CONFUSED about Temporary DL for green card holder

[Elllena 113]

My husband(USC) and I(LPR) went to DMV in Tennessee today to get our driver’s licenses and everything went well, but mine says on top TEMPORARY DRIVING LICENSE while my husband’s just says DRIVERS LICENSE. I entered a month ago on a CR-1, is my DL temporary because my GC expires in 2 years or should I go back to DMV to get it corrected? I googled a bit about this and found they issue temporary documents to people on temporary visas that have an expiration date and are authorized to work in the US, but I am on a green card not on a visa.

[NYCruiser 423]

In NYS, they only give a DL with validity of the visa. So you may have got just a 2 year DL? 

 

Once you get your full Green Card, they give for the D/S

[Elllena 113]

A few more info after checking all the paperwork I received. On the form she gave back to us she checked I am on a visa. I don’t know if she was corect or not tho. I used my visa with the stamp in my passport to show legal status, so technically it is correct to say I am on a temporary visa because the CR-1 will only be good for a year. But the CR-1 is acting as a temporary green card for a year, not a temporary visa. I got even more confused over all this. 
 

 I believe it was a mistake they checked the visa box instead of the LPR box. Will I have any issues because of this? I don’t think it’s a big deal, but I want to make sure there will be no issues.

[Elllena 113]

1 minute ago, NYCruiser said:

In NYS, they only give a DL with validity of the visa. So you may have got just a 2 year DL? 

 

Once you get your full Green Card, they give for the D/S

Could you read the comment I just posted here? I noticed the validity is only one year. I believe they thought I am on a temporary CR-1 only for a year. I am not sure they understood the CR-1 is an immigrant visa, not a temporary one.

[Verrou 1,962]

9 minutes ago, Elllena said:

A few more info after checking all the paperwork I received. On the form she gave back to us she checked I am on a visa. I don’t know if she was corect or not tho. I used my visa with the stamp in my passport to show legal status, so technically it is correct to say I am on a temporary visa because the CR-1 will only be good for a year. But the CR-1 is acting as a temporary green card for a year, not a temporary visa. I got even more confused over all this. 
 

 I believe it was a mistake they checked the visa box instead of the LPR box. Will I have any issues because of this? I don’t think it’s a big deal, but I want to make sure there will be no issues.

i think your driving license should be okay. even though u have "temporary" mark on the card, since your CR-1 only good for a year. when u have ur full green card, just bring both of card wherever u go. like my state ID is 8 years but my temporary visitor date is only 2 years because it follows my working permit. which is already expired now but i have a new working permit. i didnt bother to renew my state ID since its technicallys till valid, i just brought my new working permit too

 

 

because even its a mistake from DMV, they will ask you to pay the fee again which is annoying. it happened to me one time ( on different issue) and they still insisted for me the fee like when we applied driving license again

Edited September 28, 2020 by Misscloud

[Elllena 113]

35 minutes ago, Misscloud said:

i think your driving license should be okay. even though u have "temporary" mark on the card, since your CR-1 only good for a year. when u have ur full green card, just bring both of card wherever u go. like my state ID is 8 years but my temporary visitor date is only 2 years because it follows my working permit. which is already expired now but i have a new working permit. i didnt bother to renew my state ID since its technicallys till valid, i just brought my new working permit too

 

 

because even its a mistake from DMV, they will ask you to pay the fee again which is annoying. it happened to me one time ( on different issue) and they still insisted for me the fee like when we applied driving license again

I think that too because my DL is only valid for one year. When I will have to renew it next year I will make sure they are checking the right boxes.

[JeanneAdil 6,498]

covered in the TN driver's manual on page 4 

 

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/safety/documents/DL_Manual.pdf

 

Temporary Driver Licenses (TDL) are issued to Tennessee residents who are not U.S. Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents but have temporary legal presence status and authorized stay in the United States. Their presence in the U.S. has PENALTIES FOR DRIVING WITHOUT A LICENSE WHO IS NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE A TENNESSEE DRIVER LICENSE? TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE (TDL) OR been authorized by the federal government for a specific purpose and for a specific time period. All other applicants for Tennessee Driver Licenses or Identification Only Licenses must provide proof of U.S. Citizenship (USC) or Lawful Permanent Residency (LPR). Proof of temporary legal presence is generally made with one or more of the following documents: (a) Conditional Resident Alien Card (I-551), (b) Temporary Resident Identification Card (I-688), (c) Employment Authorization Card (I-766), or (d) Valid Foreign Passport with a valid Visa and I-94 attached. Valid Foreign Passport with an I-94W. (Holders of F1 or F2 status should also present a valid SEVIS I-20. Holders of J1 or J2 status should also present a valid DS-2019)

 

the state must be considering you as temporary but i would go back and ask as Adil got a permanent one in 2015 (he was IR1) 

you at this point are considered LPR by immigration

[Elllena 113]

2 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

covered in the TN driver's manual on page 4 

 

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/safety/documents/DL_Manual.pdf

 

Temporary Driver Licenses (TDL) are issued to Tennessee residents who are not U.S. Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents but have temporary legal presence status and authorized stay in the United States. Their presence in the U.S. has PENALTIES FOR DRIVING WITHOUT A LICENSE WHO IS NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE A TENNESSEE DRIVER LICENSE? TEMPORARY DRIVER LICENSE (TDL) OR been authorized by the federal government for a specific purpose and for a specific time period. All other applicants for Tennessee Driver Licenses or Identification Only Licenses must provide proof of U.S. Citizenship (USC) or Lawful Permanent Residency (LPR). Proof of temporary legal presence is generally made with one or more of the following documents: (a) Conditional Resident Alien Card (I-551), (b) Temporary Resident Identification Card (I-688), (c) Employment Authorization Card (I-766), or (d) Valid Foreign Passport with a valid Visa and I-94 attached. Valid Foreign Passport with an I-94W. (Holders of F1 or F2 status should also present a valid SEVIS I-20. Holders of J1 or J2 status should also present a valid DS-2019)

 

the state must be considering you as temporary but i would go back and ask as Adil got a permanent one in 2015 (he was IR1) 

you at this point are considered LPR by immigration

Yes, the manual made me concerned because I am a LPR, not a temporary visa holder. When I will get my physical green card in the mail I will go get it fixed.

[Diane and Chris 651]

8 hours ago, Elllena said:

Yes, the manual made me concerned because I am a LPR, not a temporary visa holder. When I will get my physical green card in the mail I will go get it fixed.

That’s a good idea. When do you expect to receive your card?

[Anita Reynoso 5]

Hi did you needed do exams for driving licence or they transferred yours old driving licence 

[Dutchster 1,107]

I'm located in Middle TN and they issued me a TDL in 2017 while I was adjusting status after K-1 entry, but it's not set to expire until 2025. So confusing! I'd recommend to go back and make sure you get a DL with the correct expiration date. 

[Elllena 113]

11 hours ago, Anita Reynoso said:

Hi did you needed do exams for driving licence or they transferred yours old driving licence 

You need to take the knowledge test and road test again. Your licence from abroad does not count or matter at all. 

[Elllena 113]

20 hours ago, Diane and Chris said:

That’s a good idea. When do you expect to receive your card?

Soon I hope. I have been here for over a month and there’s no sign I will get it soon. I have to wait 120 days before I can inquire about it, but I hope I will get it by then.