

let us know how you make out with this please as many here have small businesses like small grocery stores, convenient stores and resturants.

good luck

[kid1412 62]

Talk to the lawyer on Tuesday. It might not be as big of a deal as you think. It doesn’t sound like fraud here. It just sounds like he made a mistake, one that could cost him the food stamp business. As far as the N-400, in my opinion it’s not a big deal. But what do I know, I’m just a guy on the Internet. So you may want to consult an immigration attorney about this issue, just to have peace of mind. If you need recommendations on an expert immigration attorney on naturalization issues, let me know.

[geowrian 22,335]

Agreed...talk to a lawyer to see if this is just a business civil matter or if it could expose him to any sort of personal liability.

[Ninna 1]

Yes I agree that he should’ve known the guidelines and rules better. He has never had any issues prior to this with anything regarding his business or even the food stamps. And he has been in business for years. Our concern is not losing the food stamps but being accused of somthing and it affecting his citizenship. I’ve read scary things about fraud, and deportation and just everything bad that can happen. We are so close to the finish line with him getting his citizenship and then this comes up. I’m hoping his interview will come soon and we can get it with no issues. 

[Ninna 1]

Does anyone think that we should mention this at his interview? 

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

do a security check on yourself (i mean him) and see what pops up

i don't know if you should volunteer info / ask lawyer / make sure he understands immigration laws also

then answer all questions trufully 

 

[Ninna 1]

The only thing that comes up under record for him is just his dismissed case. Nothing else. But that was before they sent him this letter. 

Edited October 20, 2018 by Ninna

[NikLR 13,220]

You're going to have to talk to the lawyer. If you want also talk to an immigration lawyer. 

[Ninna 1]

I think we will take it one step at a time and hopefully we can resolve this issue before the interview. It’s really stressing me out. 

[Calicolom 265]

5 hours ago, kid1412 said:

Talk to the lawyer on Tuesday. It might not be as big of a deal as you think. It doesn’t sound like fraud here. It just sounds like he made a mistake, one that could cost him the food stamp business. As far as the N-400, in my opinion it’s not a big deal. But what do I know, I’m just a guy on the Internet. So you may want to consult an immigration attorney about this issue, just to have peace of mind. If you need recommendations on an expert immigration attorney on naturalization issues, let me know.

No one can tell you bforehand how the N-400 will go. No one, not even a know it all lawer.

[James D 39]

20 hours ago, Ninna said:

He didn’t think that offering credit occasionally to customers is wrong.

And indeed there is nothing wrong with doing this. It's a good gesture in fact. I hope all goes well for him and you.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

39 minutes ago, James D said:

And indeed there is nothing wrong with doing this. It's a good gesture in fact. I hope all goes well for him and you.

Allowing people to pay off credit with food stamps is a way to use food stamps for purchases they’re not intended. It’s not just a stupid rule with no reason.