Getting a State Identification Card at the Driving Licence Office
May 3, 2010 by app2usadvisor
Filed under Crimes and safety, Travel and Transport
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Since most people understand what is a driver / driving license, let us begin by explaining what is a state issued ID card. In almost all states of the US, the same office that issues driving license, issues an identification card, which contains the holder’s photograph and is valid for almost all purposes including domestic air travel. Of all activities and situations where a driving license is acceptable, the state ID is not accepted for only one activity – driving!. This card looks almost like a driving license. Even if you have an international driving license that does not help you much to prove your identity for the purpose of renting, opening a bank account etc, but this card does.
The state ID card is meant for any legal resident of the United States who is not interested or not eligible to drive. Most common examples are children and senior citizens who have given up on driving due to health reasons. However there is a third category of people who should get this card – international students and their family members. As you can imagine once you land in the US, driving a car is not an immediate need or possibility for most. There are urgent things to be taken care of like finding a source of funding, registering for classes, finding a place to stay and a roommate and so on. So most of the international students do not get the time to learn or practice driving in the first few semesters. All this while only formal proof of identity and the legal status is the combination of the passport and the I-20. Needless to say it is impractical and foolish to carry your original passport to classes and other places you visit. It can get mutilated, lost or stolen. If you happen to be in Arizona, you do not have the luxury of not carrying any formal documentation. [Read the post about Arizona Immigration Law ]. So you need to carry a small and convenient identification and there is only one document that can serve that purpose, the state ID. We strongly recommend all international students to visit the local driving license office within the first week of their arrival in the US and get the state ID card. It is not expensive, costs about $20 to $30. You need to go there with your original passport, I-20, admission letter, and the proof of your rental accommodation if you have one and enough cash to pay for the fee. Take an appointment online if that is an option.
Those who have a valid US driving license do not need the identification cards. If you have a valid driving license from another state of the US, you need to get one where you are currently living. In most states it is illegal to have both the documents, meaning if you first got the identification card, you need to surrender it when you get the driving license. Students must understand that the university issued ID card is neither valid nor considered an authentic form of identification outside the university campus. Always carry the state id card specially if you are in Arizona. The biggest advantage of this card is that it simplifies local air travel, and eliminates the need to carry your passport. And yes, this is accepted at all bars and pubs to prove that you are above 21.
This is a great post and superb advice!
I wonder if you can clarify one part of this process, and I am sorry if you have mentioned this in your article, and I missed it.
To get the non-driver’s license, a social security number is needed. I was looking this up for a friend of mine here on a dependent visa (spouse). She is not eligible because if one is here on certain classifications of visa, these visa holders are not eligible to get social security number.
Also, different states have different rules about how to prove residency, including how long one must live in a particular area to claim residency. This being true, a person who just lands in US may not be eligible for this ID if they have not been here long enough to show residency. Generally in US colleges, residency is also required for qualification of in-state tuition, so someone in the college should be able to give this info, or it could be on the college’s website.
Thank you for your comment.
You are right that in some state’s the dependent wife of an international students, who is on F-2 visa, may not qualify to get a Social Security Number and a State ID.
However a state Driver license of state ID has no corelation with a state residency. Lets assume Xi Yu is an international student, and has got a TA. So he ie earning, gets a Social Security Number. He does not want to drive so he applies for a state ID. For next six years that he spends as a PhD student, he will have a state ID, or even a state driver license if he learns to drive, say, after 3 years. However his ID or his license in no way qualifies him for a in-state resident status.
I know a freind who landed in the US and got the ID next week. However rules keep on changing and vary from state to state.