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How does traffic violation and civil penalty fee affect immigration status?
Anonymous5 views4 answers
Hello,
I have traffic violation fees and civil penalty fee due to unpaid tickets.
Im gong for my renewal for my green card. My 2 year green card is expiring in 2 months.
However Im not able to pay for all of it at the moment. If I proceed with my green card application (I-751 to be exact) will it affect my process?
I've paid for the tickets already. I will pay the civil penalty too but because my green card is about to expire I need to send my application there 1st. What can you advice me on?
Thank you,
Haliuna
You should go ahead and file your I-751 without delay. In general, citations for traffic violations are mere infractions and do not normally have any immigration consequences, but failure to file your I-751 before the expiration date will result in termination of your conditional residence and lead to removal proceedings. However, make sure that you pay off any unpaid tickets and the civil penalty as soon as possible to ensure that you are not arrested or your driver's license is not suspended. That could have some immigration consequences..
Unless this involves alcohol or controlled substances, it should that have any impact on an application for removal of condition from one's resident status.
Not all criminal and traffic defense attorneys are aware of the immigration ramifications of convictions. I am re-categorizing your question to the immigration category where more attorneys with relevant experience should be able to advise you.
The average traffic violation is innocuous for purposes of filing the FORM I-751. However, do not allow a simple traffic violation escalate to a bench warrant.
