arvinb

They can always hold any arrest against you, regardless of whether it was dismissed. That's why they ask for all court documents and dispositions in your N400, and for you to bring them in the interview.
I had a petty theft/shoplifitng arrest that was a little over 5 years old when I interviewed and I sent photocopies of all court documents with my N400, and brought certified copies with me to the interview. They didn't ask for it during the interview but I was ready if they did. My case was recommended for approval and I got oath pretty quickly.
It's kind of annoying that your IO didn't ask for them in your interview, but I have to assume you sent the photocopied documents with your application and you had them with you during your interview. If you didn't then you were very unprepared. Just get the proper paperwork to the right people and hopefully it'll get sorted out.
But please let that be a lesson to everyone that if you got arrested for any reason to have all that paperwork ready in your application and during the interview. If it was a minor offense and happened many years ago it will probably not be an issue but you should never take the risk.

They can always hold any arrest against you, regardless of whether it was dismissed. That's why they ask for all court documents and dispositions in your N400, and for you to bring them in the interview.
I had a petty theft/shoplifitng arrest that was a little over 5 years old when I interviewed and I sent photocopies of all court documents with my N400, and brought certified copies with me to the interview. They didn't ask for it during the interview but I was ready if they did. My case was recommended for approval and I got oath pretty quickly.
It's kind of annoying that your IO didn't ask for them in your interview, but I have to assume you sent the photocopied documents with your application and you had them with you during your interview. If you didn't then you were very unprepared. Just get the proper paperwork to the right people and hopefully it'll get sorted out.
But please let that be a lesson to everyone that if you got arrested for any reason to have all that paperwork ready in your application and during the interview. If it was a minor offense and happened many years ago it will probably not be an issue but you should never take the risk.

They can always hold any arrest against you, regardless of whether it was dismissed. That's why they ask for all court documents and dispositions in your N400, and for you to bring them in the interview.
I had a petty theft/shoplifitng arrest that was a little over 5 years old when I interviewed and I sent photocopies of all court documents with my N400, and brought certified copies with me to the interview. They didn't ask for it during the interview but I was ready if they did. My case was recommended for approval and I got oath pretty quickly.
It's kind of annoying that your IO didn't ask for them in your interview, but I have to assume you sent the photocopied documents with your application and you had them with you during your interview. If you didn't then you were very unprepared. Just get the proper paperwork to the right people and hopefully it'll get sorted out.
But please let that be a lesson to everyone that if you got arrested for any reason to have all that paperwork ready in your application and during the interview. If it was a minor offense and happened many years ago it will probably not be an issue but you should never take the risk.

I stand corrected on the Puerto Rico part. Looks like I dont know my geography either

Neither of those are countries at all. Hawaii is a state, Puerto Rico is a territory. They're both part of the United States. Your passport wasn't stamped when you went to those places. Personally if I saw you put those down as countries in your N400 I'd deny it on the basis that clearly you don't know your US geography

Neither of those are countries at all. Hawaii is a state, Puerto Rico is a territory. They're both part of the United States. Your passport wasn't stamped when you went to those places. Personally if I saw you put those down as countries in your N400 I'd deny it on the basis that clearly you don't know your US geography

Neither of those are countries at all. Hawaii is a state, Puerto Rico is a territory. They're both part of the United States. Your passport wasn't stamped when you went to those places. Personally if I saw you put those down as countries in your N400 I'd deny it on the basis that clearly you don't know your US geography

Neither of those are countries at all. Hawaii is a state, Puerto Rico is a territory. They're both part of the United States. Your passport wasn't stamped when you went to those places. Personally if I saw you put those down as countries in your N400 I'd deny it on the basis that clearly you don't know your US geography

Neither of those are countries at all. Hawaii is a state, Puerto Rico is a territory. They're both part of the United States. Your passport wasn't stamped when you went to those places. Personally if I saw you put those down as countries in your N400 I'd deny it on the basis that clearly you don't know your US geography

Neither of those are countries at all. Hawaii is a state, Puerto Rico is a territory. They're both part of the United States. Your passport wasn't stamped when you went to those places. Personally if I saw you put those down as countries in your N400 I'd deny it on the basis that clearly you don't know your US geography

Neither of those are countries at all. Hawaii is a state, Puerto Rico is a territory. They're both part of the United States. Your passport wasn't stamped when you went to those places. Personally if I saw you put those down as countries in your N400 I'd deny it on the basis that clearly you don't know your US geography

Neither of those are countries at all. Hawaii is a state, Puerto Rico is a territory. They're both part of the United States. Your passport wasn't stamped when you went to those places. Personally if I saw you put those down as countries in your N400 I'd deny it on the basis that clearly you don't know your US geography

Neither of those are countries at all. Hawaii is a state, Puerto Rico is a territory. They're both part of the United States. Your passport wasn't stamped when you went to those places. Personally if I saw you put those down as countries in your N400 I'd deny it on the basis that clearly you don't know your US geography

Yes he should disclose it, have paperwork for it ready to show (copy of the citation, and some proof that the fine was paid), write on another paper explaining the situation. It really won't affect his application.
I applied late last year and 6 years ago at the end of college I got 2 speeding tickets and committed of what's basically shoplifting (dismissed by community service), which is a more serious offense to USCIS since it involves theft. It was a little bit of a pain to get all the paperwork done but the interviewing officer didn't even ask for it at the interview, he just barely brought it up at all.
The point is, he skimmed over that and that was a more intense situation than your son's, which is no worse than a traffic ticket. Some people advocate not disclosing it but from what I've seen there's no harm in doing it, and it won't affect decision. Also 5 years ago is a general statute of limitations for stuff like this anyway.

I recently applied with a (what is essentially) shoplifting conviction (dismissed by community service) without a lawyer and I got approved on the spot, oath was 2 weeks ago. That said personally if I was Joker I wouldn't've applied without a lawyer. I highly suggest looking to see if there are any free immigration law clinics in your area, like there is in Los Angeles. For 20 dollars they looked over my files and papers ahead of time just to give me the peace of mind that I was doing things correctly.

I'm pretty sure that's the definition of a certified copy... aka a copy made after the original was issued, that has all the real seals and signatures of the original... a photocopy is not a certified copy, and not what people are referring to when they say certified copy.

The wait was about an hour at my ceremony and I had a LOT of work I needed to do, so yes I brought some paper from work and I did them while waiting.
I wouldn't tell you to shut up and mind your own business, but if you came up to me and I looked like I didn't really want to participate in your little impromptu talk show, would you shame me into opening up in front of the others? If the answer is no then that's cool, you guys powwow about anything except how I'm being a sourpuss and I won't have an issue; but if you're like some people I know that can't stand not being the center of attention, then we might have a problem