the N400 speeding-ticket-as-arrest issue
#46
Re: the N400 speeding-ticket-as-arrest issue
If you've gotten a speeding ticket, do you check "yes" for committing a "crime or offense for which you were not arrested" AND for having "been arrested, cited or detained by law enforcement"?
BAH! Don't want to check yes on 2 things for 1 error, but don't want to "hide" anything either...
BAH! Don't want to check yes on 2 things for 1 error, but don't want to "hide" anything either...
#47
Re: the N400 speeding-ticket-as-arrest issue
They make it so confusing! Why can't it be like job applications? They specify that they're no interested in traffic offenses.
#48
Re: the N400 speeding-ticket-as-arrest issue
The question about committing a "crime or offense for which you were not arrested" is just a catch all to denaturalize you if they discover you're Joe the Axe Murderer a decade down the line.
#49
Re: the N400 speeding-ticket-as-arrest issue
Australia is similar ... you can lose Australian citizenship for crimes committed before you became a citizen, even if convicted many years later.
#50
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 3
Re: the N400 speeding-ticket-as-arrest issue
Hello everyone, a newbie here and I hope that you will be ok with me asking this question.
Q15 asks, Have you ever committed a crime or offense in which you were not arrested for?
I am submitting my N400 in 2 days, and I realized I had 2 speeding tickets back in 1998 when I was 18. The first one was 10 mins after I bought my car and the second was 2 months later. Both times, I paid the fine on the spot to the officer and drove off. It was definitely under $500 each time. I do not remember the dates or the actual city since it has been so long. I also no longer hold a driver's license from that state since I moved.
Part of me wants to put this as Yes to the question but part of me also wants to just ignore it since it has been 12 years, and it happened when I was a stupid 18 year old.
I figure if the officer asks me about them, I can just say oh yeah I do remember getting tickets 12 years ago. Since then I have not gotten a speeding ticket.
What would your advise be?
Thanks
Q15 asks, Have you ever committed a crime or offense in which you were not arrested for?
I am submitting my N400 in 2 days, and I realized I had 2 speeding tickets back in 1998 when I was 18. The first one was 10 mins after I bought my car and the second was 2 months later. Both times, I paid the fine on the spot to the officer and drove off. It was definitely under $500 each time. I do not remember the dates or the actual city since it has been so long. I also no longer hold a driver's license from that state since I moved.
Part of me wants to put this as Yes to the question but part of me also wants to just ignore it since it has been 12 years, and it happened when I was a stupid 18 year old.
I figure if the officer asks me about them, I can just say oh yeah I do remember getting tickets 12 years ago. Since then I have not gotten a speeding ticket.
What would your advise be?
Thanks
#51
Account Closed
Joined: Aug 2002
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 38,865
Re: the N400 speeding-ticket-as-arrest issue
You can NOT ignore the question... however, speeding is neither a crime nor an offense as listed... it is a "moving violation". Check "no". You must check "yes" to the next question... since a speeding ticket is definitely a citation - and you must enter *to the best of your knowledge* where and when, and what the outcome was.
Ian
Ian
#53
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 3
Re: the N400 speeding-ticket-as-arrest issue
You can NOT ignore the question... however, speeding is neither a crime nor an offense as listed... it is a "moving violation". Check "no". You must check "yes" to the next question... since a speeding ticket is definitely a citation - and you must enter *to the best of your knowledge* where and when, and what the outcome was.
Ian
Ian
#55
Passport Collector
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: Princeton, NJ
Posts: 725
Re: the N400 speeding-ticket-as-arrest issue
I've been noticing how many people here assume that being given a traffic citation constitutes an arrest. That need not always be the case. For example, the Ohio Supreme Court has specifically rejected “the concept that receipt of a traffic citation is the functional equivalent of an arrest.” State v. Darrah (1980), 64 Ohio St.2d 22, 27, 412 N.E.2d 1328.
In fact, some courts have said that "the existence of an arrest is dependent upon the existence of four requisite elements: (1) an intent to arrest; (2) under real or assumed authority; (3) accompanied by an actual or constructive seizure of the person; and, (4) which is so understood by the person arrested.”
In fact, some courts have said that "the existence of an arrest is dependent upon the existence of four requisite elements: (1) an intent to arrest; (2) under real or assumed authority; (3) accompanied by an actual or constructive seizure of the person; and, (4) which is so understood by the person arrested.”