Accidentally Registered to Vote - US Citizenship Q&A
User question: I recently submitted N-400 form.A couple of week later I discovered that I accidentally register to vote at the DMV when I wanted to only update my address. I never vote. I did not realize that I registered to voted so I answered No on n-400 that I never register to vote. I found out later after I already submitted the application. What should I do?
Attorney Curtis: Thanks for posting this question. Unfortunately, this is something that happens fairly often and in many cases the resident (like you in this case) did not intend to register to vote. Most people also do not know how serious it is for a LPR to register to vote. Under federal law it is a crime to knowingly make a false statement or claim of U.S. Citizenship with the intent to obtain the right to vote.
Based on the facts you stated in your post I doubt you have to worry about federal prosecution since you did not do this knowingly or with any intent other than to update the address on your driver's license. However, these are all factual issues that may or may not be difficult to prove.
In addition to the potential criminal consequences it is a very serious issue for your N-400 application and may result in the denial of your application. You will probably need to disclose this fact to the USCIS and file an amended N-400 explaining the issue.
However, you absolutely need to retain an experienced immigration attorney to help you with this right away and shouldn't do anything without first obtaining legal advice. I frequently recommend that forum users consult an attorney but this is the first time I have stated it in absolute terms. I hope this underscores the importance of this issue.
If you live in Michigan you can email me and we can discuss my services for assisting you with this case. You need someone who can appear with you at the naturalization interview and who is familiar with the USCIS local district office to assist you with this case so if you do not live in Michigan you'll have to find someone in your state. I handle a lot of cases all over the country but in some cases you need a local attorney and this is one of those cases.
Check the American Immigration Lawyers Association immigration lawyer data base to find someone near you.