JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With REAL ID requirements now in effect for those flying within the United States, one local woman is sharing the trouble she’s been through over the last month trying to get her ID updated.
Susan Dameron, 70, is one of the 1% of Floridians who do not yet have a REAL ID, a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that Homeland Security says is a more secure form of identification.
But it’s not for lack of trying in Dameron’s case.
She said she’s spent a month trying to make sure her ID is compliant, but kept hitting roadblocks.
On Monday, she got an email from the DMV saying that they are going to make an exception in her case, but she is still waiting to hear what the next steps are.
And even getting to this point has taken a LOT of effort.
Dameron explained that her father was in the Air Force, and she was born on a military base in Japan.
She said when she went to the DMV weeks ago to get her REAL ID, she had the required documents, but was told her birth certificate would not be accepted.
For reference, to get your REAL ID, you need:
- Your birth certificate or a valid passport
- Your Social Security card or proof of Social Security number
- 2 forms proving your mailing address dated within the last 60 days
- Any documents needed to prove a name change
Dameron said she can’t remember why her birth certificate was rejected, but the passport wasn’t an option because the only one she had was when she and her parents flew back to the U.S. from Japan more than 65 years ago.
So Dameron was told that she needed to submit a consular report of her birth certificate, but she didn’t have access to the necessary forms.
Then they said she could submit her father’s DD214 (proof of military service) and a copy of her sister’s birth certificate.
But she said when those documents were reviewed, they were also denied.
“I am brokenhearted. I am past the anger. I am past the shock. At my age, my father was a U.S. veteran that fought in the Korean War so we can be free,” Dameron said, expressing her frustration. “I worked at a job, a government job, where I assisted in taking care of our vets. Now, you are telling me that I have to prove that I’m a U.S. citizen. I’m just brokenhearted, and my hands are tied right now.”
Dameron said she sent an application last week to the U.S. Department of State for a consular report of birth abroad, which is a document used by the U.S. government to record the birth of a U.S. citizen born outside the country.
She is still waiting to hear back on the status of that application.
She said once she gets her REAL ID, she’ll be “doing backflips down my street.”
“I will be absolutely thrilled, but then again, it is just frustrating that I am a 70-year-old citizen, or I thought I was, having to go through all of this,” Dameron said. “This is definitely going to be the last time I renew my license because I am not getting any younger. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed.”
Dameron said she is still waiting on the DMV to explain the parameters of her exception and what she needs to do next.
In the meantime, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday assured people who don’t yet have a REAL ID but need to take a domestic flight Wednesday that they will be able to fly after clearing additional identity checks.
REAL ID, a recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, was signed into law in 2005 and was supposed to be rolled out in 2008, but the implementation was repeatedly delayed.
Noem told a congressional panel that 81% of travelers already have REAL IDs. Florida is 99% compliant, and Georgia is 100% compliant.
Noem said that, for now, security checkpoints will also be accepting passports and tribal identification, like they have already been doing.
But those who still lack an identification that complies with the REAL ID law “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step,” Noem said.
Because of that, TSA is urging those without a REAL ID to arrive early at the airport to give themselves extra time to clear security and be prepared for advanced screening to avoid causing delays.
