SOME 181 MILLION Americans could be grounded if they don’t hurry to get the new Real ID’s by the October 1 deadline.
Airlines have expressed fears that the sudden deadline could cause a massive problem for the already besieged industry as people will be forced not to fly by a backlog of paperwork.
People will also not be allowed past security if they are holding non-compliant ID’s when trying to board domestic flights.
The Airports Council International-North America, which represents the nation’s airports, warned that thousands of passengers could be denied boarding and left stranded, calling it “a real crisis”.
Airports are begging the White House to postpone the deadline to allow more than seven months for the staggering number of people without Real ID or a passport to be processed.
Only 95 million Real ID’s have been issued since 2017, leaving 181 million Americans at the mercy of the overwhelmed DMV.
There are reports of angry queues leading out the door at most DMV offices this week as people rushed to get their paperwork sorted.
Those in Oregon and Oklahoma won’t even be able to get the new ID’s until the summer as they are still not fully compliant.
Spokesman for Oregon’s state transportation department, Tom Fuller, said: “If we worked 24/7, we’d have to do seven a minute to get the number of licenses out by October. But there’s no way that we could do seven a minute.”
Other states are urging their residents to get a passport card or book as the process will be quicker.
What you will need to get a Real ID
To get a REAL ID-compliant state driver’s license, the DHS requires that applicants provide documentation showing:
- Their full legal name, their date of birth,
- Their Social Security number,
- Two proofs of address of principal residence and lawful status.
States may impose more requirements if they want to.
The announcement has sparked massive demand at the already infamous DMV as demand has already outstripped the number of appointments available by the deadline.
To try to ease measures, the Department of Homeland Security has now announced that you can get your paperwork sorted out in advance by filling it out online first.
The process is meant to “streamline” applications, but you will still have to go to the DMV in person and show up with the same physical documents and be processed the exact same way in spite of sending them in online.
DHS Acting Secretary, Chad Wolf, said: “Ensuring every state is REAL ID compliant by October is one of the Department’s top priorities.
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“While progress has been made, the real work is still ahead because approximately two-thirds of all licenses are presently not compliant with REAL ID.
“Rest assured, our Department will continue to examine other viable options to improve upon this process and continues doing everything it can to inform Americans of the requirement to obtain a REAL ID before the full enforcement deadline later this year.”
What Counts as Real ID?
- REAL ID-compliant state driver’s licenses or other state photo identity cards (with a star on the top)
- US passport
- US passport card
- DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
- US Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
- Permanent resident card
- Border crossing card
- State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License
- Federally recognized, tribal-issued photo ID
- HSPD-12 PIV card
- Foreign government-issued passport
- Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
- Transportation worker identification credential
- US Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
- US Merchant Mariner Credential
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