Renewing DL in TX with Expired EAD

[PatSquared 57]

Hi everyone,

 

My husband is encountering some difficulty with renewing his driver license. His EAD/AP combo card expired this past Wednesday, and his Texas DL expired along with it.

 

He sent his renewal applications for the EAD and AP back in May. He has IOE receipt numbers (which I thought were supposed to process quicker!) Apart from receiving his I797 Notice saying that his EAD would automatically be extended for an additional 180 days after it expires and another notice stating that USCIS would re-use his biometrics taken last year, it has been radio silent.

 

He had an appointment to renew his DL last week at the DMV in Fort Worth and brought his I797 extension letter along with his combo card that was about to expire. As expected, the DMV employee AND the employee’s supervisor were not familiar with immigration law. My husband had to explain over and over again that his extension letter is proof from US Immigration that his work permit will remain valid beyond its expiration date. He showed them the pages we printed out from the USCIS website that explained the nature of the extension in length, but they wouldn’t budge because all they were seeing in their system was that his work permit was about to expire. They said they couldn’t issue a new license based on that information.

Thankfully, my husband knew to ask them to run a “second verification,” which is when the DMV contacts Homeland Security to inquire about a person’s immigration status and driving eligibility. It usually takes 3-5 days to run this check. 

 

We just received a letter from DPS dated Sept. 16 - the day after my husband came in for his DMV appointment. It stated that DHS was not able to verify his documents. We are at a loss because we know of other people here in TX who were able to successfully get their documents verified during this second stage. DPS stated that they have forwarded the documents to USCIS for a THIRD verification. Apparently it can take USCIS up to 20 days to respond… 

 

Has anyone in TX encountered a similar outcome? Was the third verification stage successful for you? I’m wondering if we are facing these road blocks because we went in and tried to renew the license BEFORE his EAD expired. The other posters who shared their experiences stated that they went in after their cards expired.

 

This is such a hassle, as my husband has to drive regularly around our city for his job. I just checked with USCIS and they said that all looks good with his application, but it’s still pending…. 

[K1visaHopeful 2,661]

Go to a different (possibly more urban/more close to the border/more immigrants) DMV.

 

[PatSquared 57]

16 minutes ago, K1visaHopeful said:

Go to a different (possibly more urban/more close to the border/more immigrants) DMV.

 

We went ahead and scheduled another appointment at a Mega Center (in Carrollton, for those familiar with the DFW area) while we wait for this additional verification to complete. Earliest we can get in is Oct. 13.

 

I’m just concerned that the DMV personnel didn’t run the SAVE verification check properly. My husband said he gave them his I797 Notice for the EAD, the I797 Notice for his I485, his passport, and DL… but he doesn’t know exactly what they sent off. From what I’ve read, either one of those I-797 notices should have been successfully verified.

Edited September 23, 2021 by PatSquared

[Wuozopo 4,285]

17 minutes ago, K1visaHopeful said:

Go to a different (possibly more urban/more close to the border/more immigrants) DMV.

 

That would be about a 6.5 hour drive to Laredo near the Mexican border. 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

24 minutes ago, PatSquared said:

We went ahead and scheduled another appointment at a Mega Center (in Carrollton, for those familiar with the DFW area) while we wait for this additional verification to complete. Earliest we can get in is Oct. 13.

 

I’m just concerned that the DMV personnel didn’t run the SAVE verification check properly. My husband said he gave them his I797 Notice for the EAD, the I797 Notice for his I485, his passport, and DL… but he doesn’t know exactly what they sent off. From what I’ve read, either one of those I-797 notices should have been successfully verified.

Have  you thought of looking farther afield. I swear I have had such good experiences at a more rural small office. Try Hillsboro and see what appointments are available. Megacenters were supposed to get you taken care of more easily. Went to one in Houston with an appointment. Line outside was about 100 people. I said “I have an appointment where do I go?”  She pointed to the end of the line. So once finally inside, there was indeed lots of stations, and about 350 people I counted, sitting in chairs, waiting to be called up. Ugh! I haven’t been to Carrollton to know if it’s the same.  The small town center had three stations, about 15 chairs and a number pull thing like Argos….now serving #234 😂. The ladies were very knowledgeable, friendly, and had probably worked there 20+ years. Just a thought. I haven’t been to any offices in the DFW area yet. 

[PatSquared 57]

31 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

Have  you thought of looking farther afield. I swear I have had such good experiences at a more rural small office. Try Hillsboro and see what appointments are available. Megacenters were supposed to get you taken care of more easily. Went to one in Houston with an appointment. Line outside was about 100 people. I said “I have an appointment where do I go?”  She pointed to the end of the line. So once finally inside, there was indeed lots of stations, and about 350 people I counted, sitting in chairs, waiting to be called up. Ugh! I haven’t been to Carrollton to know if it’s the same.  The small town center had three stations, about 15 chairs and a number pull thing like Argos….now serving #234 😂. The ladies were very knowledgeable, friendly, and had probably worked there 20+ years. Just a thought. I haven’t been to any offices in the DFW area yet. 

I’ll look into this!! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

As I was thinking about our situation more, I think I’m more convinced that the reason why the document (and I assume that the DMV personnel only sent out the I797 for the EAD renewal for verification and didn’t include the I797 for the I-485) was not verified was because it technically hadn’t gone into effect yet at the time. My husband’s EAD/AP combo card expired on Sept. 22 and judging by date on the letter we received, it looks like DHS completed the verification on Sept. 16 or before the day ended on Sept. 15 - when the card was still valid - so the notice wasn’t applicable because the 180 day extension hadn’t kicked in yet. We’re hoping that the response from the third verification with USCIS is more favorable now that the card is actually expired.

 

I followed the steps detailed in a post by a lady in Houston who visited a Mega Center there and the only difference was that her card was already expired. She came late on a Friday afternoon, only showed the expired card along with the I797 notice, and was verified by the following Monday.

 

Will test out this theory if we’re able to secure an earlier appointment at another location.

Edited September 24, 2021 by PatSquared

[powerpuff 5,891]

~ Moved from AOS K1/K3 process to Your New Life in America as this has to do with dealing with DMVs and not AOS ~

[Joe Kano 327]

On 9/23/2021 at 6:19 PM, PatSquared said:

We went ahead and scheduled another appointment at a Mega Center (in Carrollton, for those familiar with the DFW area) while we wait for this additional verification to complete. Earliest we can get in is Oct. 13.

 

I’m just concerned that the DMV personnel didn’t run the SAVE verification check properly. My husband said he gave them his I797 Notice for the EAD, the I797 Notice for his I485, his passport, and DL… but he doesn’t know exactly what they sent off. From what I’ve read, either one of those I-797 notices should have been successfully verified.

I have a DACA guy works for me he has to renew DL every 2 years, went to McKinney and was told it was 4 month wait, he found an office in Lewisville that he was able to get into in a few days.

[Joe Kano 327]

On 9/23/2021 at 6:22 PM, Wuozopo said:

That would be about a 6.5 hour drive to Laredo near the Mexican border. 

Or just go to Irving, Garland, etc

[Johanna Garza 2]

Hello, 

 

I read this thread because I am in the same situation as you and your husband and live in Laredo. I will have to renew my ID at the end of January. I wanted to know if you guys figured it out. Thank you!

[Wuozopo 4,285]

@PatSquaredSee above post for you.

[PatSquared 57]

14 hours ago, Johanna Garza said:

Hello, 

 

I read this thread because I am in the same situation as you and your husband and live in Laredo. I will have to renew my ID at the end of January. I wanted to know if you guys figured it out. Thank you!

Hello! Yes, we did get it taken care of! The third verification finally worked. The entire process to get my husband’s documents verified took around two weeks.

 

You will receive a letter in the mail from DPS once everything has been squared away. Take that letter with you to the DMV and they will issue your license. You can also track your verification status on the DPS website. That’s how we found out that the process was completed. We didn’t bother waiting for the letter. You do need to be mindful about setting your appointments at the DMV. When we first attempted to renew my husband’s DL, we went to the DMV in Fort Worth (we live 20 mins North of Dallas). The staff there assured us that once my husband gets verified, we could go to any DMV location to finish the process without an appointment. That wasn’t the case. We went to two DMV locations that wouldn’t take my husband in without an appointment and had to drive all the way back to Fort Worth to finish the process.

Edited December 19, 2021 by PatSquared

[Johanna Garza 2]

On 12/19/2021 at 8:48 AM, PatSquared said:

Hello! Yes, we did get it taken care of! The third verification finally worked. The entire process to get my husband’s documents verified took around two weeks.

 

You will receive a letter in the mail from DPS once everything has been squared away. Take that letter with you to the DMV and they will issue your license. You can also track your verification status on the DPS website. That’s how we found out that the process was completed. We didn’t bother waiting for the letter. You do need to be mindful about setting your appointments at the DMV. When we first attempted to renew my husband’s DL, we went to the DMV in Fort Worth (we live 20 mins North of Dallas). The staff there assured us that once my husband gets verified, we could go to any DMV location to finish the process without an appointment. That wasn’t the case. We went to two DMV locations that wouldn’t take my husband in without an appointment and had to drive all the way back to Fort Worth to finish the process.

Sorry for the delay But thank you so much for your response!