Fort Drum, NY Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

I cannot promise you that your naturalization will not be affected by this problem. Most likely, your application will be approved. The officer just wants to be sure that revocation of your license was not due to a criminal conduct. Driving on a suspended license and unpaid tickets are not criminal and do not disqualify you as a matter of law. However, there is a requirement that an applicant for naturalization must show that she was (and still is) a "person of good moral character" during 10 prior years. There is no statutory definition of "good moral character"; and the precedent court decisions say what acts or behavior show lack of such character. In daily practice, a determination in each case is left to discretion of the immigration officer who handles the case. Since U.S. citizenship is a privilege, not an entitlement, the government can deny it if it feels that the applicant does not deserve this privilege. The officer who interviewed you might decide that driving on a suspended license, failure to pay tickets, and neglecting to take care of your license problems for years - all of this shows your disregard of the law and, therefore, lack of good moral character. It is impossible to predict the decision. I would estimate your chances of approval as 9 to 1. All you can do now is wait. If your application gets denied, you might want to talk to an immigration attorney about requesting reconsideration. Or you can wait until 10 years pass since your last arrest and file a new application.