Thread: Proving legal residence for driver's license

Fingerprints are, I think, a good addition. But before those are even taken the authorities need to be able to determine that the person is here legally. In other words, that person needs to show conclusively that: 1. They are a US citizen or 2. They are a lawfully admitted alien or 3. They are here with a legal, non-expired visa. Any documents provided should be such that they are not easily duplicatable by copying equipment

The I-9 employment verification was a tep in the right direction. Some documents are accorded more trust than others. EG. just one passport is needed, but if you show a SSN you must show another doc. too. Obviously this system has been shown to be flawed, as some of these docs. can be forged. But I-9 introduced the concept of a list. What we need now is a more tamper proof list. yet comprised of docs. that genuine, legal Americans can get their hands on.

AE

She flew to Hawaii by herself last year so I had got her a CA ID.

She had to have her birth certificate, her social security card and be fingerprinted before they even took her picture.

To get her driving permit she had to have her birth certificate, social security card, her CA ID, a certificate of completion from a Driving School for class study and a certificate signed by the school saying she was enrolled for behind the wheel training. You have to go through a person that gives you a number to see a clerk. That person went through all of the documents to see if she had everything before they would give us a number. Once again when she saw the clerk to take her written test the clerk verified all of the documents. When she had her picture taken the clerk had to see her CA ID and fingerprinted her again before taking her picture.

They take them into a private room to take there written test. While I was waiting I was watching everything (not nosey, I've just learned to be more observant of how our system works) A man approached one of the clerks and asked if he could read part of the test to a man, because he said he had problems with English; the clerk said if the man did not understand the English language he did not need to be driving and could not get a Drivers License. I was surprised and can only hope that other DMV offices in California are as thorough as this one was.

I do have a question about Oregon's system.

Here in California if you have a good drving record; no tickets, etc. they mail you an application for renewal and you don't have to take any tests, you just send DMV a check or you can do it online.

The only time I have had to go into DMV is when I married and had a name change. I had to show them my marriage certificate and have my picture and fingerprints taken. I do have to admit they had problems with my social security number and would not issue me a copy of my DL until it was straightened out. (It was a clerical error they had transposed the last two numbers on my ss number)

Anyway my question is do they allow residents of Oregon to renew their license this way if they have a good driving record?

NJ is one of the hardest states to get a license from.

If you are foreign born, you MUST supply a passport, US citizenship/naturalization papers or a green card, along with other forms of ID. It's a points system.

Red flag: If you DON'T speak English or speak with a heavy accent and have a US birth certificate, you'd better be sure those documents you have are not fake.

MontereySherry -

Here in California if you have a good drving record; no tickets, etc. they mail you an application for renewal and you don't have to take any tests, you just send DMV a check or you can do it online.

It's a rough parallel, but not identical approach. What the OR DoT (DMV) has done, is to extend the length a DL is valid (for those with a stellar driving history like yours truly here)... but you still have to show up at the end of that longer duration for an in-office renewal. So, in my case, my license is renewed for 8 years, but I have to go to the office and have a new photo taken to renew.

Other OR drivers experience may differ, depending upon their specific circumstances....

I have to go to the office and have a new photo taken to renew.

I haven't had to go to DMV to renew my license or had my picture taken since 1997 when I remarried.

As PhredE said, is so. Most people I know have also had the long term ,but still had to go in and I don't think they will change the rules anytime soon. Some DMV offices here are pretty long at times.

Sherry, glad to see that one DMV in Cali was good about the needing English to drive as a standard, that's really good to hear. I can only guess, but it would seem that many employees or their bosses, at local levels are getting more picky about the rules and this will be happening more and more across our nation as more Amerocans become fed-up with the status quo.