HunterGreen

Excuse the language but I'm very annoyed.

The local BMV wouldn't issue me a 4 yr driver license but only gave me a DL valid until the expiration date of the temporary I-551 in my passport (Aug. 4th 2006).

I bombarded them with info about why they were wrong (see also www.bmv.ohio.gov/nonrenewlic.html) but they told me that if I had had the actual permanent resident card I would have gotten the 4 yr license. Now that I only have the temporary I-551 evidence in the passport I got the license valid for as long as the temp.I-551 is valid.

We all know that's wrong. But I seem to need more ammo in getting through their thick skulls that the temp.evidence equals the actual card.

Anyone?

Elaine

Rete

They are right and then again they are wrong. Wait until you get the green card in the mail and then go back and get your license with the extended date. But don't be surprised it is will expire on August __, 2007 just as your GC will.

HunterGreen

Actually, I told her that (2yr card validity etc) and she said 'yes but that doesn't change your status, so you will still get the 4 yr license then'. So she had that part right, but wouldn't accept the temp.I-551 as equal to the actual plastic card. All the while blaming it on the 'office in Columbus', with whom she was on the phone all the while. She also kept saying I'm here 'on a visa', and I kept saying 'no, I'm a permanent resident'.

jemavalon

I had the same problem in VA -- I had to go there 3 times before I got my 7yr DL (once before I-751 was approved but with temp GC stamp -- by the way, expired 2yr GC with estension letter did not work, they wanted to see corresponding stamp in passport, once after I-751 approval with another temp GC stamp, once after I got 10yr plastic). On the bright side, I can tell you that you will feel very happy once you get the "long-term" DL -- it's like big accomplishment. What can you do, you can't expect people in DMV to know or interpret immigration law, can you? What's worse when your AOS is pending, in VA the only proof of your status (based on their list) is EAD. But what if you don't want to work in the US at all? You still HAVE TO apply for EAD just to get the DL. Just hope that all these little rules that are inconvenience for us wil actually stop terrorists. I'm not that convinced...

Sorry about your experience, and I hope you'll get your GC in the mail soon so that you can get the DL.

Julia

Elvira

Can you go to a different BMV office? So much can depend on the office and/or individual official you are dealing with.

A few months ago I renewed my CA licence. I'm an H4, and at the time I didn't even have a SSN. But in the end I still got a 10-year licence - even though I had been told initially that they weren't sure whether I could renew it at all. Go figure!

Good luck

meauxna

Hey Elaine
Ohio might have you on this one. But you might be able to get back at them.

http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/nonrenewlic.html
"Individuals are now required to prove they are U.S. Citizens before the BMV will issue a license or ID card. Non-U.S. citizens, who are here legally, will receive a non-renewable/non-transferable license or ID card for the amount of time Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) documents allow them to be in the United States, but not more than four years."

Your current document does show one year.

However, this might help.
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203410!opendocument
B. KInds of Evidence Establishing LAPR Status
Accept any of the following documents as evidence of LAPR status:

2. Machine Readable Immigrant Visa with Temporary I-551 Language
Beginning June 28, 2004, certain U.S. Embassies and Consulates will begin issuing the machine readable immigrant visa (MRIV) printed with the language, “UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR� in the body of the MRIV above the machine-readable zone (two lines of code at the bottom of the card). This language is almost identical to that contained in the Alien Documentation Identification and Telecommunication System (ADIT) Stamp, commonly referred to as the “Temporary I-551 Stamp� or “ADIT Stamp.� (See RM 00203.410B.3.) The Temporary I-551 Stamp denotes temporary evidence of lawful permanent resident status.

The Department of State (DOS) officer at the Embassy or Consulate places the MRIV inside the immigrant’s passport, attached to one of the interior pages. (See the ACM, under document name “Immigrant Visa,� for an exhibit of the MRIV and its security features.) The MRIV shows the alien's identification number ("A" number) as the "Registration Number" in the upper right-hand corner of the MRIV."

I thought it was SSA that had a photo of an MRIV on their site but I can't find it right off. Maybe MdYoung will drop by and remind us of the link.

At any rate, I'd probably take it to a new office instead of arguing with the one you've been to.
Along with a definition of what an LAPR is. Ohio could certainly do a better job of detailing which documents they like and which they don't.

shepslady

Guess each state is vastly different because I got a 4 year license while still on my K3 visa & although it took a while to be cleared by homeland security it finally arrived & Im good with no restrictions for 4 years!

Just Jenney

You know, this puzzles me.

VA licenses are only supposed to last a maximum of five years -- they should expire when you reach an age divisible by five. So, when I got a new license after changing my name in June 2003, it still expired on my 35th birthday (Dec 7, 2007), the same as my old license. But when Mark got his license in June 2004, instead of it expiring on his 35th birthday (Feb 21, 2007) it expires on his 40th birthday (2012).

I thought Mark's 7-year license was simply a fluke but now reading that it also happened to you, I'm starting to wonder...

~ Jenney