Need advice. N-400 Moral character section.

[justanotherman]

Hello.

I am ready to file my N-400 form. It is almost ready but I have questions about the part of the application where I have to tell you about all the offences.

This is my story.

I was arrested more then 5 years ago for PI(Public Intoxication). It was during a tourist vacation. I spent a few hours in a jail and was released right after bail was paid. I was not present at the trial because it was far from my home. The court ordered the bail to be withdrawn in favor of the fine (just over $200). This means that the court found me guilty.

My second incident occurred in my town. I got a ticket together with a friend for an "open container". My buddy had the bottle. I didn't have one. I pleaded not guilty in court. The Court found me not guilty. Case was dismissed. I don't remember the exact date of the violation, but I do remember the date of the trial, because I have all the papers from there.

So the question: "How do I answer the following questions in my citizenship application? I am confused about all these legal concepts.

Correct me if I'm wrong somewhere, please.

1. Have you EVER committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit, a crime or offense for which you were NOT arrested?

Yes

On the next page, I need to explain the 'open container' ticket. Correct?

2. Have you EVER been arrested, cited, or detained by any law enforcement officer (including any immigration official or any official of the U.S. armed forces) for any reason?

Yes

On the next page, I have to explain the details of my arrest. Right?

3. Have you EVER been charged with committing, attempting to commit, or assisting in committing a crime or offense?

Yes

On the next page, I have to explain the details of my arrest. Right?

4. Have you EVER been convicted of a crime or offense?

Yes

On the next page, I have to explain the details of my arrest. Right?

5. Have you EVER been placed in an alternative sentencing or a rehabilitative program (for example, diversion, deferred prosecution, withheld adjudication, deferred adjudication)?

No

6. Have you EVER received a suspended sentence, been placed on probation, or been paroled?

No

7. Have you EVER been in jail or prison?

Yes

On the next page, I have to explain the details of my arrest. Right?

8. How long were you in jail or prison?

1 day.

So, as I understand for the questions 2, 3, 4, 7 I can use copy-past because the story stay the same? Right?

Need your advice on the substance of the questions asked? Thank you.

[N400questions]

I believe that there are two critical things to get right here and that the rest are linguistic gymnastics.

1) Fully explain each incident to demonstrate that you are being open and honest.
2) While you wait for the interview, get court certified paperwork of each incident showing the final disposition of each incident and proof that any fines were paid and any paroles or community service etc were completed successfully.

You can go in person to the court(s) and go to the window for the "Clerk of the Court" or sometimes the window is called "Records window" or similar. Show them your ID and they will look you up in the system and find the database entry for all incident(s) under that ID in their jurisdiction. They will also pull any paper files that exist. You can then request a copy of the entire file and pay 10 or 20 dollars to have those copies certified with an embossed stamp. You can get copies for free (without the certification) but play safe and pay the $10 or $20 for certified copies. There should be a coin-operated photocopier machine that lets you copy whatever is in your file. Then pay $10or $20 for the certified stamp.

For your local Court, it's best to go in person to the Court. For the distant court, call the clerk of the court and ask if it's possible to do this by mail by sending photocopies of your ID and filling in some standard form that they will explain to you.

If the offense was a long time ago, the court files may be destroyed and all there will be is a brief database summary showing the "Final Disposition". Even in this case, get a certified copy of that case summary showing the final disposition. It should show that you paid any necessary fines etc. and/or that the case was closed or dismissed by the district attorney. The Final Disposition may show a brief entry saying "Files destroyed". Those database entries can be hard to read. The Court will be willing to also give you a certified letter saying that the records have been destroyed if you ask for it.

Next, in terms of the specific answers to the Yes/No questions. Just do your best and the interviewer should fix these answers in the interview if you got any wrong as part of the linguistic gymnastics.

The key here is to be fully open and honest about both incidents and to have the necessary Court documents in the interview.

Instead of cutting and pasting responses, I would explain each incident ONCE in your letter and then say "refer to attached letter describing two incidents" for each question.

In terms of the linguistic gymnastics... for question "1"
1. Have you EVER committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit, a crime or offense for which you were NOT arrested?
I would argue that the correct answer is "No". The open-container was not a crime or an offense because you were "not guilty" and the case was presumably "dismissed with prejudice". However, I don't think this is critically important... say "Yes" if you wish and refer them to the letter describing the two incidents. Did you "assist" your friend in carrying the open bottle? Arguably not. This is a catch-all question intended to force you to reveal everything and anything in your entire history. In theory, it includes the time you drove at 16 miles per hour in a 15 mph zone and the streets were empty and no-one saw it.

Again, I believe the important thing is to be open and honest by explaining BOTH incidents and having the Court documents for each.

I am not a lawyer, I am simply applying common sense. If you want to get this 100% correct, consult an attorney and hope that THEY can figure out the details.
From the Interviewer's perspective, they are more interested in seeing that you are being honest and have the necessary paperwork from the Courts. It will (presumably) all show up on your background check.

$0.02

[Mike E]

You have the answers correct and to answer correct.

You have enough going on that you need an immigration attorney. Especially since it isn’t clear you won’t be denied. And instead you might just be deported.

Are you going to AA meetings ?