Immigration Forum / USA Marriage Base / September 2008

Dear immigration experts,

It is time for me to file n-400 for my naturalization, and I
discovered that there is a question about citations etc.
I have asked around and searched the web a little, and found mixed
answers; some people put the information in the n-400 form, and some
only disclosed it at interview time. So, I hope that an immigration
practitioner can advise me what the proven approach might be.

I have some traffic citations (all satisfied, fine paid, corrections
made for correctable offenses, etc), and one warning (with no fine,
etc). I have searched my archives and found only one copy of the
tickets. I lost the other two, forget the dates, and only remember the
year and the type of citations. One of the tickets that I lost is a
warning, and the other one costed me only $10 or so (expired car
registration, that was correctible). The ticket for which I keep the
proof is the oldest traffic citation, translated to a fine of less
than $400, which I had paid. This wasn't anything serious like DUI,
but I happened to have several violations in one ticket that summed up
to that amount.

I have some questions:
- How do I disclose this? I am contemplating of saying no in the form
that asks whether I have arrest/citation history etc, and then include
an attachment that discloses the citations.
- If I don't remember the dates and details of citations, how should I
disclose it? One reason why I don't want to put it in the form, is
that it has a standard table with date and details; which I can
perhaps omit (with explanation) if I only disclose in an attachment.
- If I am required to give the exact details, is there any database
that I can search to find the details? I live in northern California.
- will traffic citations hurt my chance for citizenship? I only got
the expensive citation when I was an inexperienced driver, and in the
past 5 years have been clean.

Thank you in advance!