Traffic violation, report or not?

[aleisia]

Hi Everyone, I'm new here.

I'm asking for advice regarding how to answer question 1.b. in Part 3:

Have you EVER, in or outside the US been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance, excluding traffic violations?

The thing is:
My wife had a traffic citation, speeding in a construction zone (driving at 77 mph at a 55-mph speed limit in Illinois) at night. There was no workers around or construction work going on at that time. The traffic ticket said to show up in court. We went to talk to the State's Attorney in that county and basically paid the fine ($375) and some court fee so the total we paid was $700-720, but to be clear, the fine was only $375.
The ticket did not say if this is an infraction or misdemeanor (it should not be a felony in IL, I don't think). Per my research, it is likely to be considered as misdemeanor per Illinois regulation.

My wife just got the ticket and did not get arrested or imprisoned.

My question is, should she select yes or no to that question?

485 instruction sa
In general, you do not need to submit documentation relating to traffic fines and incidents that did not involve an
actual physical arrest if the penalty was only a fine of less than $500 or points on your driver?s license. However,
you must submit such documentation if the traffic incident resulted in criminal charges or involved alcohol, drugs, or
injury to a person or property.

You see, the wording after "However", especially the interpretation of "criminal charges" is something I'm not sure of. Nobody was hurt, no DUI, no drugs, just speeding in a construction zone without workers present (the ticket said that as well), but since it is over 22 mph of speed limit, IL law says it is a misdemeanor, I think, which means light felony...

Please advise!

[inadmissible]

In my opinion: when in doubt, disclose

[gunit123]

In my opinion: when in doubt, disclose

i485 clearly states not to report traffic violations if not arrested. you can take the report to interview.

i was only asked if i was ever arrested or not.

[newacct]

Hi Everyone, I'm new here.

I'm asking for advice regarding how to answer question 1.b. in Part 3:

Have you EVER, in or outside the US been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance, excluding traffic violations?

The thing is:
My wife had a traffic citation, speeding in a construction zone (driving at 77 mph at a 55-mph speed limit in Illinois) at night. There was no workers around or construction work going on at that time. The traffic ticket said to show up in court. We went to talk to the State's Attorney in that county and basically paid the fine ($375) and some court fee so the total we paid was $700-720, but to be clear, the fine was only $375.
The ticket did not say if this is an infraction or misdemeanor (it should not be a felony in IL, I don't think). Per my research, it is likely to be considered as misdemeanor per Illinois regulation.

My wife just got the ticket and did not get arrested or imprisoned.

My question is, should she select yes or no to that question?

485 instruction sa
In general, you do not need to submit documentation relating to traffic fines and incidents that did not involve an
actual physical arrest if the penalty was only a fine of less than $500 or points on your driver?s license. However,
you must submit such documentation if the traffic incident resulted in criminal charges or involved alcohol, drugs, or
injury to a person or property.

You see, the wording after "However", especially the interpretation of "criminal charges" is something I'm not sure of. Nobody was hurt, no DUI, no drugs, just speeding in a construction zone without workers present (the ticket said that as well), but since it is over 22 mph of speed limit, IL law says it is a misdemeanor, I think, which means light felony...

Please advise!

You are looking at an old edition of the I-485 that is no longer accepted. According to the I-485 web page, the only editions of I-485 currently accepted are the 06/26/17 and 12/13/17 editions (soon only the 12/13/17 edition). The edition date is on the lower left corner of every page of the form. (You should also make sure you are using accepted editions of your other forms too.)

The current editions of the I-485, Part 8, item 25, will ask "Have you EVER been arrested, cited, charged, or detained for any reason by any law enforcement official (including but not limited to any U.S. immigration official or any official of the U.S. armed forces or U.S. Coast Guard)?". In my opinion, if you ever had any traffic ticket, you must say Yes to this, as it is a citation.