N400 mistake reagdring voter registration

[lanky1980 1]

First of all thanks to those that host this forum. I have long been a guest on here but after my N-400 interview yesterday i am in need of some advice.

On my N-400 application i had stated that i had never registered to vote, nor had i ever voted. I believed this to be true as i have no recollection of ever do so.

At the beginning of the interview the IO asked why i was registered to vote in my County. I told him i was unaware that i was. He conducted the interview and issued me with an N-14 and asked me to go to the County Clerks office to see what i could find.

The N-14 asks you to return to the IO a voter registration form, proof of removal from the voter register, and your voting record.

I went to the courthouse and they produced a voter registration form that i had signed in March 2006 at the DMV. It clearly states that it is for US Citizens only. I was shocked that i had been so stupid as to sign this, and also that i had no recall of doing it.

However, i got a copy of this, a copy of the form stating i was no longer on the voting register and a copy of my voting record that showed i have never voted.

I drafted a letter to the IO explaining all this and my regret at this huge mistake i had made.

Other than this i am a LPR from the UK married to a USC, been an LPR since 2003, have a 20 month old child and another on the way, always employed, always paid taxes, clean record, not even a parking ticket.

My question is this: Should i return the forms along with my letter of regret and hope for the best? I also have a sworn notarized statement saying i signed this form in error and with full regret.

Do i need to Lawyer up at this point? I realize that by signing the form i could be deported.

Or could i withdraw my application and reapply with all this information attached?

Many thanks in advance for any advice given

[jkelly07 120]

on the n-400 form page 6 part 10 have you ever claimed to be a us citizen YES or NO....have you ever registerered to vote, if you put YES.then you have to write a explanation letter as to why you checked YES. they did a back round check thats why the io gave you a n-14 .. it was a honest mistake you never voted,you never intened to vote, as you are not a us citizen,and that you was excited to get your driver license at that in 2006 ,you checked that box to registrater to vote, in error,and you want to obay all the laws in the united states of america,i think if you write a nice letter sorry for the error, hope it works good luck,

[lanky1980 1]

on the n-400 form page 6 part 10 have you ever claimed to be a us citizen YES or NO....have you ever registerered to vote, if you put YES.then you have to write a explanation letter as to why you checked YES. they did a back round check thats why the io gave you a n-14 .. it was a honest mistake you never voted,you never intened to vote, as you are not a us citizen,and that you was excited to get your driver license at that in 2006 ,you checked that box to registrater to vote, in error,and you want to obay all the laws in the united states of america,i think if you write a nice letter sorry for the error, hope it works good luck,

I actually put NO next to hve you ever registered to vote as i was unaware that i had, but found later on that i had indeed filled out a card in 2006. The USCIS officer pointing it out to me was the first time it had been brought to my attention and i had no recollection of doing this at the DMV.

[venusfire503 54]

I actually put NO next to hve you ever registered to vote as i was unaware that i had, but found later on that i had indeed filled out a card in 2006. The USCIS officer pointing it out to me was the first time it had been brought to my attention and i had no recollection of doing this at the DMV.

That's exactly what I would mention in the letter - that you didn't realize that you checked a box for registering to vote. Since that was 5 years ago, it makes sense that you don't even remember doing it. It sounds like even if someone had mentioned it to you immediately after it happened, you would have been unaware that you did it. I think the fact that you never voted backs you up that you didn't intentionally register to vote. You were probably just trying to be thorough and check all the boxes you saw and fill in all the blanks as well.

Best of luck

venusfire

[venusfire503 54]

Also, doesn't it say something on the form, where you sign, that the form is complete and correct to the best of your knowledge? It sounds to me that to the best of your knowledge, at the time you signed the form, you didn't know you had registered to vote. I would definitely emphasize that.

As far as a lawyer goes, I think this is one of those times it might be a good idea to get one (and I hate paying lawyers). The outcome is just too important.

venusfire

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Lanky,

I understand your case and where you are coming from, feeling your emotional pain and your concerns, and while I'm not an attorney I have researched that issue myself quite extensively and actually consulted specialized immigration attorneys on this, just because I had nightmares about it. It's fair to say this has become my pet peeve of immigration law.

See, back in the early 1990s, I went to college and finally though college, and while I had claimed to be a resident of the State of California, I had this underlying fear that I might have marked anywhere at any time "US citizen" on the application although I did not remember having ever done so.

Another issue is the folks who are lurking outside of supermarkets and try to get people to sign petitions which require them to be a US citizen and, oftentimes, being registered to vote. Would that apply?

Thus, let's look at the legal framework involved here.

As you may or may not know, the "false claim of US citizenship" is a total deal breaker for immigration and naturalization purposes. Up to a law revision dating to September 30, 1996 (IIRIRA), only a claim made to gain immigration benefits was a deal breaker. Since the law change, any claim done to "anyone" in any "form" and for any reason qualifies. That means, to name an extreme case, that if you sit in a bar at New Year's Eve, and some drunk makes a remark like "you ain't even from here, you #######" and you respond, "for your information, I'm a US citizen, you low life looser!" it would qualify to kick you out of the country for good. It's fair to say that a false claim of US citizenship has become the worst non-violent crime an immigrant can commit.

http://immigration.l...itizenship.html

Just for information purpose, the law was successfully challenged once by a guy who marked "US citizen or US national" on the old I-9 (employment) form, based on that him marking the field was only a claim to be a US national, not a US citizen, which they forgot to include when writing the law. For this very reason, the current I-9 forms separate US citizens and US nationals.

http://www.nilc.org/...rif/irca058.htm

Hence that's not what we are dealing with here.

Mistakes do happen, but marking a form that clearly states that you have to be a US citizen, such as it's the case with the Voter's Registration form, is another issue. Frankly, to the best of my knowledge, there is very little wiggle room for the I.O. when it comes to a documented case of false claim of US citizenship. He may choose to ignore it if he really likes you as a person, but since he handed you an N-14 after you stated you did not make any such claim might tie the hands of the most well-meaning I.O.

There is not much feedback on this on the Internet, but I strongly suggest that you consult a very competent immigration attorney in this matter before you do anything. I would not be surprised to learn that withdrawing your N-400 for good might be the only viable option here. Oftentimes embracing the status quo is the way to go.

http://cliniclegal.org/sites/default/files/falseclaimsalert_2.pdf

Edited April 20, 2011 by Just Bob

[lanky1980 1]

Lanky,

I understand your case and where you are coming from, feeling your emotional pain and your concerns, and while I'm not an attorney I have researched that issue myself quite extensively and actually consulted specialized immigration attorneys on this, just because I had nightmares about it. It's fair to say this has become my pet peeve of immigration law.

See, back in the early 1990s, I went to college and finally though college, and while I had claimed to be a resident of the State of California, I had this underlying fear that I might have marked anywhere at any time "US citizen" on the application although I did not remember having ever done so.

Another issue is the folks who are lurking outside of supermarkets and try to get people to sign petitions which require them to be a US citizen and, oftentimes, being registered to vote. Would that apply?

Thus, let's look at the legal framework involved here.

As you may or may not know, the "false claim of US citizenship" is a total deal breaker for immigration and naturalization purposes. Up to a law revision dating to September 30, 1996 (IIRIRA), only a claim made to gain immigration benefits was a deal breaker. Since the law change, any claim done to "anyone" in any "form" and for any reason qualifies. That means, to name an extreme case, that if you sit in a bar at New Year's Eve, and some drunk makes a remark like "you ain't even from here, you #######" and you respond, "for your information, I'm a US citizen, you low life looser!" it would qualify to kick you out of the country for good. It's fair to say that a false claim of US citizenship has become the worst non-violent crime an immigrant can commit.

http://immigration.l...itizenship.html

Just for information purpose, the law was successfully challenged once by a guy who marked "US citizen or US national" on the old I-9 (employment) form, based on that him marking the field was only a claim to be a US national, not a US citizen, which they forgot to include when writing the law. For this very reason, the current I-9 forms separate US citizens and US nationals.

http://www.nilc.org/...rif/irca058.htm

Hence that's not what we are dealing with here.

Mistakes do happen, but marking a form that clearly states that you have to be a US citizen, such as it's the case with the Voter's Registration form, is another issue. Frankly, to the best of my knowledge, there is very little wiggle room for the I.O. when it comes to a documented case of false claim of US citizenship. He may choose to ignore it if he really likes you as a person, but since he handed you an N-14 after you stated you did not make any such claim might tie the hands of the most well-meaning I.O.

There is not much feedback on this on the Internet, but I strongly suggest that you consult a very competent immigration attorney in this matter before you do anything. I would not be surprised to learn that withdrawing your N-400 for good might be the only viable option here. Oftentimes embracing the status quo is the way to go.

http://cliniclegal.org/sites/default/files/falseclaimsalert_2.pdf

Thanks for the response. Can i even withdraw my application at this time, post interview and all? Do you know how i would go about this?

[metals95 1]

I follow another immigration board too. There are a few post there about this issue.

http://www.immigration-information.com/forums/us-citizenship-17/n-400-form-register-to-vote-question-9852/

http://www.immigration-information.com/forums/naturalization-to-become-a-us-citizen-18/n-400-denied-need-advice-6731/

Now having read many posts on many websites in my life, anyone seems to be able to write anything they want on the internet. You may want to get professional advice.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Metals,

thanks for the links. Especially the second one I found very interesting as they talked about a statutory period of 3 years, which I haven't heard of before. Since Lanky registered in 2006, that would put her in the clear. I wish her the best.

People sometimes complain about legislation requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote. My very liberal wife is among them, stating that this would discourage the poor who neither have a passport nor their birth certificate at hand. While I agree with her on that point, plain errors like this one would have been prevented. I remember a case where a Green Card holder served as a juror. I told her that this is the mother of all deal breakers for naturalization purposes, next to having actually voted in a federal elections. She claimed that this is not true. She told me that she actually showed the court clerk her Green Card and asked her if she really had to serve as a juror and the clerk said that this would be okay. Again, something that shouldn't have happened, and wouldn't have happened if they would require proof of citizenship before serving.

[lanky1980 1]

Metals,

thanks for the links. Especially the second one I found very interesting as they talked about a statutory period of 3 years, which I haven't heard of before. Since Lanky registered in 2006, that would put her in the clear. I wish her the best.

People sometimes complain about legislation requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote. My very liberal wife is among them, stating that this would discourage the poor who neither have a passport nor their birth certificate at hand. While I agree with her on that point, plain errors like this one would have been prevented. I remember a case where a Green Card holder served as a juror. I told her that this is the mother of all deal breakers for naturalization purposes, next to having actually voted in a federal elections. She claimed that this is not true. She told me that she actually showed the court clerk her Green Card and asked her if she really had to serve as a juror and the clerk said that this would be okay. Again, something that shouldn't have happened, and wouldn't have happened if they would require proof of citizenship before serving.

I actually became a LPR in February 2003 (Got married in June 2002). Would that mean the statutory period would be the first three years i was an LPR meaning that this occured outside of those years? I am a little confused as to the statutory period of 3 years. Could you clarify? Thanks in advance. OH and i am a he not a she.

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

hmmm.. unfortunate and i would advise to consult with an immigration attorney because you claimed to be a US Citizen. I understand that you're saying this was done in error .. but it still does not matter.. even if you did not vote. same could be said about requesting a SSN as a US Citizen while you're not getting any immediate benefit.. but made the "claim" to be one. One member said to explain that you were excited to get your Driver's License back in 2006... that's BS .. because even in the mist of issues and success we are still required to properly follow the conditions of the PR card.

If i were you I would withdraw my petition and and reapply so to not be denied with the appropriate selections. You can keep the case going but should be certain to engage a lawyer. if you are denied.. you're able to apply in the future.. you could be placed in deportation proceeding but just cant see the extreme since the claim was made but no actions were taken. If denied i would engaged a lawyer when you would renew your greencard.

[lanky1980 1]

hmmm.. unfortunate and i would advise to consult with an immigration attorney because you claimed to be a US Citizen. I understand that you're saying this was done in error .. but it still does not matter.. even if you did not vote. same could be said about requesting a SSN as a US Citizen while you're not getting any immediate benefit.. but made the "claim" to be one. One member said to explain that you were excited to get your Driver's License back in 2006... that's BS .. because even in the mist of issues and success we are still required to properly follow the conditions of the PR card.

If i were you I would withdraw my petition and and reapply so to not be denied with the appropriate selections. You can keep the case going but should be certain to engage a lawyer. if you are denied.. you're able to apply in the future.. you could be placed in deportation proceeding but just cant see the extreme since the claim was made but no actions were taken. If denied i would engaged a lawyer when you would renew your greencard.

Thanks for the reply. I think withdrawing my petition at this stage may arouse even more suspicion. I am consulting with a good lawyer that is a family friend, have typed a letter explaining my regret and that i had no intention of voting, collected all the evidence asked for on the N-14 and also i have letters from the Mayor and also the Secretary of State for my state speaking to how easily this could happen and how i am otherwise a good law abiding person. Do you guys think this will help?

[Good Life 7]

First of all thanks to those that host this forum. I have long been a guest on here but after my N-400 interview yesterday i am in need of some advice.

On my N-400 application i had stated that i had never registered to vote, nor had i ever voted. I believed this to be true as i have no recollection of ever do so.

At the beginning of the interview the IO asked why i was registered to vote in my County. I told him i was unaware that i was. He conducted the interview and issued me with an N-14 and asked me to go to the County Clerks office to see what i could find.

The N-14 asks you to return to the IO a voter registration form, proof of removal from the voter register, and your voting record.

I went to the courthouse and they produced a voter registration form that i had signed in March 2006 at the DMV. It clearly states that it is for US Citizens only. I was shocked that i had been so stupid as to sign this, and also that i had no recall of doing it.

However, i got a copy of this, a copy of the form stating i was no longer on the voting register and a copy of my voting record that showed i have never voted.

I drafted a letter to the IO explaining all this and my regret at this huge mistake i had made.

Other than this i am a LPR from the UK married to a USC, been an LPR since 2003, have a 20 month old child and another on the way, always employed, always paid taxes, clean record, not even a parking ticket.

My question is this: Should i return the forms along with my letter of regret and hope for the best? I also have a sworn notarized statement saying i signed this form in error and with full regret.

Do i need to Lawyer up at this point? I realize that by signing the form i could be deported.

Or could i withdraw my application and reapply with all this information attached?

Many thanks in advance for any advice given

I am sorry about your predicament. I was in almost a in a similar sitaution in 1996 whaen I applied for Naturalization. I married a USC in 1986 andd I applied to adjust my status, but I was denied because I was not properly divorced from my ex wife. Around the same time was the Amnesty of 1986, which I qualified for and was approved. When I applied for Naturlization there was a potion that asked if "ever applied for immigration benefits" which I marked NO, I was thinking of that phrase meant if I had applied for government benefits as Food Stamp or student loan which I never did. At the interview, this was pointed out and I still said No, and I asked for what it meant and I explained to the IO what I thought it meant. She said the immigration benefits was my prior application to adjust my status which in all honesty I did not know, and I told the lady that I know the USCIS had my records and would be foolish of me to lie...but the lady was really mean and denied my Naturilization application, I was really furious because it was an honest mistake but she denied me anyway. So I asked for the Supervisor who was very understanding and sympathtetic but could not do anything since it was denied. She told me I had two options: (1) File an appeal, which could take months or sometimes years, (2) Withdraw the appilcation and re apply in 5 years. She said there is a chance the appeal could work in my favor, but if the decision is upheld, then I have to wait another 5 years from the date of the decion on the appeal before I could apply again. So I decided to withdraw and re applied again in 2009 and was approved. In your case you were not denied but given the opportunity to clear your name from the register. I would advise to go back to the IO and get your decision, you maybe approved if she blieves you and with your letter of apology, it raelly depends on the IO some are nice and some are damn nasty. MY IO was a witch (actually I want to call her something else). As for a Lawyer I do not think you need one. The worst that can happen is to be denied and you are eligible in 5 years and it has no effect whatsover on your GC. Good Luck and best wishes

[sciencenerd 56]

I would consult with an experienced immigration attorney - unless your family friend attorney has experience with immigration, it might end up being foolish to base any decisions you make on their opinion. Immigration is a highly specialized area of law and you want a lawyer who knows it well. There is a potential for very serious consequences here, so you want to make sure whatever decision you make is in your best interest. Good luck - I always thought it was ridiculous how black and white they are about this particular issue.

[lanky1980 1]

I would consult with an experienced immigration attorney - unless your family friend attorney has experience with immigration, it might end up being foolish to base any decisions you make on their opinion. Immigration is a highly specialized area of law and you want a lawyer who knows it well. There is a potential for very serious consequences here, so you want to make sure whatever decision you make is in your best interest. Good luck - I always thought it was ridiculous how black and white they are about this particular issue.

I should clarify, my family friend is a NY attorney that used to practice in ATL. He is aware of my position and is consulting with an immigration lawyer he was in the firm with in ATL. I am waiting for his opinion before i send anything in.