Interviewer: Yes, in regards to the moral character. What surprises are there? What actions have people have done in the past that would cause problems that they would never suspect?
Jeanne: Voting is one. Well, you asked for something that would be surprising. Another action that can compromise the good moral character aspect is someone who decades ago, as a kid, was arrested for burglary. That’s always in the back of their mind, okay? They’re the ones that maybe don’t come see me, or come see me like I just told you, because they worry about that.
Occasionally, more often than you would think, someone will come to me and say, “Oh, I want to naturalize.” “That is great! You’re talking to me in English, so I know we’re not going to have a problem there. Oh, you’ve never been arrested?”
Then a later question might be, “Have you ever registered to vote or voted in an election?” And people innocently answer, “Well, sure!” And I have to say, “Oh, you could be deported for that.”
Only US Citizens Are Permitted to Vote
Interviewer: For voting?
Jeanne: You’re only allowed to vote if you’re a US citizen. If you vote in an election before you are a citizen, this action will seriously count against you. You cannot do something that only citizens are allowed to do.
Interviewer: Would it be considered voter fraud or what?
Even the Action of Registering to Vote Will Seriously Harm Your Chances of Becoming a Citizen
Jeanne: It’s not even that but it is a very serious matter. I am going to explain this by using a situation I had with a past client.
My client had only registered to vote. He had never voted, because way back in the day, prior to 9/11 and everything, even going on something as simple as a cruise to the Caribbean, he needed the proper identification. He had a driver’s license from New Mexico, but he needed some other piece of identification for whatever port the cruise ship was stopping in. One of the acceptable forms of ID on the list was a voter registration card. He registered to vote. He never voted. He knew he couldn’t vote. The only thing he used it for was so that he could take his wife to the Bahamas.
Decades ago, this never would have been uncovered. It’s incredible what they’re able to find now. You watch the news. You know what information the government’s compiling. They’re finding out a lot of information that we thought was buried.
