Horribly Rude Treatment at Texas Driver Licensing

[Rob and Jill 82]

1. You need to let the supervisor in that area know that she treated you that way. Imagine how many people have let it go and not reported her for that behavior.

2. You should go back in and show them the paperwork to find out if you misunderstood something or if you are indeed correct on this.

3. Potential law suits are stacking up left and right with these new laws...

[candyricardo 1]

Ouch. I'm sorry to hear this, candy!

I don't know why but I think rude DMV worker is quite common no matter where you go.

There are really nice ones too though.. sort of like Immigration officers too I guess..

I remember the last time I was at the DMV in massachusetts. The lady behind the information counter was so completely rude and mean to these two men in front of me who had accents. Then when it was my turn, she was perfectly nice and lovely even congratulated me for the recent wedding (I went there to change my name)

Such an odd experience.. I almost want to say she was rude simply because the two men had accents and she a bit of a hard time understanding their questions, which is totally not OK!

Funny, I am originally from Connecticut. Yes, you are right. I can remember the Ct DMV always having that claim to fame as being meanies....when I was younger though my grandma worked for the commissioner of Hartford DMV....it was cool cuz we would walk in and have "Mary" is my gramma....what a nice treatment...We all had personalized plates when we turned 16. Hehe...kinda cool when you are a kid.

Anyway, I am feeling much better about it today, especially with such nice comments from all of you. People are so supportive on this site. I guess I feel better about myself for not going off on the person, cuz that would have made me just as much of a low life. I never have been very aggressive or assertive. I am in the business of helping people (RN) and I guess I just have to pity that person behind the desk. Not a happy soul.

Thanks for the words of kindness.

[ValerieA 350]

Maybe it is different for a tourist visa from Mexico, but when you are coming from Canada, you are only allowed to be in the US for more than 180 days at a time. The Texas rules for obtaining a DL if you are not a citizen or lawful permanent resident are:

Valid documentation issued by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, U.S. Dept. of State, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, that shows LAWFUL TEMPORARY ADMISSION to the U.S. for a period of six months or more.

So, the admission for 6 months or more might have tripped you up. This does not excuse the rudeness of the person who helped you, by any measure.

Also, I thought the B1/B2 visas issued in Mexico were now combined visas and border crossing cards? I thought it had been that way for a while, maybe she did not know this. Ignorance is no excuse for us while we are dealing with immigration, but it sure works for government employees.

[candyricardo 1]

Maybe it is different for a tourist visa from Mexico, but when you are coming from Canada, you are only allowed to be in the US for more than 180 days at a time. The Texas rules for obtaining a DL if you are not a citizen or lawful permanent resident are:

So, the admission for 6 months or more might have tripped you up. This does not excuse the rudeness of the person who helped you, by any measure.

Also, I thought the B1/B2 visas issued in Mexico were now combined visas and border crossing cards? I thought it had been that way for a while, maybe she did not know this. Ignorance is no excuse for us while we are dealing with immigration, but it sure works for government employees.

Yes, you are right, it is a combined B1/B2 visa/ border crossing card, but we also presented her the I-94 which he originally had for 6 months. Of course she did not even look at this, not that it would have mattered, as I realize now he is well into his 6 months. They did give him 6 months when he flew into San Antonio, but, oh, well....we will wait another month, go to our interview, get that GC and go back and wave it in her face...hehe

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Somehow I randomly ended up in this forum, but the Texas drivers license thread caught my eye. A B1/B2 can't get a TX DL with just the visa as the list says. Anyone with an I-94 showing legal presence, must have at least 6 months remaining on the I-94. That's why a K-1 can't get a license with their I-94 because only 90 days is given to K1s. An EAD card shows a years authorized presence, so it works, for one year. All driver's licenses will expire on the date the legal presence expires. Your green card will get you a six year license. If you get the Temporary Visitor one for 1 year on the EAD, you will have to pay again to get the regular driver's license, not to mention waiting in line forever. So if the GC is going to come pretty fast, you might not want to bother with the temp DL.

The law in Texas changed Oct 1, 2008. Before that a person could have just a couple of weeks remaining on some form of legal presence and they would be issued a license good for 6 years. With a valid Texas license, they could use that as id and appear to be as legal as a born in Texas person. Because Texas laws were so lenient, illegals flocked from many other states to get a Texas driver's license to use as a form of id in their states. The federal government had put some pressure on the states to tighten their issuance of state ids to non-legal persons. So most states now have some version of having the license issued only for the length of time of legal presence.

I am so, so sorry that you both had to go through that humiliating experience. I have been doing a lot of research lately on what it will take for my fiance to drive here in Texas once he arrives with his K1 so that we can try to avoid some of those same issues, and I have to say that I have been very disappointed with what I have found out thus far. Especially after the passage of the racist RealID laws here in Texas, I know it is now impossible for someone to get a license until they have their EAD.

I have spent hours on the phone with DPS and my insurance agent trying to figure everything out, and I think the best answer I have come up with is to just have my fiance get a Mexican drivers license, and then get an international drivers license. From what I have been told, even though the Mexican drivers licenses are not given reciprocity in Texas, the international drivers license will be acknowledged for one year from its issuance date in Mexico (totally logical, right?). This way, my fiance will be able to drive here until he gets his EAD without having to go through the BS at the DPS.

Mexican driver's licenses are not recognized by Texas. An international driver's license (IDL) or international driving permit (IDP) is not going to authorize one to drive in Texas. That is merely a booklet with your driver's license information translated into many languages. It is to accompany your real license which must be accepted by Texas. So a Mexican license with a translation book into English, French, German, Italian, etc is still not going to allow one to drive in Texas.

I had an IDP which I got at the AAA travel office in Houston. It was suggested to carry one because I was going to be driving in Europe and the translations into the various languages would be useful for a foreign driver. Don't be fooled by scams that say it will give you some authority instead of having a government issued license.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Excellent post!

[TLJohnson 1]

Mexican driver's licenses are not recognized by Texas. An international driver's license (IDL) or international driving permit (IDP) is not going to authorize one to drive in Texas. That is merely a booklet with your driver's license information translated into many languages. It is to accompany your real license which must be accepted by Texas. So a Mexican license with a translation book into English, French, German, Italian, etc is still not going to allow one to drive in Texas.

I had an IDP which I got at the AAA travel office in Houston. It was suggested to carry one because I was going to be driving in Europe and the translations into the various languages would be useful for a foreign driver. Don't be fooled by scams that say it will give you some authority instead of having a government issued license.

Thank you Nich-Nick. That is EXACTLY what I asked several people at the state DPS customer service hotline about over and over again, and they assured me (ha!) that he would be ok with the IDL (even from a country without reciprocity, like Mexico). They said he should get his Mexican driver's license, and then go the Mexican equivalent of AAA to get the IDL, and that he would be ok here for a year from its issue date. Amazing. So basically, there will be absolutely no way for my fiance to drive here until he gets his EAD, or am I missing something? That is really disappointing, because I don't exactly live in a "walkable" city, and the public transport isn't the best. I know that I would feel isolated being in a new country and having to hang out cooped up at home all day for months until the EAD arrives. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I would love to hear them! Also, FYI, one of the people at DPS said that the legislature was likely to take up the RealID laws again at the end of this year, so everything could change again very soon.

Edited July 25, 2010 by TLJohnson

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Thank you Nich-Nick. That is EXACTLY what I asked several people at the state DPS customer service hotline about over and over again, and they assured me (ha!) that he would be ok with the IDL (even from a country without reciprocity, like Mexico). They said he should get his Mexican driver's license, and then go the Mexican equivalent of AAA to get the IDL, and that he would be ok here for a year from its issue date. Amazing. So basically, there will be absolutely no way for my fiance to drive here until he gets his EAD, or am I missing something? That is really disappointing, because I don't exactly live in a "walkable" city, and the public transport isn't the best. I know that I would feel isolated being in a new country and having to hang out cooped up at home all day for months until the EAD arrives. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I would love to hear them! Also, FYI, one of the people at DPS said that the legislature was likely to take up the RealID laws again at the end of this year, so everything could change again very soon.

All I can say is all the fiances new to the US go through the cooped up, bored period. It's often discussed in the "Moving here and your new life in America" thread and the monthly AOS progress reporting threads. It's not going to be the perfect life to a brand new immigrant. It takes a little time, but perhaps you can come up with a great list of "honey-dos" to keep him busy.

I understand about the need to drive everywhere, being from the Houston area myself. I also thought the new TDL rules were unfair to K1s and corresponded with a lot of people in Austin. My now husband's first day in the US was Oct 1, 2008. Imagine that---if he had booked his flight a week earlier, he could have had a six year license. That's how I remember the date the law went into effect. Anyway, the things you think are mega-important at this moment while you're obsessing over the whole visa thing will mellow out. I am positive he will have to wait for EAD. He will have to take the written test and a driving test.

To speed up the EAD, get married immediately. (We married about the 5th day after POE). Then take your signed (by officiant) license into the county clerk's office and get your certified marriage certificate while you wait., rather than waiting on the mail. Have your whole AOS packet figured out and completed as much as possible before he even arrives, then mail it as soon as you marry and get that certificate. Then EAD should arrive in around 60 days. I've seen them sooner. The longer you wait to marry, then file, the longer it's going to be before he drives.

And I wanted to add that I think we do have a illegal immigration problem in this country. The driver's licensing laws actually make sense to me now that I've mellowed out.

I wish you a giant dose of patience while you wait or at least a Texas-sized margarita.

[TLJohnson 1]

I wish you a giant dose of patience while you wait or at least a Texas-sized margarita.

Thanks for all of the insight Nich-Nick. I will have to spend some time on the "adjusting to life here" threads. It has all seemed so far off I have only been focusing on the tiny technical details where I have been concerned that we needed to get the gears in motion well in advance (like getting a drivers license)! I had planned to do exactly as you suggested and get married almost immediately, walk the documents through at the clerk's office, and send in the AOS paperwork ASAP.

One follow-up question I have relates to the timing of applying for a SSN. I have read to wait at least two weeks to apply so that your information can be updated in the computers, etc., but is there any reason to have the SSN before you get married or send in the AOS paperwork? I was just worried that if we get married and send off the AOS paperwork within that two week window, we won't have the SSN yet. If that won't matter, no big deal. However, if it will cause headaches down the road because the SSN is not on the documentation, it might be more advantageous just to wait the few weeks and make sure everything syncs up. Is this a non-issue?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

but is there any reason to have the SSN before you get married or send in the AOS paperwork?

Not needed at all for AOS. Put NONE in the blank where it is asked for. Some forms change it to 000-00-0000 now if you type that, I think. SSN is also not needed for a Texas marriage license. There was a blank for it on our form, but again, write none. Use his passport for photo id to get the license. You will need to provide your SSN because it's required of everyone who has one. Your driver's license or passport will be your photo id.

But go and apply for the SSN anyway just to have it. It helps for opening a bank accounts and those things you can start on early. And he'll have it to give to the DPS when it's time to go get the license. Sometimes those SSNs get delayed so might as well get that going in case they have to do a manual verification.

And do you realize you are in the totally wrong forum for a K1 AOS?

[TLJohnson 1]

And do you realize you are in the totally wrong forum for a K1 AOS?

I guess I get directed to certain relevant topics through the "Mexico Portal"