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NY1121:
Don’t worry about your problem(s) at all because at interview- adjudication officer will 100% verify ALL the information with you that you have provided on your naturalization application particularly about criminal history.
Verifying the information about applicant’s criminal history is VERY vital and important for adjudication officers during the time of adjudicating a naturalization application because this information could be a deal breaker in cases of naturalization application.
That said, even if you might have answered something correctly and accurately in your application about arrest or full criminal history, officer would still ask and verify that information again at the time of interview. It is a routine process for them. So, whatever you have put down on the application or submitted together with your application means nothing to the officer as officer will ask all the information again from you, particularly about any arrest or criminal history.
So obviously, you would have an opportunity to correct that mistake. When officer will get to that part of the application, you should voluntarily disclose that information to the officer; otherwise officer might deny your application under the clause of ‘willful misrepresentation to US govt.’. And if somehow (just imagine somehow) officer forgets to ask about it and you won’t tell either, then you could be deported in the future despite of being naturalized because this information is a material fact. Concealing or hiding a material fact is a ground for deportation.
Therefore, just explain to the officer that you made mistaken in answering that question. Officer will correct that answer right away. But don’t forget to take with you a CERTIFIED COPY from courts on all the arrests or courts’ cases even though you might have already submitted them along with your application. Also, make sure to take a proof of paying all the traffic tickets that you go so far. So long charges against you have been dismissed, you don’t have to worry at all, believe me.
Traffic tickets are citations, which MUST need to be reported on N-400. If you haven’t, then make sure to write all the citations on a separate piece of paper and hand it to the officer during your interview. Officer will appreciate your well preparedness. Traffic tickets won’t cause any problem so long those –[1] those were paid or dismissed; [2] and if you were not charged for DWI and reckless driving because as these types of citations/offences could lead to a criminal conviction as per INS.
You have said that you have a ‘Good Conduct Certificate’ to prove that you have no criminal history whatsoever then I must tell you that this kind of ‘Good Conduct Certificate’ means nothing to INS during the time of naturalization. However, this type of certificate used to play a vital role during the processing of green card application but no more because after 9/11 each person must have to be cleared by FBI for any kind of immigration benefit as it is mandatory now.
In order to check your criminal history, INS sends your fingerprints to FBI. And, in order to determine your Moral conduct/character for naturalization application, INS looks into many things like- [1] if the REQUIRED taxes were/are paid or not; [2] if you have ever claimed yourself as a NON RESIDENT on your taxes after being a LPR; [3] if you have ever lied on your tax returns about anything; [4] if you have ever lied to INS/US consulate on any application about anything that INS has found only now; [5] if you have committed an adultery; [5] if you have failed to pay the court ordered alimony to your children; [6] if you ever have any run-arounds with law enforcement agencies anywhere, etc.
Thus, all these factors are taken into consideration by INS to determine a moral character of an applicant during naturalization time. Having a good moral character is very important to be naturalized.
I’ve covered all the concerned matters here and hope it would help. For further information, I’m pasting a text of one of my postings here. You will be all right. Good Luck.
“Early and provident fear is the mother of safetyâ€-Aristotle
HERE IS THE TEXT OF ONE OF MY PREVIOUS POSTINGS ON CITIZENSHIP MATTERS:
Documents and preparation for Naturalization Interview:
Applicants for naturalization MUST bring ALL the documents listed below, even if their Interview Appointment Letter/Notice may have not included any (or some) of them. And it should be known that Appointment Letter is just a generic computerized letter in most cases. So it maybe possible that it may not contain a list of ALL required documents pertaining to applicant specific case. For example, in one of immigration forums, a female received an appointment letter for her naturalization interview wherein she was asked to bring a Selective Service Letter. I mean she should not have been asked for a Selective Service letter when she was a female.
Thus, an appointment letter is a generic computerized letter in most cases. Further, clerks are the ones who send out the appointment letter and not the adjudication officers. And clerks always make mistakes as you may already know. So, make sure to bring ALL the documents mentioned below even if you are not asked for it on your appointment letter.
[1] Interview appointment letter: It will be required to get inside the INS building since security guard at the front door of the office will ask to see it. And obviously, local district office would need it to pull your file up to interview you. However, you might not need this if you are going into a very small office wherein only 3-4 applicants would hardly be there altogether such as the INS office in Vermont that is just a little larger than a telephone booth. Because then that small office would already know who is scheduled to be interviewed at that day even if someone won't have this letter handy.
Also, an appointment letter is not needed by those too who were asked over the phone to appear for an interview as sometimes INS tries to accommodate some applicants for an interview by calling them in a last moment. So obviously, these people won't need appointment letter then.
[2] Passport: It's required mainly to verify your absence from the United States as it contains the record of ALL the trips that you might have taken outside the United States. And it is also required to verify your citizenship/nationality. Officer does retains the right to ask for it as it is relevant to the information on the application that you will provide about any trip that you have taken outside the United States and your nationality. And it is also relevant to determine your eligibility for naturalization as to your continuous presence in the United States.
[3] Driver License or State Issued Non Driving ID: Officers will always ask for this during the interview to verify if you live in their jurisdiction. Because, you must have to live in the State where you are appearing for an interview (except for military people), otherwise that office won’t have any jurisdiction on you to adjudicate your application. It’s relevant to the information that you have provided on your citizenship application about your address. Hence, officer retains the right to verify your residence information on your application. Also, driving license is used to verify your identity as it is a govt. issued picture ID like green card.
[4] Tax returns for the last 5 yrs: Whether or not you are specifically asked to bring your tax returns, you should ALWAYS take your tax returns for the 5 yrs with you to your interview no matter what even if you are filing your application based upon 3 yrs rule for being married to a US citizen.
Tax returns are asked particularly to verify or to find out- (a) your current and previous address(s), (b) your current and previous marital status, (c) whether or not you have any children, (d) where you have been working and what you have been working for the last 5 yrs, (e) whether or not you owe any money to IRS, (f) whether or not you have paid the REQUIRED taxes, (g) whether or not you are in violation of any IRS laws, because if you were single but have filed taxes under married status at any time, then USCIS will deny your citizenship application under bad character. Because this will prove that you were in violation of IRS laws and that you were a person of a bad character because of cheating/lying.
And if you did not pay any of the required taxes then USCIS will deny your application unless you will submit an agreement letter from IRS, State, or local tax office showing that you have filed a tax return or have arranged to pay the taxes you owe. In addition, you would need to bring documentation from IRS, State or local tax office showing the current status of your repayment program. Actually, tax returns are required for many reasons at the time of naturalization.
You should also know that you MUST have to have a certified copy of all tax returns. You may go to your local taxation office and may request for the tax-transcripts with their stamp on it. It is provided free of charge. However, tax offices have changed their policy of providing tax transcript in person since 2004, instead they require you to call their toll free number or to visit their website to make such a request. However, some offices are still providing tax transcripts in person. I guess it is a matter of discretion.
In addition, it is highly advisable to ask IRS to provide you IRS Form 1722, which is what USCIS normally asks. It is the transcript of your tax returns. Transcript and copy of your tax forms are two different concepts. It takes only a few days to arrive all these in the mail if you would request these documents over the phone with them at 1-800-829-1040 or by requesting these documents thru visiting their website. Tax returns are relevant to the information that you will provide on your citizenship application; thereby officer retains the right to demand these documents to verify that information.
If someone hasn’t filed any tax return because of no income or earning little income, it would still be all right so long you could explain it to the officer. But then be prepared to show to INS how you have been supporting yourself without the means of visible income or with little income; otherwise officer will deny your case in presuming that you have been involved in some kind of illegal activities. Submitting an affidavit from someone about having supporting you would do the trick.
[5] Divorce/Annulment decrees: It's required if your previous marriage (s) has ended. Must be a certified copy. It's also relevant to the information that you may have provided on your citizenship application about your previous marriage, this officer retains the right to ask for this as s/he may prefer.
[6] Marriage certificate: If you are currently married then t is advisable to have it with you even if your citizenship application is not filed based upon 3 yrs rule of being married to a US Citizen. Recently, I came to know that some officers are asking for this just to update the information on citizenship application if applicant has gotten married after filing the application or if s/he is already married. And sometimes, officer wants to verify whom you are married with if you are currently married. Besides, it is also relevant to the information that you have provided on your citizenship application about your current marital history, thus officer retains the right to ask you for this document.
[7] Court's disposition on any arrest, charge, and citation (including traffic citations): If you don't want your application to be delayed or denied, then take all the documents that you have about any arrest, charge, citation (even traffic ones) to your interview. It must be a certified copy from a court about complete record of arrest, charges, conviction and dismissal of a case. If your criminal case is not completely disposed yet, your application for naturalization will surely be denied.
As far as traffic citation is concerned, then you don’t need to worry about them so long those citations have nothing to do with DUI and reckless driving. But you MUST need to bring the proof of paying all those traffic tickets because traffic tickets are also part of court's record. Also, if someone has received too many tickets, whether those are for speeding, changing lanes wrongly, turning on no U turn zone and etc, then some officers may deny your application. Because recently a case has come into light wherein an officer denied a naturalization application to a person who had received so many tickets. Officer noted that applicant failed to obey the local traffic laws so many times, which obviously proves that applicant has bad character. Applicant appealed, but applicant's appeal got denied. So, it is also recommended to contact an immigration attorney before filing naturalization application if someone falls under this kind of situation. But I hope you would understand the difference between speaking with every other immigration attorney and speaking to very well known and aggressive immigration attorneys.
It's also advised to take with you all the record of restraining order if someone has obtained a restraining order against you anytime. You WILL NOT be denied citizenship based upon traffic citations and restraining order, but officer will ask you about it and may demand you to submit documents in relation to these. Don’t assume that if you were never been convicted, arrested, fingerprinted, detained or violated a restraining order then that means USCIS won’t know anything about those activities, because USCIS now checking up public court records also. It has nothing to do with financial civil matter; instead it has to do with family court for restraining order and traffic court for traffic citations.
[8] Social security card: In one of recent cases, USCIS has asked an applicant to show her social security card to verify her social security number that she put it on the application. Again, officer does retain the right to ask for it since it is one of the information that you provide on your Naturalization application.
[9] Two Identical Colored Pictures: It’s always advisable to take 2 additional photos with you as sometimes officers do ask for pictures again even if you have already submitted them along with your application despite of the fact those pictures were being under new photo requirement. Because the photos that you have submitted with your application have been either lost, damaged or don’t look proper to the adjudication officer (every officer has his/her own discretion to accept the photo that looks ok to the officer). So, it is better to have it with you at the time of interview. It is also part of application and officer retains the right to demand it
[10] Birth Certificate: Based upon 7 recent cases, I've come to know that some officers may ask you for this even if you are not changing your name thru naturalization process. Plus, it has nothing do with your USC spouse's birth certificate even if you are filing under 3 yrs rule of being married to a US Citizen. And, it has nothing to do with your children' birth certificate as well, which is usually required if you have any children. Because if you have children, then you should carry their birth certificate with you anyway to prove that you have children as the information about your children are required on the application.
Actually applicant's birth certificate is recently asked in seven of recent cases just to make sure about applicant's real name even though applicants' real name is clearly mentioned on their green card which they had presented to the officer during the time of interview. And birth certificate was asked even though applicant’s birth certificate is contained in applicant's green card file with INS. Again, it is also relevant to the information you have provided on the application about your full name, so the officer retains the right to demand it to check the accuracy of the information.
[11] Employment letter: You should ask your employer to provide you this and you should have it when you go to the interview. Including any W-2 or anything relevant to it. It is relevant to prove your employment information on the application. Some officers are known to have asked about this from some applicants.
[12] Documents to prove your residency in your State: You must carry some kind of document to prove your residency in the state or place where you live as applicants for naturalization must need to live at least 3 months in a place before filing for Naturalization. Those documents could be, utilities bills, rent/lease/mortgage papers, bank statements, other bills like credit cards and etc, or employment or school record if you work or study there.
It is also reported that some officers did ask for these to verify the accuracy of applicant's residence information mentioned on citizenship application. It’s relevant to the information on the application and it is also relevant to know your eligibility since an applicant for naturalization must have to live at least 3 months in a place before filing an application for naturalization from there. So officer retains the right to demand for it.
[13] Pencil: In one of the immigration forums, an applicant was asked to sign the back of his photos with pencil, but he could not be able to find a pencil anywhere in the whole USCIS building, which made him to go out and come back some other time, which delayed his application. So, it is advisable to carry it with you. It doesn't hurt to be over prepared than not.
[14] Bring the copy of your I-140, or I-130, or I-360: Thru some recent cases, it has come to light that some officers have asked for a copy of approval of any of the above said petition, which was the basis of obtaining a green card. They have asked this because they were not able to receive the whole Alien file at the time of interview from Service Center, and sometimes some officers would want to know how you have obtained your green card. Again, it is also relevant to the application as to applicant’s eligibility. If you won’t have this with you and officer doesn’t receive your whole file either then the decision on your case would be delayed by many months or year.
[15] Letter from Selective Service: If you are a man who are/were previously required to register with selective service, then you must bring a ‘Status Information Letter’ with you to the interview, which you can easily obtain thru Selective Service. No need to explain to Selective Service why did you fail to register if you did not register with them before. Because they don’t care why you failed because they could only give you a letter that would explain if you were required to register or not. That is.
You CANNOT register once you turn 26 yrs of age, but if you were in the US at ANY STATUS (even illegal) except valid nonimmigrant visa status between the age of 18-26 then you were required to register with Selective Service, which means you would need to get Status Information Letter from Selective Service regardless of when you got your green card.
The point to understand is-it doesn't matter when you received your green card while the matter is-whether or not you were in the US between the age of 18-26 in ANY STATUS other than valid nonimmigrant status. If so, then you were required to register and would need a letter form Selective Service. Period.
Your application for naturalization will be denied if you are a man and were in the United States between the ages of 18-26 and failed to register for selective service willfully and intentionally. But if you can convince INS officer that your failure was not willful then officer will be able to approve your application. So, it is better to bring an explanation letter (a notarized affidavit) with you at the interview, wherein you should explain very clearly that- [1] your failure was not willful; and [2] you were not aware of this obligation; and [3] you did not receive any notification on this either from USCIS or from Selective service.
Men's age does play a very important role during the time of naturalization. Because if a male did not register with Selective Service when he was required to register, no matter for whatever reason, then officer may deny his application unless he reaches 31 of age. Once a male reaches to the age of 31, then 97% of chances are this issue becomes irrelevant. And after the age of 37, it is 100% because then this Selective Service issue becomes completely mute and a non-issue even though he had failed to register deliberately.
The age requirement is very tricky. It says-if a male who is at least 18 years old but is not yet 26 years old MUST need to register. So when it says-not 26 yrs old then it seems to ME that a male who is 25 yrs + 11 months + 29 days+ 23 hours+? minutes+? seconds+? nano seconds+??? falls within this requirement.
Males on VALID tourist visa, student visa or on any other nonimmigrant visa are not required to register with Selective Service.
You can check these links to read EVERYTHING about Selective Service.
http://www.sss.gov/must.htm
http://www.sss.gov/FSwho.htm
http://www.shusterman.com/natz-ss99.html
[16] New application or a separate piece of paper about Updated information: If there is any change occurred about any information after filing the naturalization application, including those which were forgotten to include on the application at the time of filing, then you must bring the relevant part of the application with updated information, or provide those updated information on a separate piece of paper. This way officer will just attach that new updated information/application in applicant's file. Officers like when someone makes their job easy; otherwise they have to write everything on the application.
[17] Review your whole application thoroughly: It’s highly advisable to have your whole application reviewed many times before appearing at interview since officer may ask you anything that you have mentioned on your application. Recently many naturalization applicants tell me that they were asked verbally about their height, weight, and address and about other more information. Perhaps, officers wanted to make sure that applicant hasn't provided wrong information on the application.
[18] Green Card: You MUST be asked to present it at the time of interview. It is asked to verify the legal status of applicant. If you have lost it or misplaced it then you should get the stamp of it prior to appearing in interview. Just show the stamp of your status on your passport or the receipt (NOA) about applying for its replacement.
[19] Proof of supporting your minor children residing outside of your home: If you have minor children outside of your home, you need to bring evidence of your payment of financial support, such as cancelled checks, money order, receipts and bank drafts showing your payment record, along with copies of any court or government orders relating to the required payment. You may also take notarized affidavit from other spouse about telling that you have been paying timely child support.
[20] Ink or ball pen: It’s my advise to take this with you because if you belong to the district office wherein oath is administrated at the same day of approving naturalization interview, then officer might ask you to PRINT your name on the front of the photos for the purpose of affixing it on the naturalization certificate.
Documents needed to submit along with application for Naturalization (N-400):
Each applicant for naturalization SHOULD submit the following along with their naturalization application:
[1] Cover letter: Though submitting a cover letter along with your naturalization application is not necessary, however it is highly recommended, wherein applicant should explain briefly about the basis of his/her eligibility for naturalization, such as if the application is being filed under 3 yrs rule for being a spouse of a US Citizen or under 5 yrs rule, or under any other eligibility in the law. This helps greatly to adjudication officers to know the basis of applicant’s eligibility right away at very first glance, otherwise sometimes some people’s eligibility is very hard to determine being complicated. And, not every adjudication officer is that much familiar with all the eligibilities for naturalization even though they are adjudication officers since laws on immigration are kept changing very frequently and rapidly. Besides at the time of naturalization, adjudication officers do pay attention to a cover letter, believe it or not.
[2] Copy of front and backside of green card. It must be a very clear copy so that information could be read very clearly thru it.
[3] Two identical colored photos, wherein applicant’s full name and A# should be written by light pencil in the back of them. Photos should be as same style and size as we need for a passport, means- a front view of the applicant and not the side view as the pictures with side view are no longer accepted for immigration purpose. Further, photos should be taken within 30 days of filing the application.
[4] Check or money order for the right amount of the processing fees for the application: Though it doesn’t make much difference how you would choose to pay the processing fee, however it should be known that sometimes Service Centers, particularly TSC, and some district offices (if you would file any other petition/application with them with fees) do wait for a receipt (NOA) to send out to an applicant until a personal check gets cashed out if an applicant pays the processing fees with his/her personal check.
Nevertheless, it is always better to pay the processing fee with a personal check because if you choose to pay the processing fee by money order then it would not only be hard but also a time and money consuming to track down the proof of payment. Because, then you would require to file a paper work with postal service if money order is purchased from a post office, wherein you would be ended up paying some money (maybe $2 or $6) to track down if such money order is cashed out or not. And it also takes almost 60 days for a post office to furnish this request.
But if you would pay by your personal check then you would be able to receive the cancelled check back from your bank once USCIS will cash that out, which means-there won’t be a waste of time and money in tracking down the fees, and you would also have a solid proof to prove to USCIS about them having the processing fee from you on your application. But make sure to write your A# and the N-400 on the top of the check where your name and address is printed.
[5] Divorce/Annulment Decree: If you were previously married, then you must need to send the divorce/annulment decree to INS to prove that your previously marriage has ended legally.
[6] Certified Court record(s): If you ever been arrested or charged for a crime, then you must need to send certified copy of the disposition of your case to INS. If your criminal case is still going on, then don’t bother to file Naturalization because INS will deny your application anyway.
[7] Status Information Letter from Selective Service: If you are man, who was required to register with Selective Service, must need to send Status Information Letter’.
The following additional items MUST be submitted if you are applying as a spouse of a U.S. citizen:
[1] Proof that your spouse has been a U.S. citizen for more than three years, such as birth certificate, naturalization certificate, certificate of citizenship, or U.S. passport.
[2] Your marriage certificate.
[3] Proof of termination of ALL prior marriages of both- you and your spouse (if any).
[4] Evidence of bona fide marriage - bring any documents which would assist in establishing the validity of your marriage such as (but not limited to) joint tax returns, deed, lease agreements or home ownership documents, credit accounts, joint tax returns, proof of joint ownership of other property such as investments, stocks, bonds, automobiles, life insurance, health insurance.
[5] Birth certificates of your children, if any.
Furthermore, EACH and EVERY applicant for naturalization should also make sure- [1] that the application form [N-400] is the latest version and not the outdated one, [2] to submit the right amount for the processing fee; [3] that application should have properly signed by him/her, [4] application should be mailed to right address, depending on the jurisdiction. If applicant fails to follow any of these protocols then his/her application would be either returned or denied. Also, make sure not to staple pictures, check or any other document to the application. And, check or money order for processing fee should be placed on the top.
Further, applicant should also know that once an application for naturalization is mailed in, s/he should not try to mail additional document or updated/corrected information to INS Service center even if applicant would realize later on that s/he either has made a big mistake on his/her application or has forgotten to include an important document/fact on his/her application, unless USCIS specifically asks for that information/document thru RFE (Request for Evidence). Applicants are allowed to submit/correct/update those important document/information during the time of their interview. Also, always make additional copy of anything that you send to USCIS as USCIS has a tendency of loosing files very often.
And if an applicant EVER has any kind of run-around with law enforcement agencies, then it is my very strong recommendation to speak to an immigration attorney before filing naturalization application. Otherwise, applicant may end up in being deported. Since immigration laws are very complicated and there is nothing in 'black & white', it is in the best interest of applicant to first talk with an immigration attorney before filing naturalization application. Because, even if a criminal charge against an applicant has been dismissed without any conviction, arrest, fingerprint, detention or anything like that, still it is advisable to have your attorney reviewed all the documents relating to criminal charges if s/he is ever been charged for a crime. Because, under immigration laws, even a "nolo contesto' is considered a ground for deportation. I mean- a person may have avoided a jail time by doing some deferred prosecution thru restitution or community service, but still in some instances even agreeing to a pre-deal like restitution or community service can still be considered a deportable offense as USCIS may have different interpretation on these situations/laws. So, never file naturalization if you have any run-around with laws unless you first speak to a reputable immigration attorney who is specialized in immigration and criminal laws.
After a few days later of filing the naturalization application, maybe 2-4 weeks later, you will receive NOA [Notice of Action] as its receipt. Don't be surprised if NOA would state that there are still some documents missing on your application. Because, it is a generic computerized NOA, which they ALWAYS send out to everyone if you have checked in something that could be questionable for your citizenship chances, despite of them submitting all the required documents. Also, don't worry either if you don't receive an appointment letter for fingerprinting within a month or so after filing the application, even if you would know someone who might have filed the application after you has already received the fingerprinting appointment. Because, each officers in Service Center operate differently. Some may send out the fingerprinting notice right away within a month of receiving the application, while others might send that out after few months later. Either ways, it takes anyway only 1-2 business days to receive the fingerprints report back from FBI once fingerprinting is done as everything is done thru online between FBI, CIA and USCIS.
The only time fingerprinting report would take more than normal time if FBI would receive illegible fingerprints on an applicant to read them clearly, or if they have lost/misplaced the fingerprinting data on an applicant, or if applicant's name may have hit their list of "persons of interest". It's my observation that most of times-applicants from certain countries do go thru a higher scrutiny with FBI than applicants from other countries. And then it may take a very long time for FBI to clear them up. However, you can always call USCIS customer service to find out the status of your fingerprint report after a few days later of your fingerprinting. They will be able to tell you right away whether it is cleared or not. But, you should wait at least 2-3 weeks after a fingerprinting is done before calling USCIS to find out the status of your fingerprinting report since it takes at least 14 business days for a fingerprint report to show up in the USCIS computer system once FBI sends them back to USCIS.
And if couples of weeks have passed by and your fingerprinting report still doesn't get cleared then you should be proactive and should do everything in your power for FBI to send their report to USCIS on your fingerprinting. It applies to the applicants for adjustment of status also as fingerprinting report is also required in their cases too. Contacting congresspersons on this won't help even a little bit, trust me.
You might like to check out one of my postings on this, which I made a year ago. Here is the link-
http://discuss.ilw.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/902603441/m/26910955221
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