It used to be that you had to show proof of legal residency to get a CA driver’s license. That put a lot of pressure on undocumented immigrants – it’s pretty tough to get by in California without driving. So, lots of people without proof of legal residency were driving without licenses. That also means they were driving without insurance, since you need to show a valid driver’s license to get a policy.

This was an especially serious problem for California. More than 1/4 of its population are immigrants. Of those, more than 3,000,000 are undocumented. So last year, California’s legislature passed Assembly Bill 60 (AB-60), creating a procedure by which undocumented immigrants can get an official CA driver’s license. Let’s take a look at what it takes to get a license and what that license allows. Here are the highlights:

• AB-60 allows undocumented immigrants to get a driver’s license
• The license cannot be used as ID, only for driving purposes
• No one can use an AB-60 driver’s license to determine your immigration status and you can’t be detained or arrested because you’re using one (although you can be detained for traffic violations just like any other driver)
• You must present valid proof of your identity and your California residency to get an AB-60 license
• AB-60 went into effect at the beginning of 2015
• During the first half of the year, approximately 883,000 licenses were issued and 443,000 of those were AB-60 licenses

How To Get A CA Driver’s License Without Documentation Of Your Legal Status

In order to get your CA driver’s license, you’ll need to provide proof of your identity and proof of California residency.

Proving Your Identity

There are three ways to prove your identity. First, you can provide one of these documents:

• A California driver’s license or ID card from October 2000 or later
• A valid foreign document that can be electronically verified, such as a Mexican Federal Electoral Card from 2013 or later
• A valid foreign and approved passport along with your Social Security Number (which the DMV will verify); the DMV maintains a list of approved passports in English and Spanish

If you don’t have one of the documents above, you can prove your identity by providing 2 of these documents:

• A national identification card from:
  • Argentina (2009 or 2012 version)
  • Chile (2013 version)
  • Ecuador (2006 or 2009 version)
  • El Salvador (2010 version)
  • Guatemala (2012 version)
  • Peru (2005 version)
• A national consular card from:
  • Brazil (2010 version)
  • Columbia (2015 version)
  • Ecuador (2015 version)
  • Guatemala (2002 version)
• A valid and approved foreign passport, without a verifiable Social Security Number

Finally, if you don’t have enough of those documents, you can provide other documentation for the DMV to review. You may also need to provide this extra documentation if the DMV decides that your other proof if ID isn’t enough. You’ll need to give them as many of the following as possible:

• School documents from US schools that include your date of birth
• School documents from a foreign school that include your date of birth, include a photo of you at the time the record was issued, and are sealed by the school
• Any document issued by or filed with the US government
• Court documents from any case where you were a party
• Income tax returns
• Marriage licenses or domestic partner registrations
• Divorce decrees
• A foreign passport, identification card, or consular card other than the ones specifically approved above
• Birth certificate
• Adoption records

The DMV will review all of these documents to determine if you’ve proven your identity. If so, it’s time to move on to proving your California residency.

Proving California Residency

To prove your residency in California, you’ll need to provide at least one document that includes your full name and the address on your CA driver’s license application, such as:

• a rental or lease agreement
• mortgage bills or a deed or title to your house
• utility bills
• school and medical documents
• employment documents
• insurance documents
• tax documents
• bank documents
• insurance documents

Essentially, the DMV is looking for a link between your identity and your home in CA – you must actually live in the state in order to get a license.

Other Requirements

In order to get your CA driver’s license as an undocumented immigrant, you’ll need to make an appointment with the DMV and bring the documents you’re going to use to prove your identity and California residency. You’ll have to sign a form asserting that you aren’t eligible for a Social Security Number or other proof of legal residence and you’ll need to fill out an application.

If you’re under 18, you must show proof that you’ve completed a driver’s education course. People of any age must complete an eye exam and a written test on the rules and regulations of driving. Finally, you’ll have to give your thumbprint, have your photo taken, and pay an application fee.

Note that you must be at least 16 years old to get a license.

What Your AB-60 CA Driver’s License Allows

A license under AB-60 isn’t quite the same as a license issued to a documented resident. It has just one purpose: to prove that you’re legally allowed to drive in California. It can’t be used as an ID card. These licenses are marked as AB-60 cards, so there’s no way to fool the system. Just like anyone that lives in California, you can’t drive an unregistered or uninsured car with an AB-60 license, whether the car belongs to you or someone else.

Your AB-60 card cannot be used to determine your immigration status or citizenship. In other words, no one can arrest you simply for having that card. And if you get pulled over for a traffic violation, the police officer has to treat you like any other driver and can’t arrest you or detain you for reasons related to your immigration status.

Making The Road (And You) Safer

Since AB-60 went into effect, many undocumented immigrants have taken advantage of the opportunity to get an official CA driver’s license. In the first half of 2015, when the bill went into effect, California issued a total of 883,000 licenses. Of those, 443,000 were issued to undocumented immigrants – more than half!

Being an undocumented immigrant is a challenging thing, but this bill is designed to make it a little easier. With an AB-60 CA driver’s license, you no longer have to worry about the consequences of driving without a license or being unable to insure your vehicle. That makes the road safer for everyone.

Moving away from home is never easy, even within the same country. When you’re crossing international borders, the whole process gets a lot more complicated. Because of the difficulty of navigating the US immigration process, it’s common for families to be split across borders, with one or more members in the US and the rest in another country. While there are certainly unlawful options for bringing split families together across the US border, there are also provisions in immigration law for family reunification to help bypass the standard (time-consuming) immigration process.

In fact, family reunification is the most common avenue by which people immigrate to the US, accounting for about 2/3 of permanent immigration to the country every year. Take Mexico, for example. Mexico accounts for 28% of all immigrants to the US (more than any other country) and upwards of 90% are for family reunification.

So, how does family reunification work?

Family Reunification Visas

First, let’s take a look a look at what family reunification means in legal terms. Essentially, a family member living in the US as either a citizen or a permanent resident (a green card holder) can sponsor another family member to get a visa to move to the US. Every application starts with the Form I-130 – the Petition For Alien Relative. After that, the specific rules depend on your citizenship status.

US Citizens

If you’re a citizen, you and your family have several options for going through the immigration process. You can apply for a green card, a fiance visa, or a K-3/K-4 visa, depending on your relationship to the family member.

You can apply for a green card for your immediate relatives, meaning your spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21. If you’re over 21, that category also includes your parents. For those relatives, visas are always available – you don’t have to wait for the usual immigration process. You’ll need to file the I-130 to start the process and another form to prove that you can financially support the person planning to immigrate. If your family member is already residing in the US, there’s a separate form to adjust their status to permanent residency.

You can also apply for a green card for your adult children and parents, but visas will not necessarily be immediately available. Visas for those relatives will be given out according to a priority system. The adult, unmarried children of US citizens have top priority, married children of citizens have third priority, and siblings of adult citizens have fourth priority.

If you want to marry a foreign national, you can apply for a fiance visa. That applies to your fiance and your fiance’s children (under the age of 21). It allows your fiance to enter the US for 90 days, during which time you must get married. You’ll have to prove that both of you are legally able to get married. You’ll also have to show that you’ve met in person at least once within 2 years of filing for the visa (unless your cultural or religious customs forbid it or you can show that it would be an extreme hardship).  Once you get married, your spouse can apply for permanent residence status and stay in the US while the application is processed. Note that your spouse can apply for employment authorization as soon as the fiance visa is approved.

If you’re waiting for approval for the immigration of your spouse or children, you can apply for a K-3 or K-4 visa application to bring them into the country. This gives them “nonimmigrant status.” You must file an I-130 application before filing for a K-3/K-4 (using the same forms as a fiance visa) and once that green card application is approved, they immediately become permanent residents. If the green card application is denied, the K-3/K-4 status automatically expires after 30 days and they’ll have to leave the country. Certain other events can also affect your family’s K-3/K-4 status, so you’ll need to work with an immigration lawyer to make sure that’s the best option for you.

Green Card Holders

If you have a green card, the immigration process for your family is somewhat more limited. You can sponsor your spouse and your children for a green card, but not your siblings or parents. Visas for these family members will be given out according to certain preference categories. As mentioned above, unmarried, adult children of US citizens have first preference. The spouses and unmarried children of green card holders have second preference.

Refugees And Asylum Seekers

If you were granted asylum or entered the US as a refugee within the past 2 years, you can apply for asylum or refugee status for your spouse and any children that were unmarried and under 21 when you applied for asylum or refugee status.

To use this process, you must still have asylum or refugee status yourself. If you’ve become a permanent resident, you’ll need to use the immigration process for the family members of green card holders (described above). You also have to be the principal refugee or asylum-seeker; you can’t use this process if you got that status through another family member. Finally, you and your spouse had to be married before you received asylum or refugee status and your child had to be conceived before you received that status in order for them to qualify.

Getting Help With The Family Reunification Process

You can see that there are a lot of options for family reunification and they can get pretty complicated. It’s easiest if you’re a US citizen; otherwise you may have to wade through a lot of paperwork and potentially long wait times to bring your family together. Consider getting help from an experienced immigration attorney in your area to help guide you through the process and ensure that your family has the best possible chance of being reunited.

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