No criminal charges but arrested for traffic violation

[olddutch]

I apologize in advance for the lengthy narration below. I want to make sure that I provide all the details. The obvious question at the end is, will it have any adverse impact on my application for naturalization and would I need an attorney for this?

Thanks in advance to all the 'immigration gurus' out there for the invaluable service you provide through these forums.

Cheers!

************* My story below *******************

On April 1996, while I was driving my friend’s car, I was stopped and ticketed by an officer for having improper equipment (i.e. tail lights had fancy sports coverings and thus not visible from 500ft) and no proof of insurance. No fine was mentioned but required to appear in court with proof that the equipment has been fixed and also show proof that the car is insured.

First, I was driving my friend's car (who was on the passenger seat), as that person was not in a position to drive. The car was insured but the person could not find the proof of insurance at that time. Also, I was not aware at that time that my own auto insurance that I had covered any car that I drove. Later, I was told by my friend that the matter was resolved with the court as proof of the items cited for had been shown and that the ticket was dropped.

Sometime in October 1997 late afternoon, I was stopped for speeding and the officer arrested me for driving on a suspended license. I had no idea that my license had been suspended for over a year for not appearing in court from the April 1996 citation. I had to spend the night in jail as the person who did the bail had already left for the day.

The very next day, after paying a $5 jail bond fee I was released and I went straight to the DMV and paid the required fees of $55 upon which a withdrawal of suspension of the license was issued and my license reinstated.

Few days later in October 1997 I had a court date where the judge after reviewing the fact,

- that not only my insurance covered the car I was driving at that time but also the owner of the car did have valid insurance coverage on April 1996, and

- that the court issued summon never reached me as I had moved and the summon was never forwarded to me;

the Judge asked me to pay a total fine of $90 for failure to notify change of address to DMV within 15 days of moving. I promptly paid the fine on the same day and resolved the issue. No criminal charges were filed or dropped.

Any comments on this situation would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[pontevecchio]

This should not impact your Citizenship as long as you mention the facts correctly.

[olddutch]

Thanks pontevecchio for your prompt response. Much appreciated!

[olddutch]

Update and additional questions:

I received the 'white' interview appointment letter and a week later a 'yellow' letter. Btw, my interview is scheduled for next week.

 

'White' letter states that, in my case, I MUST bring the following:

1. The appointment letter

2. Green card

3. Govt. issued photo ID

4. All passports (including expired)

while the enclosure 'N-659 Interview Document Checklist' states that I should be properly attired and bring, in addition to the above four items,

5. An official, certified statement from arresting agency or applicable court indicating that no charges were filed.

 

"Yellow' letter clearly states on the top that 'This is NOT an Interview Notice'. USCIS recommends you bring the following documents to your interview:

1. Bring your state-issued driver's license or state-issued photo ID card

2. You indicated in your application that you have been arrested. For these arrests and any other incidents in which you may have been involved, bring originals or certified copies of all arrest records and court dispositions showing how each incident was resolved.

 

Question:

Don't know if anyone has been through something similar but I do NOT have any 'certified' copies or originals. The only records I have are copies from DMV of the original citations, some original receipts of fines and fees ($5, $55 and $90), and copies of withdrawal of DL suspension. The only record of the arrest is just what the officer wrote on the citation.

I am wondering if the lack of originals will delay my case?

Btw, I tried to obtain these even during my green card application but was not able to do so.

I would appreciate if someone can share their experience or how they handled a situation without original or certified documents.

 

Thanks in advance.

[pontevecchio]

Just take what you have. I presume you would be able to explain in very brief but precise terms what happened. Emphasize that the only fault was failure to inform the DMV of your new address within the required period.

[olddutch]

Once again, thanks pontevecchio, your response is much appreciated. You were right, "....explain in very brief but precise terms what happened. Emphasize that the only fault was failure to inform the DMV of your new address within the required period.".

Here is the update for anyone in this type of situation:

This morning @ 10:10am (8/12/13), I had my citizenship interview. The officer went through every question or section on my N-400 application and verified every item under oath. If you do not have any criminal item to worry about, then that is the whole point of the interview....getting your responses under oath.

In my case, he did spend some time on the arrest record that I had mentioned in my application (see IP for details). I gave a brief overview and I was not asked to produce any original documents or court decisions to support my claim. He had all the copies of what I had submitted along with my application and those are the only items he referenced and had me verify the same...'under oath'. He did grill me for some time on that topic and after that he immediately went on to conduct my civics and English test...which was not hard to pass. The interview ended at ~10:45am and he said that I have cleared the interview process and that he is going to send me for the Oath Ceremony scheduled for that afternoon. So instead of going back to work I decided to stay. It started at about 1:00pm and by 2:30pm I walked out of that building as a US citizen. Yes, I waited and that seemed like a long time but was nothing compared to the number of years it took to get here....it was worth it!

Hope this post helps those in similar situation. And good luck to everyone!

Last but not least, once again thanks to the 'immigration gurus' that put in the time and effort to help everyone in this forum...and all that for FREE!!!

[pontevecchio]

Get your Passport as soon as possible and if your country of Origin is India send your old passport to the Embassy to get a cancelled notation after which they will send it back. If any other country follow due procedure if dual citizenship is not allowed by your country of origin. Good Luck to you.

[olddutch]

Another update:

Applied for US Passport on 8/14/13 using US Post Office. Got the US Passport, Passport Card and the naturalization certificate returned on 8/31/13, in three separate mailings.

Hopefully that brings my US immigration journey to an end.

Good luck to everyone on this path!