Texas ID card

[wratran 0]

I went to the Texas DMV to get my wife a Texas ID card. She is on a K1 visa. One of the requirement was the I94 needs to be valid for 1 year with at least 6 months remaining. She just arrived and there is 3 months left on the I94.

Here is the link to the DMV.

Has anyone have this problem? This meant that she cant get an ID card until the AOS is completed.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administratio...equirements.htm

Edited December 11, 2009 by wratran

[Otto 83]

It is correct - the I-94 has to be valid for the length of time indicated. This is becoming more and more common across states. Best to file AOS (and EAD) as soon after being married as possible.

[wratran 0]

it kind of suck...

it meant that your spouse has to carry passport everywhere they go....for proof of age, credit card purchase, etc....

[DaveTX 2]

I thought you needed the green card in Texas... hadn't even planned on trying until then. I need that long to convince her she needs to learn to drive anyway....

[Darnell 8,478]

Well, regardless, right? you've got to file the AOS packet.

Included in that 1010 filing fee is a FREE EAD thing - and

when she has an EAD card, she can apply for Texas State ID card.

She'll have the EAD before the GC, usually...

FOR ID purposes though, the Passport and her SSN card is sufficient, for doing things at banks.

[tallcoolone 102]

Well, regardless, right? you've got to file the AOS packet.

Included in that 1010 filing fee is a FREE EAD thing - and

when she has an EAD card, she can apply for Texas State ID card.

She'll have the EAD before the GC, usually...

FOR ID purposes though, the Passport and her SSN card is sufficient, for doing things at banks.

Agreed

I tried to get my wife DL or Texas ID when she arrived, I went to DPS. They told us samething you have been told, I thought it was a mistake, when back a few days later and got the same answer.

Here is a little trick we used once my wife got her DL, it had some printing about Forgiener on the DL. She said she lost it, and got replacement and it no longer had the Forgein statement on the DL

[MrsBocanegra 3]

I went to the Texas DMV to get my wife a Texas ID card. She is on a K1 visa. One of the requirement was the I94 needs to be valid for 1 year with at least 6 months remaining. She just arrived and there is 3 months left on the I94.

Here is the link to the DMV.

Has anyone have this problem? This meant that she cant get an ID card until the AOS is completed.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administratio...equirements.htm

I am in Texas as well and I called my local DMV yesterday and asked about this. They told me that once we get married he can get his ID and DL. We just need to take a copy of the marriage certificate, his passport and visa. You should try calling or going into your local DMV to see what they tell you.

[ScottThuy 140]

it kind of suck...

it meant that your spouse has to carry passport everywhere they go....for proof of age, credit card purchase, etc....

Small hurdle in the scheme of things...

[tallcoolone 102]

I went to the Texas DMV to get my wife a Texas ID card. She is on a K1 visa. One of the requirement was the I94 needs to be valid for 1 year with at least 6 months remaining. She just arrived and there is 3 months left on the I94.

Here is the link to the DMV.

Has anyone have this problem? This meant that she cant get an ID card until the AOS is completed.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administratio...equirements.htm

I am in Texas as well and I called my local DMV yesterday and asked about this. They told me that once we get married he can get his ID and DL. We just need to take a copy of the marriage certificate, his passport and visa. You should try calling or going into your local DMV to see what they tell you.

I doubt this will work...............

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Texas changed their rules Oct 1, 2008. You have to show legal presence in the US for at least 6 months and your DL will only be granted to the end of that legal presence. It will also be marked "temporary visitor." So if you had a visa or I-94 expiring in August of 2010, then they would date your DL to expire on the same date. K1s have no chance of getting a license when they arrive due to their 90 day I-94 card.

There were many out of state illegals coming to Texas to apply for DLs before the rule changed because Texas rules were not as strict as many other states. They would get a license that was valid for 6 years. Then they would use the DL that made them seem to be just like any other Texan. There was no difference between temporary visa holders and full USCs or green card holders as far as the license. If stopped by law enforcement, they could produce the DL and appear to be legal because they held a valid license. So the rule changed to help with illegal immigrant issues.

If you get your EAD card (it could be as soon as 30ish days) then you can get a "temporary visitor" license or ID card that will expire when the EAD card expires (1 yr.) When you get the green card, you get a full, normal license with no visitor designation on it. The "temporary visitor" license has been challenged in a law suit as discriminatory, but I never heard the final results. It was ruled as discriminatory by a judge, but appealed by the Texas DPS.

In Texas you can drive on a foreign license for 1 year. I found that in small print on the DPS website. BUT try to tell a cop or state trooper that. They will tell you that you have 30 days after moving to Texas to get a Texas license. They don't get the K1 thing or know the ins and outs of immigration. I would just say I'm a visitor if driving on a foreign license.

And while it seems huge to you now, it all sorts out pretty quickly and isn't that big in the scheme of things unless you don't marry right away and take a really long time to file for AOS.

[tallcoolone 102]

Texas changed their rules Oct 1, 2008. You have to show legal presence in the US for at least 6 months and your DL will only be granted to the end of that legal presence. It will also be marked "temporary visitor." So if you had a visa or I-94 expiring in August of 2010, then they would date your DL to expire on the same date. K1s have no chance of getting a license when they arrive due to their 90 day I-94 card.

There were many out of state illegals coming to Texas to apply for DLs before the rule changed because Texas rules were not as strict as many other states. They would get a license that was valid for 6 years. Then they would use the DL that made them seem to be just like any other Texan. There was no difference between temporary visa holders and full USCs or green card holders as far as the license. If stopped by law enforcement, they could produce the DL and appear to be legal because they held a valid license. So the rule changed to help with illegal immigrant issues.

If you get your EAD card (it could be as soon as 30ish days) then you can get a "temporary visitor" license or ID card that will expire when the EAD card expires (1 yr.) When you get the green card, you get a full, normal license with no visitor designation on it. The "temporary visitor" license has been challenged in a law suit as discriminatory, but I never heard the final results. It was ruled as discriminatory by a judge, but appealed by the Texas DPS.

In Texas you can drive on a foreign license for 1 year. I found that in small print on the DPS website. BUT try to tell a cop or state trooper that. They will tell you that you have 30 days after moving to Texas to get a Texas license. They don't get the K1 thing or know the ins and outs of immigration. I would just say I'm a visitor if driving on a foreign license.

And while it seems huge to you now, it all sorts out pretty quickly and isn't that big in the scheme of things unless you don't marry right away and take a really long time to file for AOS.

Very Good Post, and bottom line is the Illegals once again screwed it up for everyone

[MrsBocanegra 3]

Texas changed their rules Oct 1, 2008. You have to show legal presence in the US for at least 6 months and your DL will only be granted to the end of that legal presence. It will also be marked "temporary visitor." So if you had a visa or I-94 expiring in August of 2010, then they would date your DL to expire on the same date. K1s have no chance of getting a license when they arrive due to their 90 day I-94 card.

There were many out of state illegals coming to Texas to apply for DLs before the rule changed because Texas rules were not as strict as many other states. They would get a license that was valid for 6 years. Then they would use the DL that made them seem to be just like any other Texan. There was no difference between temporary visa holders and full USCs or green card holders as far as the license. If stopped by law enforcement, they could produce the DL and appear to be legal because they held a valid license. So the rule changed to help with illegal immigrant issues.

If you get your EAD card (it could be as soon as 30ish days) then you can get a "temporary visitor" license or ID card that will expire when the EAD card expires (1 yr.) When you get the green card, you get a full, normal license with no visitor designation on it. The "temporary visitor" license has been challenged in a law suit as discriminatory, but I never heard the final results. It was ruled as discriminatory by a judge, but appealed by the Texas DPS.

In Texas you can drive on a foreign license for 1 year. I found that in small print on the DPS website. BUT try to tell a cop or state trooper that. They will tell you that you have 30 days after moving to Texas to get a Texas license. They don't get the K1 thing or know the ins and outs of immigration. I would just say I'm a visitor if driving on a foreign license.

And while it seems huge to you now, it all sorts out pretty quickly and isn't that big in the scheme of things unless you don't marry right away and take a really long time to file for AOS.

Thanks, this is very helpful information. Could you please tell me where you found this information?

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Thanks, this is very helpful information. Could you please tell me where you found this information?

The first item on this page is bookmarked to the driving on your foreign license information. You can scroll up to read other FAQs

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administratio...s_dl_id.htm#q51

General document requirments http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administratio...equirements.htm

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/search/search...eet=DPSInternet

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administratio...StatusChart.pdf

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/search/search...eet=DPSInternet

The Houston Chronicle carried several articles about the law changes and the reasons why.

And we also gained info from going the the local DPS office several times, being stopped by the Texas Highway Patrol driving on a UK license, and from talking to the state DPS office in Austin about the law changes.

[MrsBocanegra 3]

Thanks, this is very helpful information. Could you please tell me where you found this information?

The first item on this page is bookmarked to the driving on your foreign license information. You can scroll up to read other FAQs

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administratio...s_dl_id.htm#q51

General document requirments http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administratio...equirements.htm

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/search/search...eet=DPSInternet

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administratio...StatusChart.pdf

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/search/search...eet=DPSInternet

The Houston Chronicle carried several articles about the law changes and the reasons why.

And we also gained info from going the the local DPS office several times, being stopped by the Texas Highway Patrol driving on a UK license, and from talking to the state DPS office in Austin about the law changes.

Thanks again for the information it is very helpful.

[Seraya-Karl 0]

We have the same problem. My wife's here on a K-1. The rules say that we need proof of identity/age (passport), Visa with I-94, marriage license, and proof of my citizenship (passport or birth certificate). So we go down with all that, and they say fine, but your I-94 must have at least 6 months on it. (All K-1's are issued for 90 days. So that implies K-1's aren't eligible for a driver's license until they get a green card.) So I call the main number in the capital and talk with representative and his supervisor. They both tell me she can have a driver's license. (That's what the marriage license is for and the filing of AOS. It extents the I-94 until immigration acts - that can take more than two years.) Here's the Catch-22. The capital office tells me to call the local office and local office tells me to call the capital office. They both refuse to call one another.

I did go to another local office about 90 min. from my house, and they are willing to issue a driver's license, but only until the I-94 expires - about two months from now. She should be getting her EAD in about that time, but as far as I can see - the EAD is not something that Texas looks at. (Does any one know? Where do I look?)

I'm sure that she's entitled to a driver's license (the website says that, one local office says that, and the capital office says that.)

Advice: If they say no to you, go to another driver's license office. You can go anywhere in the state. (Houston, Grant Rd. office will issue, but only until the 90 days of the I-94 are up.)

Request: Has any one solve this? Which office? What can we do to solve the 90 day I-94 problem?

This IS a big deal. There is no way she can work or go to school until she can drive. She doesn't have a foreign driver's license.