phetes

Hello

I am trying to fill in N400 and I think I read all the N400 threads and I am still not 100% sure how to answer Good Moral Character questions 15-18.

Here is my situation:

I have 5 traffic citations (speeding, disobeyed traffic device) where I pleaded guilty and paid the tickets. I do not have proof of payment for 2 traffic citations, I remember paying it and I do not see them on my drivers abstract - one of the citations was somewhere in Canada and one of the somewhere in South Carolina. I intend to disclose all of them.

I have one subway citation for NONPAYMENT OF SUBWAY FARE. This was dismissed and I did not have to pay anything.

I intend to answer the questions like this:
15 - No (Have you committed a crime for which you were NOT arrested)
16 - Yes (Have you ever been arrested, cited, detained by any law enforcement officer)
17 - No (have you ever been charged with committing any crime or offense)
18 - No (have you ever been convicted of any crime or offense)

Could somebody please let me know if this is OK?

ian-mstm

This looks okay to me. Include a copy of your abstract if possible. Complete the table as requested... and include all of this stuff. Good luck.

Ian

jemavalon

I think this is fine -- this is exactly how I answered N-400 questions in similar situation (speeding tickets only). Btw: it might be a good idea to get some sort of proof that you paid the tickets if you can. I know exactly what you mean: one of mine tickets was "somewhere in NJ". I remembered the road I was stopped on, so I looked at the map, and called 2 courts in the nearby townships -- and on the second call after some waiting they confirmed that it was their court I had my ticket in, and gave me simple instructions on how to get the proof that I paid it. Now, noone has asked me for the proof of payment at the interview, so I did not need it -- but it cost me <30 min of time and $4 to get it, and it felt really good to have that piece of paper just in case... I know I was probably over-reacting, I just did not want to have any surprises... So, anyway, my point is that getting the proof that you paid the tickets might not be that hard, if you remember at least something about the incident.

Good luck,

Julia.

eiloo

I know this is a thread that is almost a year old and not many others are recent for this topic (at least not that I was able to find...)

Regarding traffic tickets and warnings.

I have one speeding ticket which was after I applied for AOS but before becoming an CPR. So I believe I answered in the negative on my AOS application and was not asked about it at my AOS interview.

I am preparing my N-400 now and was wondering what should be answered in Part 10 D. Good Moral Character.

For the speeding ticket, I went to court and plead not guilty and of course didn't win. I was ordered to pay the fine + fees and was given probation before judgement. From what I understand, that meant that if I was violation free for the year, that I would not get any points on my record. Not sure about whether or not the violation will end up on my record or not though.

I also received a non-moving warning. I ended up receiving a written warning about parking in a No Standing area. No ticket, court or fine but I did sign the warning receipt and he gave me a copy.

My question is how to answer the questions in Part D.

15 - Yes (Have you committed a crime for which you were NOT arrested)
I guess what is the definition of a crime? Is a speeding violation a "crime"?

16 - Yes (Have you ever been arrested, cited, detained by any law enforcement officer)
Self-explanatory

17 - Yes (Have you ever been charged with committing any crime or offense)
A citation is a charge against you and since it states "offense", then it be less "severe" than a "crime."

18 - No (Have you ever been convicted of any crime or offense)
In my case, would that be considered a conviction if I received probation before judgement?

19 - Yes (Have you ever been placed in an alternative sentencing or a rehabilitative program (for example: diversion, deferred prosecution, whithheld adjudication, deferred adjudication)?)
Same concern as with 18... Is deferred adjudication the same as the PBJ?

20 - Yes (Have you ever received a suspended sentence, been placed on probation or been paroled?)
I guess just be definition of the PBJ, then I would have been on probation so this is self-explanatory.

fatbrit

I'd answer no to all questions you list apart from #16, where I'd tick yes and then write in pen near the box, "Please see addendum"

On the addendum, I'd type up a quick factual description of both the offenses you list and copies of any of the documentation you have. It's best to show at least one piece of evidence that you've paid the fine and are done with it -- court record or MVD record. Take the originals with you to the interview

If the interviewer thinks you should have ticked the other boxes, they can correct them during the interview with their famous red pen and you sign at the bottom to show you agree with any changes. They seem to more concerned with you trying to hide something from them rather than you making a silly mistake over the exact meaning of the obscure claptrap on the form. And if you've listed the offenses in an addendum, you certainly aren't hiding them!

eiloo

Thanks for your response fatbrit... Maybe I'm taking the questions too literally? I definitely have no intention of hiding these facts... but I guess I don't want them to think that I'm hiding by answering the questions to get by some initial screen they have when they read through my application.

fatbrit

Wouldn't worry too much -- the natz is one of the easier things to get through provided you've not taken up murdering people with axes or been caught smokin' the weed since you've been here. It almost seems like they're keen to get you off their books at this stage.

Wife had one traffic ticket (failure to obey traffic control device, i.e. a "Calafornia stop"). She went to traffic school all Saturday to sort it out. She sailed through interview and was approved on spot using form filling as I described above. Interviewer actually thanked her for the clear addendum she added to the form.