@Jordan2 wrote:
I went Friday to get my license changed to the Enhanced license we will need in October 2020 to board a domestic flight ( I think you can also use a passport). I live in New York, I went to the Garden City DMV. They open at 8:30, I got there at 7:45 ( I went with my sister and two nieces). There was a long line to get in. Once in you tell a worker your business, and get a ticket ( like at the bakery). Hold tight to that ticket, if you lose it you have to get another one, at the back of the line. You then stand on line and have your documents checked ( there were a lot of people who got turned away). They want an awful lot from you, I had my Birth Certificate ( no copies original), Social Security card, Driver's License, and my bank statement ( to show your address). One document has to have your full given name ( including full middle name not just an initial). If you are married and have a different name than on your Birth Certificate, you need to show a passport or marriage license. Than you sit and wait for your number to be called, get your picture taken and have an eye test. You then are told to sit and wait for your number to be called again. My number was U822, I had to wait until they were into U900 + numbers before I was called to have my documents scanned, my application processed, and to pay. I was there for 4 hours! Oh yeah, they had to close the doors for awhile because we were over the capacity limit there is by law. There has got to be a better way of doing this. As October gets closer it's only going to get worse. I went home Friday with a headache!
@Jordan2 : I went with DH to renew his license last year at the Massapequa DMV. He too wanted the enhanced license. We waited on a short line, told the clerk why we were there, and took a number. We waited 2 hours for our number to be called. He had all the necessary paperwork. The clerk perused it all, then said the birth certificate was no good, b/c it didn’t have a raised seal. He needed to go to lower Manhattan to get a new one (not happening!), or order one by mail, which would take 6 weeks ($15 charge either way). Then we had to go back there and go through this all over again! And, his current license would have been expired by then anyway!
We left with nothing, after wasting all afternoon. He decided to renew by mail, and not get the enhanced license. He went to the Post Office instead, and applied for a new passport (his old one was expired). That whole process took 10 minutes, and done! It cost more, but well worth it! A year later, l did the same thing.
At least your DMV checked all of your documents before you sat and waited to be called, so you knew you weren’t sitting there for nothing! What a cluster, and as you said, it’s only going to get worse as Oct. 2020 approaches. I have a feeling the government will need to extend this deadline. I wouldn’t want to be at an airport next Oct. 1! Lol.
~~Be careful when you follow the masses. Sometimes the 'm' is silent.~~
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