I am applying for US Citizenship this month and came across the stupidest mistake I made in the past.
Went through dozens of forum threads about similar cases and more I read, more confused and scared I get.
Back in Spring of 2002 I had a ticket for a shoplifting (total value of less than $50), went to the court for the first time, was assigned and attorney, she was contacting me strictly by phone about the case (no mail). As I found out about a year later, she failed to notify me about the court date and there was a warrant for my arrest for not going to court!
(I was a very busy student at the time and had very little money, so I was happy that they delayed my court hearing and I wasn't asked to pay fines yet. If I only knew...)
Well, as soon as I knew about the warrant, I voluntarily went straight to the county jail, spent about 6 hours there, was assigned a new court date (September 2003) and let go.
Got another attorney as advised (which only said, my only option is to plea guilty, so I did).
Final Court Disposition states:
Sentence for Misdemeanor (Theft 3), a $250 fine, no contact with the "Store", 12 month probation and completion of Theft Counseling Program within 60 days.
Maximum possible charges were: 30 days jail and a $1000 fine
So... for N-400 US Citizenship Application I got copies of all court records, including the arrest warrant, they do not have anything about my trip to jail besides that. Also, I got the certificate stating I completed the Rehabilitation Program, advised by the judge.
Is there anything else I should provide? Such as jail record (fingerprint check?), receipts of my payments of fines? Do they need the details of the incident from the store security? Because court doesn't have one...
Should the explanation letter be attached to the N-400 Application along will all documents, or is it better to explain everything about my shoplifting at the interview?
Can my Citizenship Application be denied for this?
From what I figured, this falls under Petty Offense Exception, is this correct?
P.S. This was my ONLY ticket.
Thank you.

