Please help....

[Ducati]

I have been in the country for 33 years. I lived in New York for 30 of those years and I am FULLY AWARE that I am NOT a citizen and I DO NOT have the right to VOTE nor REGISTER TO VOTE.
I have NEVER REGISTERED TO VOTE IN NY. In 2014 my wife and I purchased a home in New Jersey. Once fully moved into our new home and STATE, we had to transfer our NY driver?s licenses to NJ driver?s licenses.
With this process my wife and I had to present 6 points of ID which included my wife?s U.S. Passport and my Italian Passport along with my GREEN CARD, our marriage certificate and utility bills.
We met the requirement and we were allowed to continue the process. We were both assisted by the same clerk and he provided us with forms and instructed us to fill them out and sign them.
We completed the forms as instructed and we were given our NJ drivers licenses and went about our lives.

(I was reminded by my wife to look into the following after I filed for the N-400) as I had totally forgotten.
In around 2015/2016 both my wife and I received voting ballots. I was in utter confusion as to why MY NAME was on the ballot because I have never REGISTERED IN NY and I DID NOT REGISTER IN NJ.
I really could not figure out why I had received VOTING ballots. Until it finally clicked, DMV!!!
I first searched online to see if there was a website where I could check if in fact I was registered to vote and found a website where
I inputted my name last name and DOB and I was shocked to learn that somehow I was registered to VOTE.
I made some calls and I was able to get my registration DELETED (on May 11th, 2018) and proof that I NEVER VOTED by the NJ DIVISION OF ELECTIONS Plus a Signed and stamped letter by Superintendent of elections commissioner of registrations,
Stating that my voting registration has been DELETED because I am not a citizen and that I have never voted.
I also went a step further by requesting my DRIVERS LICENSE application by filing the DO11 form of the NJDMV.

Apparently I was given a Voter registration application from the DMV employee the day my wife and I were transferring our driver?s licenses.
On that application, I immediately saw bullet points starting with ? I AM A U.S CITIZEN? and IMMEDIATELY checked NO at the bottom and signed it. Because I am not a citizen.
At the bottom of the form where I checked NO it asks:
DO YOU WISH TO DECLARE A POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION?
CHOICES ARE: YES, the party is________________ & NO, I DO NOT WISH TO BE AFFILIATED WITH ANY POLITICAL PARTY.
I put my check on the NO option thinking I can?t vote because I AM NOT A U.S. CITIZEN. Therefore, IM NOT AFFILIATED TO ANY PARTY AND I UNDERSTOOD THIS, IS IF, I WAS DECLINING TO REGISTER.
This was a result of rushing through the paperwork as we were very tired and had been in the DMV for quite some time with 2 very young children, definitely caught me with my guard down for sure.
Also, being that I presented my GREEN CARD and ITALIAN PASSPORT to the DMV clerk to meet my 6 point ID requirement, I should have NEVER been given this form to fill out.
This caused me to be unwittingly registered to vote. I am EXTREMELY UPSET about this situation because in a way I was wrongfully instructed to fill out and sign all the forms by the clerk.

Although it is also my fault for not fully understanding what I was signing I never had any INTENTIONS to register and this was an honest mistake.

What are your thoughts?

[newacct]

I have been in the country for 33 years. I lived in New York for 30 of those years and I am FULLY AWARE that I am NOT a citizen and I DO NOT have the right to VOTE nor REGISTER TO VOTE.
I have NEVER REGISTERED TO VOTE IN NY. In 2014 my wife and I purchased a home in New Jersey. Once fully moved into our new home and STATE, we had to transfer our NY driver?s licenses to NJ driver?s licenses.
With this process my wife and I had to present 6 points of ID which included my wife?s U.S. Passport and my Italian Passport along with my GREEN CARD, our marriage certificate and utility bills.
We met the requirement and we were allowed to continue the process. We were both assisted by the same clerk and he provided us with forms and instructed us to fill them out and sign them.
We completed the forms as instructed and we were given our NJ drivers licenses and went about our lives.

(I was reminded by my wife to look into the following after I filed for the N-400) as I had totally forgotten.
In around 2015/2016 both my wife and I received voting ballots. I was in utter confusion as to why MY NAME was on the ballot because I have never REGISTERED IN NY and I DID NOT REGISTER IN NJ.
I really could not figure out why I had received VOTING ballots. Until it finally clicked, DMV!!!
I first searched online to see if there was a website where I could check if in fact I was registered to vote and found a website where
I inputted my name last name and DOB and I was shocked to learn that somehow I was registered to VOTE.
I made some calls and I was able to get my registration DELETED (on May 11th, 2018) and proof that I NEVER VOTED by the NJ DIVISION OF ELECTIONS Plus a Signed and stamped letter by Superintendent of elections commissioner of registrations,
Stating that my voting registration has been DELETED because I am not a citizen and that I have never voted.
I also went a step further by requesting my DRIVERS LICENSE application by filing the DO11 form of the NJDMV.

Apparently I was given a Voter registration application from the DMV employee the day my wife and I were transferring our driver?s licenses.
On that application, I immediately saw bullet points starting with ? I AM A U.S CITIZEN? and IMMEDIATELY checked NO at the bottom and signed it. Because I am not a citizen.
At the bottom of the form where I checked NO it asks:
DO YOU WISH TO DECLARE A POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION?
CHOICES ARE: YES, the party is________________ & NO, I DO NOT WISH TO BE AFFILIATED WITH ANY POLITICAL PARTY.
I put my check on the NO option thinking I can?t vote because I AM NOT A U.S. CITIZEN. Therefore, IM NOT AFFILIATED TO ANY PARTY AND I UNDERSTOOD THIS, IS IF, I WAS DECLINING TO REGISTER.
This was a result of rushing through the paperwork as we were very tired and had been in the DMV for quite some time with 2 very young children, definitely caught me with my guard down for sure.
Also, being that I presented my GREEN CARD and ITALIAN PASSPORT to the DMV clerk to meet my 6 point ID requirement, I should have NEVER been given this form to fill out.
This caused me to be unwittingly registered to vote. I am EXTREMELY UPSET about this situation because in a way I was wrongfully instructed to fill out and sign all the forms by the clerk.

Although it is also my fault for not fully understanding what I was signing I never had any INTENTIONS to register and this was an honest mistake.

What are your thoughts?

I think if you didn't check "Yes" to the question asking whether you are a US citizen, and you didn't actually vote, you should be fine.

From your description, it seems like you left the question asking whether you are a US citizen blank, and checked "No" to some other question; they shouldn't have processed your voter registration without you checking "Yes" to being a US citizen, but they did by mistake. In any case, as long as you didn't claim to be a US citizen, and didn't vote, you should be fine.

[Ducati]

Unfotunately, the voter application has the folliong bullet points:
* I am a U.S Citizen
* I reside at my ID address displayed below.
* I will be 18 years old on or before the next election.

Do you wish to declare a political party affiliation?
( ) YES, The party is:_____________ or ( ) NO, I do not wish to be affiliated with any political party.

So Being I was instructed to fill out ALL forms I had selected "NO, I do not wish to be affiliated with any political party." because I cant vote.
I understood this as if I was DECLINING this form.
Please keep in mind that I was given this form even though I had shown the clerk my GREEN CARD and PASSPORT in order to meet the 6 point ID requirement.
I had NO IDEA that this was the card that got me registered. I learned this a few days ago from the NJ BOARD OF ELECTIONS.
They have been extremely helpfull in helping me with this issue.

[newacct]

Unfotunately, the voter application has the folliong bullet points:
* I am a U.S Citizen
* I reside at my ID address displayed below.
* I will be 18 years old on or before the next election.

Do you wish to declare a political party affiliation?
( ) YES, The party is:_____________ or ( ) NO, I do not wish to be affiliated with any political party.

So Being I was instructed to fill out ALL forms I had selected "NO, I do not wish to be affiliated with any political party." because I cant vote.
I understood this as if I was DECLINING this form.
Please keep in mind that I was given this form even though I had shown the clerk my GREEN CARD and PASSPORT in order to meet the 6 point ID requirement.
I had NO IDEA that this was the card that got me registered. I learned this a few days ago from the NJ BOARD OF ELECTIONS.
They have been extremely helpfull in helping me with this issue.

Well if you signed it and it said something like, I swear the above is true and correct, and the statements above include the statement that you are a US citizen, then it seems like you (accidentally) claimed to be a US citizen. That is the main problem. False claim of US citizenship is a lifetime ban with no waiver. You need to argue that you didn't knowingly claim to be a citizen, or something like that.

[Ducati]

Wow, I have been here 33 years and the one time I make a mistake like that, they can actually ban ma, as in I can never become a citizen or will I loose my LPR status?

[suziq38]

Voter Registration

Hi,

As a non-citizen, you are not allowed to vote. I make sure to tell my students to stay away from signing anything of a political nature. If there is a record or your registering to vote or voting, this could affect your citizenship. Check in with a lawyer.

Another option would be to bring whatever information you had regarding the form you may have voted on. If they ask the question "Have you EVER voted in any local, state, or federal election?" You may have to come clean and be honest and explain, as they probably know the answer. They are just seeing if you are going to lie about it. I would just tell the truth that you did so accidentally and tried to get it removed from your record. If that fails, then you may have to check in with a lawyer for further assistance.

Lawyers are expensive, but sometimes they are necessary. Some of my students have been successful going in and explaining what happened truthfully without a lawyer. If they were denied citizenship, then they found a good lawyer. Your decision.

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. JMHO.

[newacct]

Wow, I have been here 33 years and the one time I make a mistake like that, they can actually ban ma, as in I can never become a citizen or will I loose my LPR status?

False claim to US citizenship makes you deportable with no waiver. So that would be the danger, if you were shown to have knowingly falsely claimed US citizenship.

[Ducati]

Hi,

As a non-citizen, you are not allowed to vote. I make sure to tell my students to stay away from signing anything of a political nature. If there is a record or your registering to vote or voting, this could affect your citizenship. Check in with a lawyer.

Another option would be to bring whatever information you had regarding the form you may have voted on. If they ask the question "Have you EVER voted in any local, state, or federal election?" You may have to come clean and be honest and explain, as they probably know the answer. They are just seeing if you are going to lie about it. I would just tell the truth that you did so accidentally and tried to get it removed from your record. If that fails, then you may have to check in with a lawyer for further assistance.

Lawyers are expensive, but sometimes they are necessary. Some of my students have been successful going in and explaining what happened truthfully without a lawyer. If they were denied citizenship, then they found a good lawyer. Your decision.

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. JMHO.

Guys,

Please, I am fully aware I am not allowed to vote nor REGISTER to vote.
Lets make one thing super clear. I NEVER VOTED.
When I unwittingly signed the voter registration form that I was given by the DMV employee which instructed me to fill out & sign ALL forms and to return them back.
He gave me this form even though I have showed him my GREEN CARD and ITALIAN PASSPORT which is EXTREMELY CLEAR that i'm not a citizen.
I began to fill out the forms and when I got to the voter application the first I read was the line , "I AM A U.S. citizen" and my immediate instinct was to check the the box saying ( NO, I dont wish to be affiliated to any political party) Thinking that I was DECLINING this form. Again, DMV had instructed to sign all forms. Sounds very careless and it was. But my understanding of that form at that time was that I had DECLINED the registration according to my answer.
I have NEVER made a mistake like in the 30 years I have been and this could have COMPLETELY AVOIDED if the DMV had not given me the form due to my ITALIAN PASSPORT. I feel that this is entrapment.
Very UPSETTING.

I have taken the necessary steps to UNREGISTER from the BOARD of ELECTIONS.
They have sent me a certified Letter that they have DELETED my registration.
They have also provided me with the record showing I have NOT VOTED.
I am planning to explain to the IO at my interview this situation and present all the documents plus a written explanation so they can attach to my file.
Im hoping they will be understanding that this truly was an HONEST but yet DUMB mistake.

[suziq38]

Guys,

Please, I am fully aware I am not allowed to vote nor REGISTER to vote.
Lets make one thing super clear. I NEVER VOTED.
When I unwittingly signed the voter registration form that I was given by the DMV employee which instructed me to fill out & sign ALL forms and to return them back.
He gave me this form even though I have showed him my GREEN CARD and ITALIAN PASSPORT which is EXTREMELY CLEAR that i'm not a citizen.
I began to fill out the forms and when I got to the voter application the first I read was the line , "I AM A U.S. citizen" and my immediate instinct was to check the the box saying ( NO, I dont wish to be affiliated to any political party) Thinking that I was DECLINING this form. Again, DMV had instructed to sign all forms. Sounds very careless and it was. But my understanding of that form at that time was that I had DECLINED the registration according to my answer.
I have NEVER made a mistake like in the 30 years I have been and this could have COMPLETELY AVOIDED if the DMV had not given me the form due to my ITALIAN PASSPORT. I feel that this is entrapment.
Very UPSETTING.

I have taken the necessary steps to UNREGISTER from the BOARD of ELECTIONS.
They have sent me a certified Letter that they have DELETED my registration.
They have also provided me with the record showing I have NOT VOTED.
I am planning to explain to the IO at my interview this situation and present all the documents plus a written explanation so they can attach to my file.
Im hoping they will be understanding that this truly was an HONEST but yet DUMB mistake.

It sounds like you are prepared to explain the situation and have the necessary documents to support what happened with respect to voting. The best thing you can do when asked the question is to state the truth and explain what you did to correct the error.
Sounds good to me. The "wild card" is what the USCIS officer will think about the error. Hopefully, he or she will say "no problem." If it is a problem, just go from there.

I wish you the best of luck. Let us know what happened, so that we can let other people know that it was not a problem, or was a bigger problem than initially thought.
I have had students pass with a variety of negative situations. They just told the truth. It all depends on the infraction, the law, and the officer.
This is not legal advice, JMHO.

[Ducati]

False claim to US citizenship makes you deportable with no waiver. So that would be the danger, if you were shown to have knowingly falsely claimed US citizenship.

I dint FALSELY claim to be a citizen as my understanding of the form was to either CHOOSE YES register to vote or NO I don't wish to register to vote.
I am very aware I cannot register to vote nor VOTE.
I NEVER voted even though there have been several elections since 2014.
I selected NO and signed the damn form as instructed by the DMV clerk. I was relying on his guidance because I had shown him my passport and GC. I shouldn't have even been given this form and I always do as i'm instructed, specially by a government Employee. In NY when applying for a license or renewing, the form clearly states Are you a US CITIZEN YES or NO? I have always put NO, hence I have never had this issue in NY.
I just did not know I was going to be registered. Hence my answer on the N-400 " Have you EVER registered to VOTE? Was NO.
It was a foolish MISTAKE and MISUNDERSTANDING.

Why would I register to vote and NOT vote? does that make any sense? This is also the reason WHY i was sooooo confused when both my wife and I received voting ballots.
I can understand why my wife got hers, because she is a citizen. But me, I couldn't understand why and I thought they had made a mistake and thought nothing of it.

My wife mentioned to me a couple of weeks ago about the ballot thing and I looked up my name in the registrars website just for shits and giggles, and once my name popped up MY heart and soul DIED.
I have been extremely miserable and have been beating myself up for making such a STUPID error. My anxiety is through the roof and to top it off I just found out my dad has STAGE 4 stomach cancer.
I am not sleeping nor do I have any appetite, I should have RIPPED up that damn form.

I don't understand how it is possible to register to vote so dam easily. Shouldn't it depend on the social security status (legal Permanent resident or CITIZEN) My registration form should have been REJECTED AUTOMATICALLY.
I honestly think this is a major FLAW in the DMV system and needs to be addressed or it will ruin lives, I hope to GOD it doesn't ruin mine.
I have been here 33 years and I have worked my BUTT off to get where I am now. I have always filed my taxes and have been a model citizen.


SO upsetting.

[suziq38]

I dint FALSELY claim to be a citizen as my understanding of the form was to either CHOOSE YES register to vote or NO I don't wish to register to vote.
I am very aware I cannot register to vote nor VOTE.
I NEVER voted even though there have been several elections since 2014.
I selected NO and signed the damn form as instructed by the DMV clerk. I was relying on his guidance because I had shown him my passport and GC. I shouldn't have even been given this form and I always do as i'm instructed, specially by a government Employee. In NY when applying for a license or renewing, the form clearly states Are you a US CITIZEN YES or NO? I have always put NO, hence I have never had this issue in NY.
I just did not know I was going to be registered. Hence my answer on the N-400 " Have you EVER registered to VOTE? Was NO.
It was a foolish MISTAKE and MISUNDERSTANDING.

Why would I register to vote and NOT vote? does that make any sense? This is also the reason WHY i was sooooo confused when both my wife and I received voting ballots.
I can understand why my wife got hers, because she is a citizen. But me, I couldn't understand why and I thought they had made a mistake and thought nothing of it.

My wife mentioned to me a couple of weeks ago about the ballot thing and I looked up my name in the registrars website just for shits and giggles, and once my name popped up MY heart and soul DIED.
I have been extremely miserable and have been beating myself up for making such a STUPID error. My anxiety is through the roof and to top it off I just found out my dad has STAGE 4 stomach cancer.
I am not sleeping nor do I have any appetite, I should have RIPPED up that damn form.

I don't understand how it is possible to register to vote so dam easily. Shouldn't it depend on the social security status (legal Permanent resident or CITIZEN) My registration form should have been REJECTED AUTOMATICALLY.
I honestly think this is a major FLAW in the DMV system and needs to be addressed or it will ruin lives, I hope to GOD it doesn't ruin mine.
I have been here 33 years and I have worked my BUTT off to get where I am now. I have always filed my taxes and have been a model citizen.


SO upsetting.

Ducati,

Try to calm down. You are a model candidate for citizenship. It was an error when you registered, nothing more. You said you never voted. Since you don't know if this question will even be asked, try not to get all nervous and worked up about it. It is what it is.
If you accidentally did this by an online procedure on the DMV, it could be understandable to the USCIS officer. Quit dwelling on this. Stop. Know that you can pass and get your citizenship in spite of it. Do you wish you had never done it? Sure. You can not change the past. Have a plan of action. Practice explaining what happened in a direct, clear, and concise way. Don't talk too much. If asked, tell the truth and admit the human error. Many times, the USCIS officers are very understanding. Even when they consult their boss they can be understanding. You may get a good officer.

I am so sorry about your dad. Spend as much time with him as you can. IF you can't change this, go to the interview hoping for the best. Maybe a lawyer will assuage your fears. I wish I could, but I am not a lawyer. I am only a teacher who is surprised with which students pass and fail this exam everyday. Most of them pass in spite of any number of setbacks: DUI, divorce, bigamy, caught crossing the border illegally, non payment of child support, no income, and the list goes on.

Keep studying for your exam. They may not even ask the question about your voting. Just be prepared in case they do.

Good luck!

[newacct]

Ducati,

Try to calm down. You are a model candidate for citizenship. It was an error when you registered, nothing more. You said you never voted. Since you don't know if this question will even be asked, try not to get all nervous and worked up about it. It is what it is.
If you accidentally did this by an online procedure on the DMV, it could be understandable to the USCIS officer. Quit dwelling on this. Stop. Know that you can pass and get your citizenship in spite of it. Do you wish you had never done it? Sure. You can not change the past. Have a plan of action. Practice explaining what happened in a direct, clear, and concise way. Don't talk too much. If asked, tell the truth and admit the human error. Many times, the USCIS officers are very understanding. Even when they consult their boss they can be understanding. You may get a good officer.

First of all, they have already given false information on the N-400 form, where they incorrectly said No to the questions "Have you EVER claimed to be a U.S. citizen (in writing or any other way)?" and "Have you EVER registered to vote in any Federal, state, or local election in the United States?", so they need to immediately volunteer this information without being asked.

And registering to vote is not the problem. There is no ban or deportability for registering to vote (only for actually voting illegally, and they didn't vote).

Rather, the problem here is false claim to US citizenship. False claim to US citizenship, for any purpose under any federal, state, or local law (and registering to vote would count) is a lifetime ban and deportability, with no waiver. This is the basically the most severe immigration violation. Even murderers can potentially get a waiver, but this can't. So whether this ground of deportability applies is a huge consideration. Here is the section of the USCIS policy manual regarding the ban for false claim to US citizenship (it's the deportability, not the ban, that could apply to the OP, but the language in the law for both of them are the same, so this is a useful guide).

[Ducati]

First of all, they have already given false information on the N-400 form, where they incorrectly said No to the questions "Have you EVER claimed to be a U.S. citizen (in writing or any other way)?" and "Have you EVER registered to vote in any Federal, state, or local election in the United States?", so they need to immediately volunteer this information without being asked.

And registering to vote is not the problem. There is no ban or deportability for registering to vote (only for actually voting illegally, and they didn't vote).

Rather, the problem here is false claim to US citizenship. False claim to US citizenship, for any purpose under any federal, state, or local law (and registering to vote would count) is a lifetime ban and deportability, with no waiver. This is the basically the most severe immigration violation. Even murderers can potentially get a waiver, but this can't. So whether this ground of deportability applies is a huge consideration. Here is the section of the USCIS policy manual regarding the ban for false claim to US citizenship (it's the deportability, not the ban, that could apply to the OP, but the language in the law for both of them are the same, so this is a useful guide).

The reason I said NO to " Have I ever claimed to be a U.S citizen or REGISTERED to vote" is because at the time of filling out the N-400 (Jan of 2018)I was certain of the FACT I have never CLAIMED to be a U.S Citizen nor registered to vote. I only found out last week of the fact that I had inadvertently registered to vote and my Interview is in 2 weeks. Therefore, my answer of NO was ACCURATE at the time of filing the N-400. I was registered inadvertently due to my MISUNDERSTANDING because I had checked off NO on the voter registration application thinking I was declining to register to vote KNOWING I AM NOT A CITIZEN and CANT VOTE. DMV specifically said to SIGN all forms and return back to him. I was following instructions.
Falsely claiming to be a U.S Citizen is if you KNOWINGLY claiming to be a U.S Citizen to obtain certain benfits, WHICH I NEVER DID NOR did I exercise a U.S citizens right to vote.

[inadmissible]

You have to disclose your 18 USC 1015(f) violation on your naturalization application

The adjudicator has discretion whether to refer the case to ICE for removal, and has the discretion find good moral character despite the conditional bar for unlawful acts

If placed in removal, your naturalization application will be put on hold, and you'll be given another opportunity to overcome the bar to good moral character to win cancellation of removal

[Ducati]

You have to disclose your 18 USC 1015(f) violation on your naturalization application

The adjudicator has discretion whether to refer the case to ICE for removal, and has the discretion find good moral character despite the conditional bar for unlawful acts

If placed in removal, your naturalization application will be put on hold, and you'll be given another opportunity to overcome the bar to good moral character to win cancellation of removal

My N-400 was filed in January of 2018, Biometrics done in Feb. Interview is in June 2018.
I recently Discovered that I was registered to vote which was a complete blow as I was convinced that I had not done such a thing.
As my understanding at the time of when I transferred my license from NY to NJ, that I was declining to register by checking NO, I dont wish to be affiliated wit a party. and Signed it as instructed by the DMV clerk even though I showed him My Foreign passport and GC.
I immediately DE-registered myself, Received a certified copy of the voting roll cancellation along with PROOF that I DID NOT vote, even though there have been several elections since 2014.
I had no intent of registering as I am fully aware that Im not allowed to vote nor REGISTER.

I was in the zone of filling out forms for the license transfer and signed as instructed.