busupshot83

I am currently filling out Section D of the N-400, entitled "Good Moral Character." I received a $114 speeding ticket back in 2005, and understand that I must disclose it in the N-400. However, I do not want to answer "Yes" to any questions in this section that may hurt my application. The following is a list of the questions in Section D that I am having trouble answering:

15. Have you ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested?
Yes - I committed a speeding violation, but I was not arrested for it. I was, however, given a citation.

16. Have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained by any law enforcement officer for any reason?
Yes - I have been cited for speeding.

17. Have you ever been charged with committing any crime or offense?
Yes - I have been charged with speeding.

18. Have you ever been convicted of a crime or offense?
Yes - I paid my speeding citation, which is a conviction of my guilt.

Am I answering this questions correctly? If not, can someone please help me out here. Thank you.

AlanR

Answering 'yes' does not hurt your application in this instance... Answering 'no' when you have committed a crime would.
This will be of no consequence whatsoever in the interview. You are answering all the questions correctly with the 'yes'.
Make sure that you have all the paperwork in relation to your case - that the fine has been paid.
And technically a 'citation' is an arrest, I believe.

ian-mstm

Bzzzt. Wrong answer. Speeding is neither a crime nor an offense... it is a moving violation.


Correct.


Bzzzt. Wrong answer. Speeding is neither a crime nor an offense... it is a moving violation.


Bzzzt. Wrong answer. Speeding is neither a crime nor an offense... it is a moving violation.


Most of them are wrong... only one was correct.

Ian

Ray

Or simply

No
Yes
No
No

ian-mstm

I'm not quite the minimalist that you are! I prefer to be... umm, thorough.

Ian

Ray

That adds confusion...

Noorah101

That goes against one of Mr.F's rules....only answer the question asked, no additional info. LOL

ian-mstm

I prefer the "do as I say, not as I do" approach! I think if we were to "answer only the question asked" in this forum, well... it'd get dull pretty fast!

Ian

busupshot83

Thanks everyone!

How do you define a "crime/offense" according to USCIS?

ian-mstm

A criminal offense is defined by its entry in that country's "Criminal Code". In the US, that'd be Title 18 of the US Code. Speeding, by itself, simply isn't a crime under this definition.

Ian

jeffreyhy

Note that before the use of '/' became popular this would have been written as 'crime or offense'.

Using either construction I don't believe that the question is limited to criminal offenses. The word 'crime' alone covers that, the '/offense' indicates that they are asking about non-criminal issues as well.

Regards, JEff

ian-mstm

Regardless, speeding is neither a crime nor an offense... it remains a moving violation and so is exempt from "yes" on Q's #15, #17, and #18 in this context.

Ian

jeffreyhy

I,

I have to disagree with that, I think a traffic violation is an offense.

"traffic incident[s]" are discussed along with crimes in the section of the Guide to Naturalization dealing with Good Moral Character and Criminal Record. See page 25.

Regards, JEff

ian-mstm

It's a non sequitur. Proximity does not imply encompassment... and a speeding ticket, absent any other issue, is a simple moving violation.

Ian