Filing for I-751 and drivers license expires

[Erika 2018 4]

Hi all, 

 

my husbands California drivers license expires 10/2/2021 the same time his 2 year green card expires. We just got a renewal notice in the mail for his drivers license from the dmv. I’m pretty certain we wouldn’t be able to renew the drivers license without an extension of the green card as well right? My question is do we have to file the I-751 and then wait till we get the receipt that they received it and will that be efficient enough for the DMV? Or do they actually need to extend his green card before the dmv will issue him another drivers license ? Hope this all makes sense! He has a job and needs to be able to drive to work and I know with the processing times it can take a while! Thank you so much! 

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

3 minutes ago, Erika 2018 said:

Hi all, 

 

my husbands California drivers license expires 10/2/2021 the same time his 2 year green card expires. We just got a renewal notice in the mail for his drivers license from the dmv. I’m pretty certain we wouldn’t be able to renew the drivers license without an extension of the green card as well right? My question is do we have to file the I-751 and then wait till we get the receipt that they received it and will that be efficient enough for the DMV? Or do they actually need to extend his green card before the dmv will issue him another drivers license ? Hope this all makes sense! He has a job and needs to be able to drive to work and I know with the processing times it can take a while! Thank you so much! 

Correct. You will need to file the I-751 first and then wait for the NOA/extension letter. We filed on 05/07 and got the letter on 05/25 (I think). It typically takes 3 to 6 weeks for the NOA/extension letter to arrive in the mail. I would just make sure to file the I-751 as soon as the 90 day window opens. He should be fine.  

[HRQX 4,145]

36 minutes ago, Erika 2018 said:

my husbands California drivers license expires 10/2/2021 the same time his 2 year green card expires.

For California I've mostly seen them issue a full-validity DL. What are the last 2 digits of the DD code on the bottom?

[Erika 2018 4]

10 hours ago, HRQX said:

For California I've mostly seen them issue a full-validity DL. What are the last 2 digits of the DD code on the bottom?

They didn’t. It expires the day his green card expires. I’m not sure of the number my hubby is at work. 

[Erika 2018 4]

11 hours ago, USC4SPOUSE said:

Correct. You will need to file the I-751 first and then wait for the NOA/extension letter. We filed on 05/07 and got the letter on 05/25 (I think). It typically takes 3 to 6 weeks for the NOA/extension letter to arrive in the mail. I would just make sure to file the I-751 as soon as the 90 day window opens. He should be fine.  

Okay perfect! Thank you so much!  

[usmsbow 801]

19 hours ago, Erika 2018 said:

Hi all, 

 

my husbands California drivers license expires 10/2/2021 the same time his 2 year green card expires. We just got a renewal notice in the mail for his drivers license from the dmv. I’m pretty certain we wouldn’t be able to renew the drivers license without an extension of the green card as well right? My question is do we have to file the I-751 and then wait till we get the receipt that they received it and will that be efficient enough for the DMV? Or do they actually need to extend his green card before the dmv will issue him another drivers license ? Hope this all makes sense! He has a job and needs to be able to drive to work and I know with the processing times it can take a while! Thank you so much! 

 

You probably can. My wife was able to do it a couple years ago when she was in the same situation as you husband (also in CA). She just renewed it via mail. They didn't ask for a copy of the green card, or NOA1. 

 

 

[HRQX 4,145]

8 hours ago, Erika 2018 said:

I’m not sure of the number my hubby is at work. 

If those 2 digits are "22" or higher then the already paid DL fee is valid until his birthday in the corresponding year (e.g. if the digits are "24" then the corresponding year is 2024).

[mnk 62]

Renew the driver's license now, no need to wait. The CA DMV does not care about the green card expiration date.

[mnk 62]

21 hours ago, Erika 2018 said:

my husbands California drivers license expires 10/2/2021 the same time his 2 year green card expires. We just got a renewal notice in the mail for his drivers license from the dmv. I’m pretty certain we wouldn’t be able to renew the drivers license without an extension of the green card as well right?

Ok, I may have been a little to flippant in my first response. They can care, but they would have let you know. To clarify:

 

Is it a regular renewal notice allowing him to renew by mail? If so, he should be fine to renew now and will likely receive 5 year license. That was the case for my husband, and like the other poster, usmsbow, they did not ask for a new copy of green card or NOA1.

 

Or, is it a notice stating that his "limited term" driver license will expire soon, requesting satisfactory proof that his presence in the US has been extended or reauthorized? In that case, you would want to send a copy of the NOA1/extension letter with the renewal when available.

 

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

I think that as long as you file the I-751 as soon as 90 day window opens, your husband will get the NOA with plenty of time to renew his driver's license - if it comes down to that.  

[arken 4,197]

1 hour ago, mnk said:

Renew the driver's license now, no need to wait. The CA DMV does not care about the green card expiration date.

It seems the CA DMVs do care about GC expiration date - OP's husband's DL expires the same day his conditional GC expires. 

Edited June 25, 2021 by arken

[mnk 62]

3 minutes ago, arken said:

It seems the CA DMVs do care about GC expiration date - OP's husband's DL expires the same day his conditional GC expires. 

You're right. That's why I asked for more info from the OP.

[Erika 2018 4]

56 minutes ago, mnk said:

Ok, I may have been a little to flippant in my first response. They can care, but they would have let you know. To clarify:

 

Is it a regular renewal notice allowing him to renew by mail? If so, he should be fine to renew now and will likely receive 5 year license. That was the case for my husband, and like the other poster, usmsbow, they did not ask for a new copy of green card or NOA1.

 

Or, is it a notice stating that his "limited term" driver license will expire soon, requesting satisfactory proof that his presence in the US has been extended or reauthorized? In that case, you would want to send a copy of the NOA1/extension letter with the renewal when available.

 

It is a renewal by mail. It doesn’t say anything for proof. I actually just tried going online to the dmv office and it says must come in to the dmv office to complete renewal. 

[arken 4,197]

1 minute ago, Erika 2018 said:

It is a renewal by mail. It doesn’t say anything for proof. I actually just tried going online to the dmv office and it says must come in to the dmv office to complete renewal. 

That pretty much says you have to bring the extension notice.

[Scandi 4,166]

I was in the same situation here in California and decided to renew my license via mail. I sent off my application and on purpose "forgot" to send a copy of the extension letter hoping I would get a DL with an expiration date way past the 18 month extension letter. 

 

After a month I still hadn't heard anything so I called and was informed that my application had been routed to the "DMV Legal Presence Unit". Got the number and called them, got to talk to a very nice guy who understood immediately what I meant by "removal of conditions" and he approved my application for renewal right there and then. Never asked me to send in a copy of the extension letter or any other proof. 

 

When I received the DL it was valid until 2023. This happened back in 2019, so I got what I wanted, a DL with a much longer validity than the 18 months the extension letter would've given me. I had originally got my first DL in 2018, so I assume they went by that date and put the expiry date 5 years into the future. 

 

For me it definitely paid off to "forget" sending the extension letter. 

Edited June 25, 2021 by Scandi