Don’t sweat your traffic citation

QWill my traffic citation keep me from becoming a U.S. citizen? I got my green card through my wife and have enough years permanent residence to naturalize. My record is clean but for one citation for failing to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. I paid the fine for that offense. In this anti-immigrant climate, I am being cautious. Issah Iddirisu, Maryland

AYour having been cited won’t keep you from becoming a U.S. citizen. You should note the citation on form N-400, Application for Naturalization, where it asks “Have you EVER been arrested, cited, or detained by any law enforcement officer . . .” Traffic citations that do not involve alcohol, drugs or vehicular homicide do not bar naturalization. President Trump is doing everything he can to keep immigrants from getting U.S. citizenship, but even he can’t change this rule. The N-400 instructions say you need to present documentation of traffic offenses only if the fine was $500 or more, involved alcohol or drugs, led to an arrest or seriously injured another person. I suggest you bring proof that you paid your fine, even if the rules don’t require it, in case the immigration officer requests it.

QMy U.S. citizen mother filed for my green card and I must return to my country of Trinidad and Tobago for my visa interview. My mother, who lives in the United States, recently lost her leg and I am her only relative here, so I am hopeful that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will grant me a waiver for having been here unlawfully. If I get the waiver, is it safe for me to go home for my immigrant visa interview? Name withheld, Queens

AIf having been here unlawfully is the only issue in your case, you shouldn’t have a problem getting your immigrant visa abroad. It is always risky to apply for an immigrant visa outside the United States. If a consular officer denies your application, you could get stuck abroad. Make sure an immigration law expert carefully reviews your case prior to your immigrant visa appointment. If you meet all the criteria for getting the visa, you should be fine.

Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 7th Fl., 4 New York Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com.

Follow him on Twitter @awernick.