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I, along with my wife, applied for Naturalization on Feb 24th, 2014. While preparing the form, we both were debating whether to disclose the traffic citations (we both had one of each, hers was a speeding ticket in PA, mine a careless driving ticket it in NJ which was later dialed down to Obstruction of Traffic with no points). Both tickets had fines less than $100 and there are many places (including some USCIS literature) that states that if the fine is less than $500, no need to disclose those or at least submit paperwork for those. After researching for quite a while, we reached the conclusion that it all depends on the Interviewing Officer (IO) so better to disclose them.
We received our Interview Appointment letters in April (Mount Laurel, NJ) and after a week we both got pink colored letters that said that since we had indicated that we had had cited by a law enforcement officer, we must bring to our interview the certified court dispositions to the resolutions of those citations. I got mine from my municipal court (took a week) but since my wife had pleaded guilty to speeding and paid online, there wasn't any court disposition. So, as the next best thing, she went to the DMV and got her driving record transcript that said that she was a driver in good standing. We collected these documents even though the pink letter said no paper work is needed for traffic violations not involving alcohol and drugs and the fine was lesser than $500. We took those documents with us any way.
I lucked out at having probably the best and most polite IO. The lady was really courteous and kind. We zipped through the initial phase. I got my first 6 civic questions rights so she stopped there. She asked me if I was still with the same employer and I said no and gave her a letter from my new employer confirming my job change.
Then came the question of the traffic ticket. I gave her the certified court disposition with the fine of $36. She looked and sighed and said, "unfortunately, that's not enough. I need a certified copy of the police report". I told her that the pink letter stated that if the fine is less than $500, no paperwork is needed. She said that despite that letter saying that, the police report is a statutory requirement. I was bummed and she probably saw that. She told me that ordinarily, she would ask the applicant to mail the police report and then reschedule the interview, but in my case, she would make an exemption and if I can get the report back to her by 2:00 pm, she would recommend me for the approval.
In the meantime, my wife was being interviewed in the other office. She wasn't as lucky as I was when it comes to IO. After going through all the questions, the lady asked my wife if she was sure she was never arrested. My wife said that she was absolutely sure. At this point, her IO went out and brought someone else in who looked at the computer and said that well, there was something wrong with her background. After 5 minutes of going through stuff, the second IO said, "ah! it's not an arrest. It's a speeding ticket. Did you mention that on your N-400?" and my wife said that of course she had to which the second IO said, "good for you". My wife got the oath appointment for 3:00 pm and then we rushed back to the police station to get my police report.
With the certified copy in hand, I went back to Mount Laurel and asked to see the IO I had seen in the morning. She came out and ushered me back into her office. I handed her the police report. She didn't even read it. She just put it in the file and gave me the oath form.
And now we are proud US citizens.
Moral of the story: Disclose everything and if it's a traffic violation, go with the disposition AND the police report.
We received our Interview Appointment letters in April (Mount Laurel, NJ) and after a week we both got pink colored letters that said that since we had indicated that we had had cited by a law enforcement officer, we must bring to our interview the certified court dispositions to the resolutions of those citations. I got mine from my municipal court (took a week) but since my wife had pleaded guilty to speeding and paid online, there wasn't any court disposition. So, as the next best thing, she went to the DMV and got her driving record transcript that said that she was a driver in good standing. We collected these documents even though the pink letter said no paper work is needed for traffic violations not involving alcohol and drugs and the fine was lesser than $500. We took those documents with us any way.
I lucked out at having probably the best and most polite IO. The lady was really courteous and kind. We zipped through the initial phase. I got my first 6 civic questions rights so she stopped there. She asked me if I was still with the same employer and I said no and gave her a letter from my new employer confirming my job change.
Then came the question of the traffic ticket. I gave her the certified court disposition with the fine of $36. She looked and sighed and said, "unfortunately, that's not enough. I need a certified copy of the police report". I told her that the pink letter stated that if the fine is less than $500, no paperwork is needed. She said that despite that letter saying that, the police report is a statutory requirement. I was bummed and she probably saw that. She told me that ordinarily, she would ask the applicant to mail the police report and then reschedule the interview, but in my case, she would make an exemption and if I can get the report back to her by 2:00 pm, she would recommend me for the approval.
In the meantime, my wife was being interviewed in the other office. She wasn't as lucky as I was when it comes to IO. After going through all the questions, the lady asked my wife if she was sure she was never arrested. My wife said that she was absolutely sure. At this point, her IO went out and brought someone else in who looked at the computer and said that well, there was something wrong with her background. After 5 minutes of going through stuff, the second IO said, "ah! it's not an arrest. It's a speeding ticket. Did you mention that on your N-400?" and my wife said that of course she had to which the second IO said, "good for you". My wife got the oath appointment for 3:00 pm and then we rushed back to the police station to get my police report.
With the certified copy in hand, I went back to Mount Laurel and asked to see the IO I had seen in the morning. She came out and ushered me back into her office. I handed her the police report. She didn't even read it. She just put it in the file and gave me the oath form.
And now we are proud US citizens.
Moral of the story: Disclose everything and if it's a traffic violation, go with the disposition AND the police report.
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