Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

So, I went in to the local Dept. of Motor Vehicles to get a FL State Driver's License...and had a semi-frustrating experience. I gave my Passport & I-94 to the officer, along with my Canadian Driver's License. He tells me that the license will only be good until the exipry date on my K1, at which point I'll have to renew it...no problem. Then he asks if I have an SSN card, which I proudly present.

That's when it all went downhill! Apparently, because my name on my passport (my maiden name) doesn't match what's on my SSN (my married name), I have to get an amendment made to my passport to show my married name. I asked if I could bring in my marriage certificate, since I have NO idea how to go about getting a passport amendment or how long it takes, but apparently the officer's supervisor said there *had* to be an amendment made.

Anyone have similar experiences or suggestions for me? I thought I was doing so well by getting my SSN right away...but what a headache :(

AND, the officer was KIND enough to tell me that if I'd come to FL from Canada without a status (no K1 or K3 or whatever), I would have been able to get a 2year license!! What a crock :P

Any thoughts, ideas or comments are appreciated...guess I'll try to figure out how to amend my passport, and hope that it doesn't take too long!

By the way...I just thought of this...anyone know what happens if the amendment takes awhile, and doesn't get completed until after my K1 expires in Nov.? Would I take in my return receipt from my AOS stuff as proof?

TIA...
~Katie

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

Hi Katie,

How frustrating! I know, just when you think you've got it all under control, something else pops up that needs more work. :(

Here's a list of Canadian consulates in the USA (there's one in Miami), maybe contact one of them to find out how to add the page to your passport that shows your name change. I really don't think it should be a big deal, and you can probably do it expedited delivery.

http://gocanada.about.com/cs/borderc...ssy_in_usa.htm

Here in Phoenix, Sadegh's state ID was about to expire before he had his EAD (which Arizona uses as a date control for the state ID). The first date they used was his I-94 expiration (90 days) After looking over his documents, motor vehicle picked the expiration date of his K-1 visa (another 3 months). When I asked how they came up with that date, the guy shrugged and said, it was the only date on there that wasn't about to expire! lol

I think you'll get your revised passport back before you have to worry about the K-1 expiration. :)

Best Wishes,
Rene

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

Canadian Consulates will NOT handle passports for its citizens. You can check it out on their website. You have to mail the paperwork to Canada. At least that was the take on it last year when Jim had to get a new one because his expired. I know they don't renew passports but issue new ones and not sure about name amendments.

Rete

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

Ohhhh, bummer. Sorry, I didn't realize that. :(

Rene

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

Thanks ladies...

I've sent off an email to the Miami Consulate asking how to amend my name on my passport, but, having done more research, it looks like my passport & supporting documents will have to go to Canada. I'm going to see who I can get in touch with in Canada.

Hopefully that won't take too long...

Thanks again for your help!

Katie

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

If you follow the link through from the Canadian Consulate website it will bring you to the page that tells you who to contact. I honestly don't recall that you can amend the name for Canadian passports and I know if you are residing in the US there is a form you have to have completed by a professional in the US attesting to you being who you say you are.

Might be easier to just wait for the EAD card in your married name and/or change your social security card to your maiden name.

Rete

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

Hi Rete,

I've sent emails to the Canadian & US contacts, so we'll see what comes of that. If I wait for my EAD, that means I'll be waiting another 3 months until I get a driver's license. And changing my name on my social security card to my maiden name seems like it would cause nothing but problems...but maybe I'm just saying that because I'm frustrated! :)

Katie

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

You need to send in a fee $12 I think and some paperwork back to Canada. I found the info on this website.

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/faq/index_e.asp#260

I didn't bother changing mine since I already had a California Drivers license. Its a pain they only want Canadian checks or Money orders so since no one has ever complained I have kept my maiden name on my passport and my married name is on my green card and drivers license.

Anway good luck.

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

You may have to wait another 3 months for the EAD, but you never know how long it'll take to get your amended passport back. I'm the USC, and I just got back my passport with name amendment - took 7 weeks to get back. Besides, it may not take the full 90 days to get your EAD approved, and if FL laws are anything like KY laws, your driver's license will then be valid til the EAD expiration, not the K1 expiration.

However, I thought the K1 expired 90 days after you enter? Why would you want to go back to the DMV a few weeks later to renew it?

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

Hey Jamie,

It's not that I *want* to go back...I thought I *had* to, since my driver's license would only be good until early Nov., when my K1 expires. Then I have to renew it. At least, I think that's how it works..

~Katie~

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

Hiya Katie,
I'm taking the following from the state of Florida DMV website, here is the link:

http://www.dmv.org/fl-florida/dmv-drivers-license.php


"Canadian Citizens
Under federal law, Canadian citizens are non-immigrants and are allowed to stay in the U.S. without obtaining INS documentation. Canadians without INS documents must provide proof of Canadian citizenship to be issued a Florida driver license or identification card by presenting two of the following documents:

1. Canadian passport
2. Canadian driver license
3. Original or certified Canadian birth certificate
4.Canadian Naturalization Certificate"

SG here----seems to me you should be able to provide them with two of those given the information you provided in your regular post and the documentation you had to provide to USCIS to get the damn visa in the first place! Nowhere in this paragraph does it state that the ID has to be in your married name, and if you used the birth certificate, that condition is obviously negated.

Website again.......
"Canadian Citizens: If you have legally changed your name by marriage or court order, you must have your name changed on your Canadian license, and/or passport before applying for a name change on your driver license or identification card."

In your case, you are NOT applying for a name change on your license, you are applying for an initial license in your married name. It would probably be a great idea to get your passport changed to your married name, but I would think that if you went in to the DMV armed with this info. from the website, and worked your way up the food chain, you might be able to persuade SOMEONE that you fit the criteria. If all else fails go to a different DMV near you.

Hope this helps and good luck. Fight the good fight, and don't give up till they see your point! :)

~SecretGarden

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

Hey SG!!

Thanks for the input & research...I looked at that site, too, but because I'm here on a K1, I apparently can't do the above...I think it's for people who live in FL part of the year and in Canada part of the year. The officer I spoke to told me specifically that if I *hadn't* come in on a K1, I would have been able to get a 2 year license with no problem. But because I came in on a K1, and because the name on my SSN doesn't match my Passport name, I have problems :( - the first of which is that I have to amend my passport to add my married name, and the second of which is that the license (if I ever get it!) will only be good until my K1 expiration date, at which point I assume I'll have to go back & renew it...?

Heh...now I've confused myself...I should have just ignored this whole K1 thing and applied for a driver's license like any other (non-K1) Canadian.

~Katie

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

My initial advice still stands----take this part printed out and go to a different office, or if there is no other office closeby, go back to the same one and ask to speak to someone different. I have some other thoughts on the legality of making you use your married name on your license, but I don't have time to go into that right now---off to get the kids to school and me to work! :)

~SecretGarden

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

katie4998 wrote:

    >>You may have to wait another 3 months for the EAD, but you never know
    >>how long it'll take to get your amended passport back. I'm the USC,
    >>and I just got back my passport with name amendment - took 7 weeks to
    >>get back. Besides, it may not take the full 90 days to get your EAD
    >>approved, and if FL laws are anything like KY laws, your driver's
    >>license will then be valid til the EAD expiration, not the K1
    >>expiration.
    >>However, I thought the K1 expired 90 days after you enter? Why would
    >>you want to go back to the DMV a few weeks later to renew it?
    >>
    >Hey Jamie,
    >It's not that I *want* to go back...I thought I *had* to, since
    >my driver's license would only be good until early Nov., when my
    >K1 expires. Then I have to renew it. At least, I think that's how
    >it works..
    >~Katie~
    >
I would wait for the EAD, if you can. I don't think they will give you a
90 day or less DL. Maybe it is different for you, but my wife's DL would
have to come from Tallahassee and would only be good for the length of
the EAD, which at this point is about 8 months. She got a interium EAD.
Once the "real" EAD arrives in the mail we might try again. It is a mess
no matter how you look at it, and I'm not going to try to renew every
few months through DMV in Tallahassee.

Re: Problems getting FL Driver's License...argh
 

Next month my husband will be getting his third State ID card in the six months he'll have been here. The first one was based on his temp 90-day EAD stamp expiration. When that expired, but we had not yet gotten the 1-year card, we went in with the EAD NOA to prove we've applied, and they issued another ID card using the date of his K-1 expiration (3 more months). That will expire in October, and he now has his 1-year EAD so we can finally get him a State ID good until July of 2005. By next month he might even be able to get his driver license (language difficulties). :)

Yep, it's a hassle, but what can you do.

Rene