Two DUIs in the Good Moral Character Window: Withdraw the N-400

A caller on the Immigration Answer Show had filed his N-400 himself, sat for the interview, and was waiting past 120 days while an officer ran a “deeper review” of his good moral character. His record: two alcohol-related traffic stops in 2021, one a DUI and one pled down to reckless driving. He offered his master’s degree, a clean FBI check, and his work history. Jim Hacking cut straight to the problem.

Naturalization requires good moral character during the statutory period before filing (five years for most applicants) under 8 U.S.C. § 1427(a), measured against the character bars in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(f). Two DUIs in that window carry specific weight. In Matter of Castillo-Perez, 27 I&N Dec. 664 (A.G. 2019), the Attorney General held that two or more DUI convictions during the relevant period create a rebuttable presumption against good moral character, and that evidence of reform on its own does not overcome it.

The plea to reckless driving does not neutralize the second incident the way the caller hoped. USCIS looks at the underlying conduct, and the officer’s “deeper review” signaled the file was heading toward a denial, not a delay.

The caller’s list of positives missed what actually rebuts the presumption.

Holding a job, changing jobs, and employing people are neutral facts, not evidence of rehabilitation. That distinction is what separates a survivable good moral character review from a losing one. It is the same reason unprocessed tax returns and old citations sink applications that look clean on paper. Hacking’s recommendation was to reset the timing rather than gamble on the pending case.

The play is to push the whole statutory look-back past the DUIs so they no longer fall inside the window, and to spend that time building real evidence of good moral character: volunteering, community work, the kind of record that answers the presumption instead of ignoring it. He also warned against pestering USCIS for a faster decision on a case likely to be denied, and noted the agency may not even let you withdraw this late. A denial is not the end; there is an N-336 appeal path. But on two DUIs in the statutory period, timing the refiling is the stronger bet.