Anyone else have issues getting drivers license?

[yuna628 9,676]

30 minutes ago, Limey said:

I'm on about my 5th or 6th license now (been here in NC for 18 months). I was permitted 60 days after entering country on my UK license so took my test as soon as I could and got first license (dated to expire when i94 did). So applied for EAD and GC almost immediately after getting married. Renewed license when EAD came through, and then again when the license was about to expire and I had my GC. Along the way one license got lost in the mail, and another didn't arrive before the temp paper one expired so I went to DMV for another (the first then arrived next day). I'm on pretty good terms with the people at the DMV now, they treat me as a regular.

 

My i94 ran out about 2 weeks before I finally got my EAD, so I didn't drive during this time. It was a little annoying, but you can't work before getting EAD, so its not the end of the world.

 

My 2 year GC and hence my license expires in November 2017, so I'll be there again once I have the NOA for ROC, and then again when 10 year GC arrives. I've got a pile of old licenses sitting right next to me at this very moment.

That's a shame your state makes you renew so soon. The 2 year GC is enough to give you a full license in MD.

[Californiansunset 336]

2 hours ago, Boiler said:

New residents do not usually get 6 months, normally a lot less. In Colorado the first thing you get is the EAD. However the issue here seems mainly what is required by your Insurer to insure your vehicle.

From what I've bee told by other German VJ members New York and Oklahoma let you drive for 6 months...

[Fr8dog 312]

Tennessee allows you to hold your foreign license please see below:

http://www.tn.gov/safety/article/dlnew

 

The whole problem is that they need to check your legal presence in the SAVE system. And they need to enter a form number for that.

Even though they do not specifically mention it on the site, I would try to use my NOA-1 from the AOS papers.

That number is something they can enter into SAVE and should give you a one year license.

Just ask them politely to look into the official book they have. It should be in there.

 

Again they do not specify it on their web page so they may not want to do it.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

NC does give a DL for two years on a GC. Limey was commenting on the # licenses she has,  starting with a UK license. Nothing unusual with receiving a DL tied to GC. 

[Fr8dog 312]

North Carolina also accepts other documents with a your alien number on it:

https://www.ncdot.gov/download/dmv/DMV_voter_id_list.pdf

 

[MrsWoodsy 0]

I took my husband to get his permit in August. It was a few days after we took him to get his biometrics done. We took all the proper documents in and they told us they couldn't find him in the system so we would have to come back and wait till PennDOT found him in the system. We went back 3 times after (twice in September and once in early October) and they said they couldn't issue it because nothing was in the system still. We figured that we'll wait until his EAD/AP card was issued. Lo and behold, they don't put the info into the system until the card is issued. So we waited till the end of October for him to get his permit. What a run around that was 

Edited January 27, 2017 by MrsWoodsy

[NikLR 13,227]

~~moved to moving here and your new life from K1 process and procedures. Topic is not asking about the k1 process but about insurance and driver's licenses~~

[pantonia 39]

I am from Texas, so it might be a different situation, but just in case, here it is.

 

In my case, I knew other people who had gotten DL while waiting for AOS/EAD/AP, so I KNEW it could be done. When I went to the DMV, they ran my I-94 and told me it was expired and therefore couldn't do it. They even told me they had done this to other k-1 people before, like proving there was nothing more to it.

 

I went back and searched on VJ until I found a thread that explained what went wrong with me (sorry I can't find the link now). Basically, there are uninformed clerks who run the I-94 in the SAVE system. The SAVE system tells them you have 90 days to be there and no more. Therefore the system rejects you because they can't issue a DL to someone out of status.

What this girl and her husband did, was to print and highlight the list of accepted documents as proof of legal status, showing that the NOA for AOS was an accepted form of proof in this state. Then, they made the DMV run the Alien number from the NOA in the SAVE system, instead of the I-94 number. As a result, the SAVE system said that it would take a manual check to confirm that you were not out of status, so you'd have to come back later, but after 1 or 2 weeks, they got a confirmation that they could get the DL. So it is more work, but there's a way. Also, not all DMV clerks will be willing to go through the trouble of accepting that they might be wrong and trying something else.

 

Basically, from what I understood, once you apply for AOS/EAD/AP, your receipt notice is the actual valid proof of legal status in the country, not the I-94

[Ash.1101 1,756]

10 minutes ago, pantonia said:

I am from Texas, so it might be a different situation, but just in case, here it is.

 

In my case, I knew other people who had gotten DL while waiting for AOS/EAD/AP, so I KNEW it could be done. When I went to the DMV, they ran my I-94 and told me it was expired and therefore couldn't do it. They even told me they had done this to other k-1 people before, like proving there was nothing more to it.

 

I went back and searched on VJ until I found a thread that explained what went wrong with me (sorry I can't find the link now). Basically, there are uninformed clerks who run the I-94 in the SAVE system. The SAVE system tells them you have 90 days to be there and no more. Therefore the system rejects you because they can't issue a DL to someone out of status.

What this girl and her husband did, was to print and highlight the list of accepted documents as proof of legal status, showing that the NOA for AOS was an accepted form of proof in this state. Then, they made the DMV run the Alien number from the NOA in the SAVE system, instead of the I-94 number. As a result, the SAVE system said that it would take a manual check to confirm that you were not out of status, so you'd have to come back later, but after 1 or 2 weeks, they got a confirmation that they could get the DL. So it is more work, but there's a way. Also, not all DMV clerks will be willing to go through the trouble of accepting that they might be wrong and trying something else.

 

Basically, from what I understood, once you apply for AOS/EAD/AP, your receipt notice is the actual valid proof of legal status in the country, not the I-94

Yeah we did this. Texas does include the I-485 receipt as proof of legal presence, but not all states do. 


Also note, that we had difficulty using this because the woman kept putting in the system that our proof was a pending green card (I-551), and became agitated when I tried to tell her no, the proof that's suppose to be used (as they have to pick a proof in the system) was the I-797. She told us no, it should be a I-551 because the green card is pending because we applied. She ended up putting in the I-551, after telling us she "tried" the I-797 and it didn't work, we didn't believe her but what ever.

Obviously it was kicked back, we received a letter telling us to bring his I-551 in to show proof because they couldn't find it in the system. We ended up just waiting for the actual GC, and once we got the actual GC it was no issues and it is good for 6 years.


Honestly I'd find it easier to just wait til EAD or even the GC depending on how fast your case is moving. 

[pantonia 39]

2 minutes ago, Ash.1101 said:

Yeah we did this. Texas does include the I-485 receipt as proof of legal presence, but not all states do. 


Also note, that we had difficulty using this because the woman kept putting in the system that our proof was a pending green card (I-551), and became agitated when I tried to tell her no, the proof that's suppose to be used (as they have to pick a proof in the system) was the I-797. She told us no, it should be a I-551 because the green card is pending because we applied. She ended up putting in the I-551, after telling us she "tried" the I-797 and it didn't work, we didn't believe her but what ever.

Obviously it was kicked back, we received a letter telling us to bring his I-551 in to show proof because they couldn't find it in the system. We ended up just waiting for the actual GC, and once we got the actual GC it was no issues and it is good for 6 years.


Honestly I'd find it easier to just wait til EAD or even the GC depending on how fast your case is moving. 

I agree, in my case my story with the DMV was actually much more enraging and longer than the one I included earlier, and I think the DMV clerks aren't the most "I love my job and I'd love to help you" kind of people. I too, ended up waiting for my GC, since I found out that in Texas my chilean license (and an international permit for good measure) were good for 1 year or until I got my GC, and our insurance allowed for me to be included with a foreign license temporarily.

 

I admit though that I really wanted to go back to the DMV and yell at them a little and shame them for for being such coldhearted j***ks, but it wasn't worth the 1 hour trip.

 

I'd just wait for the EAD or GC if possible, unless OP absolutely needs a DL now. In which case, I'd just suggest to try different DMVs until one is willing to hear them out.

[rjm_cmyk 75]

California calling in.

On immigration CA DMV will give you a temporary DL valid only for the duration of your current immigration status document as long as there's more than 60 days on it. I entered on a K1 (so valid for the 90 days allowed to get married) but left it too late. So drove on my UK DL until I did my AOS/EAD etc  The legality of which is arguable (under CA rules) but probably not with a CHP officer so a low profile is recommended if you do this.

 

Got a two year DL once I got my CGC. Once that expired and I had the 1 year CGC extension while doing ROC the DMV extended my licence for five years (go figure).

 

The DMV is an enigmatic creature....

[ERFandPRW 6]

i also had similar problems .... They first issued me with a dl valid until just after my conditional gc expired. Green card expires Aug 2018 and drivers license Dec 18 but i got  really lucky... When i applied for my provisional cdl i applied to change from the old drivers licence to the newer ones that recently  came out in Colorado. When the newer version licence was sent to me it had an expiry date of june 2021 . This was not what i was expecting as i will only  be applying for roc in may 2018... It's strange they were so nice to me as on a previous occasion trying to get my learners permit at the same office and frustrated with their red tape i was thrown out ..

Funny how things happen...

[Limey 551]

I must comment that my experience with the NC DMV in Wilmington wasn't so bad, compared to what some here seem to have experienced. I understood the expiry date issue, and I know its not them who've made the decision to implement those rules. The drivers license is cheap (5 bucks a year) and the people there have largely been helpful and friendly. The ladies there always comment on my accent and ask how I ended up in the USA and how I like Wilmington.

 

In fact I have to say that so far all of my dealings with public employees here have been okay - from getting a marriage license, to my immigration appointments and updating social security details, its all been pretty plain sailing and the people have largely been friendly and helpful (as people in general in Wilmington are). I previously lived in Dubai, UAE - every single time I had to do something at a government office was a complete pain in the backside. I'd always check the web to make sure I had all the correct documents and then the guy at the counter would always insist I needed something that wasn't on the list. Everything needed multiple trips. In the end (at the suggestion of my brother who also lived there) I'd deliberately leave out one document I knew was required. The guy at the desk would then query its absense. I'd say "oh I don't think I have that, but every thing else is okay right, I just need that document?" And when he confirmed that was true, I'd do another check of my bag, and magically I'd find the missing document I thought I didn't have. Worked a treat and they never seemed to rumble me.

[FOSSLGRL 63]

Hi all, just wanted to give an update, since this website serves as a journal for me and also in case anyone was wondering what happened.

 

(Thanks for all of your replies BTW!!)

 

Once my license expired, I didn't even attempt to renew it with my NOA1. Really just couldn't have been bothered to go back to the DMV and wait for hours, especially if there was a chance I'd be turned down.

 

So I just drove on my Canadian drivers license until I received my work authorization a couple days ago. It worked out fine.

 

Today I went back to the DMV with my work auth, waited 3 hours and walked out with a new DL good for one year! And since I'll be getting my GC in 6 months I figure, I can renew it when that comes and finally get a permanent license.

 

Really it's just nice to finally have the TN license. I am sick of buying alcohol and having to explain where the birthday is located on the ID, "I'm from Canada, hurrr", I'd joke. It was fun the first few times but has become very annoying.

 

I just want to blend in.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2017 by FOSSLGRL

[TBoneTX 45,288]

What a relief for you.  Thanks for the happy update.