Will copies of birth certificates suffice to travel by airplane without state issued ID's?

No Longer Able to Renew VA Driver's License on basis of EAD?

• Hello, I'm have some serious problems renewing my driver's license on the basis of my Employment Authorization Document (I-765/I-766). I live in Virginia, therefore my license and registration is based in Virginia and is bound by the Virginia DMV Policies. For the past 6 years I have always renewed my driver's license every year, using my EAD as my proof of legal presence. Today, I was informed that the EAD is no longer a proof of legal presence for the Virginia DMV, yet the EAD is the ONLY proof of legal presence I have in the United States. I was granted Withholding of Removal (WOR) many years ago, and I do have the papers that the Immigration Judge gave me verifying my WOR status, but the DMV does not accept that either. I have ALWAYS been able to renew my driver's license on the basis of EAD up until today. Supposedly, a new section of required documents has been added for obtaining a VA Driver's License, which does NOT include the EAD. Here is the excerpt from the new section: Proof of Legal Presence All first time applicants must present proof of legal presence. Applicants whose Virginia credential has expired or been suspended, revoked or canceled will need to provide proof of legal presence prior to obtaining a new license or ID card. Documents presented as proof of legal presence must show your full legal name and date of birth. This really confuses me as to why this section even applies to me. I am NOT a first time applicant, I have 6 driver's licenses from the past 6 years, and my current driver's license expires on 11/28/10, so it is not "expired or been suspended, revoked or canceled." This new section (which I believe I do not need to prove), includes the following acceptable documents: -Official birth document issued by a U.S. state, jurisdiction or territory (Birth documents issued by a hospital, notifications of birth registration, birth registration cards, and foreign birth certificates are not accepted.) • Unexpired or expired U.S. passport or U.S. passport card (Temporary passports are not accepted.) • U.S. Certificate of Naturalization or U.S. Certificate of Citizenship • Unexpired foreign passport with any one listed below: Unexpired or expired U.S. visa and unexpired I-94 F1/F2 applicants must present an I-20 J1/J2 applicants must present a DS-2019 Unexpired I-94W Unexpired U.S. Immigrant visa presented within one year of entry Unexpired or expired up to one year I-551 stamp • Unexpired passport from Canada or Micronesia with an unexpired I-94 • USCIS form I-797 displaying applicant’s name (Depending on the purpose and nature of the form, the I-797 may not be accepted.) • Resident Alien Card, Permanent Resident Card, or Northern Marianas Card (I-551) unexpired or expired for not more than one year (Conditional residents aliens see next bullet) • Unexpired Permanent Resident Card (I-551) valid for two years issued to a conditional resident alien • Unexpired or expired not more than one year temporary I-551 stamp on an I-94, with photograph of the bearer • Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151) • Consular Report of Birth Abroad (FS-240) • Certification of Report of Birth of a U.S. Citizen (DS-1350) • Certificate of Birth Abroad (FS-545) • U.S. Citizen Identification card (I-179, I-197) • Unexpired Re-entry Permit (I-327) • Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (I-571) • Form I-94 Record of Arrival and Departure stamped Refugee, Parolee or Parole, humanitarian parolee (HP), or public interest parolee (PIP) • U.S. Department of Receptions and Placement Program Assurance Form (Refugee) and I-94 stamped Refugee • Asylees may present documentation from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service or U.S. Immigration Court such as a Form I-94 stamped Asylee indicating that asylum has been granted. (Verification is required.) • Applicants for asylum may present an application for asylum along with documentation from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service or U.S. Immigration Court indicating receipt of the application. (Verification is required.) The VA DMV also requires 1 proof from the primary documents, 1 proof from the secondary documents, 1 proof of SSN, and 1 proof of Virginia Residency. I am able to provide proofs for all those sections, except this new one called "Proof of Legal Presence", but because I am neither a first-time applicant nor has my current license expired, been suspended, revoked or canceled, this section should not apply to me. I have lived legally for over 10 years, paid all taxes, and never had issues renewing my driver's license. How can I renew my license? Source: http://dmvnow.com/webdoc/pdf/dmv141.pdf

• Answer:

  If you have an attorney who helped you with your Withholding petition, speak with him/her first - most immigration attorneys have probably run into this problem before and there might be an easy answer. You don't say where in VA you're located, but I would recommend speaking with your local legal aid if you don't have an attorney. This should be a pretty simple question and like other immigration attorneys, they've probably run into it before depending on how recent the change is. You'll likely get quicker answers from them than you would from DMV employees. The other person who might be able to get you information would be your state representative. Obviously you won't be a constituent because you can't vote, but their offices are usually pretty well-equipped to handle these types of requests from constituents...may be worth a try.