Seminar on Real ID scheduled
Real ID is coming to Pennsylvania whether residents want it or not. Real ID would function as an internal passport for domestic air travel.
Congress passed the idea in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks but a number of states, including Pennsylvania, rejected opting in, according to state Rep. Stephen Barrar, R-160. He explained that the state legislature didn’t like the idea because legislators felt it was a case of the federal government intruding into an area that was strictly under the domain of state governments — drivers’ licenses.
“It’s an encroachment into state prerogatives,” he said. But the state legislature later acquiesced after the federal government threatened to withhold funding on projects.
“The federal government continues to encroach on areas that the state controls,” he said. “We’re now an administrator of federal policy.”
Barrar will host a seminar on real ID on Thursday, May 16, from 6-8 p.m. at the Garnet Valley Middle School auditorium to help eliminate confusion surrounding Real ID. The seminar will give residents of the 160th LD a chance to hear representatives of PennDOT explain what they will need to comply with the new requirements. People will not be required to do anything right away, Barrar said, but they will have to comply when their driver’s license comes up for renewal.
According to PennDOT, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents will need to provide one of the following documents to get the Real ID compliant driver’s license.
• Certified copy of a birth certificate filed with the State Office of Vital Statistics with a raised/embossed seal’
• A valid, unexpired, U.S. Passport or Passport Card
• Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (USCIS Form N-560 or Form N-561)
• Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) issued by the U.S. Department of State, Form FS-240, DS-Form1350 or FS-Form 545
• Certificate of Naturalization issued by DHS; Form N-550 or N-570
• Unexpired Employment Authorization Card, (EAD) issued by DHS; Forms I-766 or Form I-688B
• Valid, Unexpired Permanent Resident Card I-551 (Green Card) Issued by DHS or INS
• Unexpired foreign passport with a valid unexpired US visa affixed, accompanied by the approved I-94 indicating temporary evidence of Permanent Residence
Some non-U.S. citizens may be required to provide additional documentation.
From the Department of Homeland Security website:
The REAL ID Act establishes minimum security standards for license issuance and production and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting for certain purposes driver’s licenses and identification cards from states not meeting the Act’s minimum standards. The purposes covered by the Act are: accessing Federal facilities, entering nuclear power plants, and, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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