What constitutes Government issued photo identification?

[IrinaNMike 0]

Irina received her interview I-797C Notice of Action (interview for the Application for Naturalization) in the mail today. We were very pleased that it arrived only three months after we applied, but the Document Check List has me worried. Here is how it begins:

You must be properly attired and bring ... Your Permanent Resident card ... and Government issued photo identification and All passports and travel documents (including expired and current) issued to you by any government ...

Irina has only two government-iissued photo id's besides her Green Card and her passport. They are her Russian driving license (she doesn't drive in the US) and her Russian internal passport.

Does anyone know whether USCIS accepts either of these as a government id?

Irina hasn't driven in three years, and I don't think it is very likely that she will be able to obtain an Oregon driving license by June 17. Oregon DMV does issue an alternative called an "Oregon id', but I don't know whether it has a photo on it, and I'm also concerned that she may not receive it by June 17 even if she applies immediately, because local DMV offices only issue 'temporary' cards.

Those are the only options I can come up with -- I hadn't heard of this requirement before, and it has really surprised me. Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

[jamieswith 0]

You can only take what you have.

You'll be fine!

Irina received her interview I-797C Notice of Action (interview for the Application for Naturalization) in the mail today. We were very pleased that it arrived only three months after we applied, but the Document Check List has me worried. Here is how it begins:

You must be properly attired and bring ... Your Permanent Resident card ... and Government issued photo identification and All passports and travel documents (including expired and current) issued to you by any government ...

Irina has only two government-iissued photo id's besides her Green Card and her passport. They are her Russian driving license (she doesn't drive in the US) and her Russian internal passport.

Does anyone know whether USCIS accepts either of these as a government id?

Irina hasn't driven in three years, and I don't think it is very likely that she will be able to obtain an Oregon driving license by June 17. Oregon DMV does issue an alternative called an "Oregon id', but I don't know whether it has a photo on it, and I'm also concerned that she may not receive it by June 17 even if she applies immediately, because local DMV offices only issue 'temporary' cards.

Those are the only options I can come up with -- I hadn't heard of this requirement before, and it has really surprised me. Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

[moonhunt 1]

Stop by local DMV, and ask for state ID - maybe Oregon ID, you are talking about-.

State ID is similar to Driver License except driving priviledge.

You have to pay for fee, and it has photo in it.

If her russian driver license have printed in English, USCIS may honor it.

But it's better to have State ID since it can be issued immediately in most cases.

[cookiee 0]

i agree with moonhunt

get a state ID

[lucyrich 20]

She should get a state id on general principles. It has a photo on it, and is identical to a drivers license in every respect except that it doesn't carry driving privileges, and you don't need to pass any driving related tests to get it. It's useful for general ID purposes, getting into bars, boarding airplanes, presenting to police officers when you want to identify yourself, opening a checking account, or anything else you'd use a drivers license for, except driving.

Having said that, if it doesn't arrive before the interview, don't worry. Between her green card and passport she has sufficient government issued photo ID to establish her identity. In fact, those are probably the documents they'll want to look at in order to issue her a state ID, anyway.

[MsAnn 0]

I just got my Oregon license less than 6 months ago. They gave me a temp license that very day that had my picture on it (just not in color) and I received my plastic one in the mail VERY quickly, less than a month for sure.

[IrinaNMike 0]

Thanks to everyone for responding so quickly. We were really nervous last night because we thought Irina might have to get an Oregon driving license. Now, we are on our way to DMV to get at least a temporary state id. It was especially cool to hear back so quickly from someone else who lives in Oregon and has been through the process. Thanks, MsAnn!

In case anyone is interested, the form we received is called N-659.

[MsAnn 0]

You're welcome

I actually still have my temp license in my records. It was good for one month. On the back, it says "If you do not receive your permanent card in the mail in 20 days, call... for assistance".

A little more info...

I did have a driver's license while living in another state (unexpired). I actually showed up at the OR dmv to obtain just an ID card, not a driver's license (I don't drive, either ). However, the lady there encouraged me to apply for the license! She said I'd just need to take the written test but if I ever wanted to change from ID to license, I'd have to take the driving test, too. So, I got the license. Just wanted to let you know in case the same thing happens with Irina

[TayRivers 4]

She is going to need that State ID once she has become a Citizen as she will no longer have a greencard to show as ID and she will not be able to carry around her certificate. She could carry her US Passport once she has it but a State ID will be so much easier.

Good luck at the interview.

[NickD 203]

"You must be properly attired and bring ... Your Permanent Resident card ... and Government issued photo identification and All passports and travel documents (including expired and current) issued to you by any government ... "

Certainly a change since nine months ago, in Wisconsin to get a photo ID as a LPR, you have to bring in your green card for ID, so that ID is redundant to say the least. Wife had to bring in two passports, as a LPR, the only passports she could have would be from a foreign country, sure in the hell can't get a US passport as a LPR. And the reason she had to bring in two, because she had to have her passport renewed in her three years as a LPR so they needed both to verify all the trips she took out of the country that lasted over 24 hours. In our case, she only made two trips, but we made darn sure when filling out the form, the dates we put in the form matched the dates in your passports. Kind of like a test to see if you can copy properly.

To get into her interview, we needed her interview notice and her green card, I just said, I am with her, they never asked to see anything from me like my birth certificate nor drivers' license. We also needed all the original documents we send copies of with the application, plus anything that was new since we mailed in the application. They also wanted to know if she made anymore trips since we filed the application, again the reason for the passport/s.

One of the civic questions was what form did you fill out for naturalization, the N-400 of course, but your wife should know why the form was filled out the way it was, my wife was questioned on that, but we filled out the form together. Ran into a bit of problem because we answered the number of days out of the country literally like the question was asked in the last five years where the IO wanted the days out of the country since she became a LPR. Wife simply replied, then why didn't they ask that, nothing in their about being a LPR, just said the last five years. She got through that okay.

She was not asked to read a simple statement in English, but had to read the oath out loud and all of our original evidence was checked against our copies. They never did that to us before so a lot depends on which IO. Saw applicants walk out the same time my wife walked in after 15 minutes, she was in for 41 minutes, but had a new IO wanting to do a more thorough job I suppose. You just don't know what to expect.

[NickD 203]

What constitutes Government issued photo identification?

For a natural born USC, just a birth certificate, need that to get a drivers' license at least for the first time that seems to be the de factor standard ID in this country for boarding airlines,cashing personal checks, and buying a drink if you look young enough.

To answer your question, we really don't have an official form of photo ID in this country.

Thinking way back, needed my birth certificate to enroll in kindengarden, only that one time for school, again to get my very first drivers' license, when drafted, then years went by until I married a gal from a foreign country, then the USCIS wanted to see it.

Politicians are talking about a form of photo ID, but only for voter fraud purposes, seems like one party is against it, need that fraud to get elected so nothing was done about it.