Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
state and federal gobermint want to be linked??? Is ICE and DHS involved?
The FBI, NSA, CIA and Federal courts all have access to state records and information already. How do you think they track down interstate felons. The only barrier is cost of compliance vs. reward. If someone is a petty thief in Massachusetts highly unlikely Texas will go out of their way to hunt the guy down for them.
Pay your taxes, don't break the law deliberately or egregiously and don't be a radicalized person of interest and you can browse all the midget porn you want and nobody cares.
What you all fail to realize is the federal government is made up of cogs just like you and me who just want to do the bare minimum and go home. Nobody at the NSA cares about your 4oz a week weed habit , your addiction to big booty strippers or the fact you contracted hepatitis C from injecting Heroin back in 1976.
What I need to know is if others are encountering the same issue of having their renewal date coincide with the Real ID rush.
I recently upgraded to Enhanced but it was too early for me to renew. I wanted to call this out because the website is inaccurate - You cannot do early renewals even when upgrading to enhanced. Maybe because I went to the Jamaica DMV and they are more incompetent than in other offices? Who knows.
Either way wanted to see what people were thinking in terms of strategizing and avoiding the 4 hour wait. Potentially, with the 2020 rush to upgrade to enhanced the wait could be 6-8 hours or even worse. I imagine with the poor organization of most DMVs people may actually be turned away at the door starting at 12pm.
One question I had which the reps only had 70% surety was the separate requirement that your photo be updated every 7-10 years. In my enhanced upgrade I took a new photo. However, they could not confirm with 100% certainty (only about 90% for the phone rep and 70% for online rep) that I would not have to take a new photo for the renewal. Having worked with systems most of my life and seeing how their own website is incorrect on early renewals, naturally I don't trust them with this photo requirement detail.
When dealing with government there are always countless nuances to contend with but I think this is one that may trip up more than a few people. My license expires in 2021 but I dread trying to renew next year if I have to take a new photo. Worst case scenario I may be in the DMV for 9 hours despite the fact I'm doing a regular renewal because it would be clogged up with all the last minute upgrade to REAL ID applications.
The idea of wasting a total day in the DMV sickens me. Supposedly the reps say I can mail in the eye exam and money order etc. but since they aren't sure on the photo piece it is still not a sure thing if I can avoid the madness. It is still very possible I'd have to come in to take yet another updated photo. The best idea I have is to go to the express license renewal one in Midtown and she said Wednesdays are the slowest. But again with the 2020 Real ID crap all of that could be out the window.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tencent
The reason I got the enhanced was because in my field I have to test apps. Many of which require photo ID and some which require proof of citizenship. My old ID is not working anymore. Plus passport fraud is on the rise.
There has also been an increase in African American men being detained for deportation, accused of being Haitian migrants but mostly in Florida. ICE is overzealous and makes mistakes.
Technology wise this is not a significant step up. For those paranoid about the government having more information on you I'd worry less about identification and more about facial recognition and browser history. Even then the fact remains is that they don't need microchips implanted, we already have one constantly attached to our hands. It's called a SIM card and your smartphone
Back to the more imminent question: I'd like people who are planning to upgrade AND renew in the same time frame to chime in here if possible. This is specifically regarding this process and the nuances surrounding trying to renew and upgrade simultaneously.
A friend of mine renewed and upgraded his NY driver's license at the Jamaica DMV location last year (around the end of May/beginning of June). He made an advance appointment and he still had to wait a long time on the entrance line to get a number and then perhaps close 2 hours or so before his number was called and he was actually seen by the representative who processed his new license. If I remember correctly although he brought an eye test document from his optometrist, they still made him read the eye chart and they did take a new photo of him. His old photo was from he first got his license (which was several years ago already). This was all to get an enhanced driver's license.
A friend of mine renewed and upgraded his NY driver's license at the Jamaica DMV location last year (around the end of May/beginning of June). He made an advance appointment and he still had to wait a long time on the entrance line to get a number and then perhaps close 2 hours or so before his number was called and he was actually seen by the representative who processed his new license. If I remember correctly although he brought an eye test document from his optometrist, they still made him read the eye chart and they did take a new photo of him. His old photo was from he first got his license (which was several years ago already). This was all to get an enhanced driver's license.
Thanks, sounds about right. Jamaica DMV may be the problem specifically.
My license expires in 2021 as well, I'm planning to upgrade and renew sometime late this year/early next year. I'm also moving, so finally changing my address from my mom's house, where it's been since I got my permit in 1995 lol.
I'm planning to do it at License Express. I have a valid passport, but am not thrilled with the idea of carrying it around when I travel domestically. I only like to have it with me internationally.
My license expires in 2021 as well, I'm planning to upgrade and renew sometime late this year/early next year. I'm also moving, so finally changing my address from my mom's house, where it's been since I got my permit in 1995 lol.
I'm planning to do it at License Express. I have a valid passport, but am not thrilled with the idea of carrying it around when I travel domestically. I only like to have it with me internationally.
Unfortunately you cannot upgrade to Real ID/Enhanced at License Express to my knowledge unless I missed something in my research. A lot of people will probably try to do this and it's going to be a lot of anger and confusion happening. I am surprised DMVs don't have metal detectors...
Unfortunately you cannot upgrade to Real ID/Enhanced at License Express to my knowledge unless I missed something in my research. A lot of people will probably try to do this and it's going to be a lot of anger and confusion happening. I am surprised DMVs don't have metal detectors...
Aw man. That stinks. I'm going to have to decide which DMV is least likely to be a **** show, then. I drive past the one in College Point regularly. I haven't been to the one in Yonkers since I was 17 lol. Won't go to one in the Bronx or Manhattan, I'm cranky enough to start with.
Thanks, sounds about right. Jamaica DMV may be the problem specifically.
Recently I went to the Jamaica DMV to renew my license while getting a Real ID at the same time with an appointment. After returning home, I realized that the interim license mistakenly had an old address (that hasn't been valid for over 20 years!) and my current/valid address was listed as a mailing address only. After speaking with a DMV representative over the phone, I was told that I had to go back in person to the same DMV (Jamaica) with the paper documents to get it corrected. Luckily since I had the time, I was able to go back to the Jamaica DMV and show the clerk the mistake with not too much of a wait. But the clerk refused to issue me a new interim license although she did give me a printout showing my permanent address had been corrected. After that I spoke also separately to a supervisor who told me that since I came back the same day, my new license would come with the correct address. After waiting 10 days, the new license was mailed to my current address but the license itself had the old address on it! After calling the DMV the next business day and getting a second callback from the DMV Records Department I was told that the duplicate license would be issued to me with the correct address. Finally after another week of waiting a second new license arrived with the correct address! My conclusion that the Jamaica DMV is problematic and I wouldn't recommend it.
I didn't do an early renewal but received an expiration notice in the mail encouraging me to get a version of the REAL ID. I made an appointment at the midtown location, brought my documentation and was in and out within 20 minutes. I guess I was lucky.
I ended up getting the Enhanced ID, which in addition to allowing you to board airplanes (like REAL ID) allows you to cross the Canadian/Mexican border without a passport.
I also have a passport, but these documents are time consuming to replace if you lose them so having them as backups for each other gives me a little more peace of mind.
What happens if you don’t get a REAL ID or Enhanced ID and then have an emergency that requires you to fly such as a death in the family? Will there be any exceptions to the rule that you need that ID to take a flight?
What happens if you don’t get a REAL ID or Enhanced ID and then have an emergency that requires you to fly such as a death in the family? Will there be any exceptions to the rule that you need that ID to take a flight?
If you don't have a Real or Enhanced ID and need to fly domestically you're obviously going to need a passport.
I went to Jamaica DMV end of December. Had to renew my license that was sent to expire soon. I got there around 2pm left 10 minutes to 6pm. So I was there for about 4 hours.
I upgraded to the real id not the enhanced because I already have a passport. Also the real ID and a standard license are the same price. Enhanced is like an additional $30.
Only thing I found unfortunate about upgrading to the real id is that every 8 years when you need to renew you MUST go to the DMV in person for renewal only standard licenses allow mail renewal.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It is still very possible I'd have to come in to take yet another updated photo. The best idea I have is to go to the express license renewal one in Midtown and she said Wednesdays are the slowest. But again with the 2020 Real ID crap all of that could be out the window.
