^

Tips for Application Submission that Improve Processing Time

Completing the Application

1.            Specify County of Birth.  If missing country of birth, expect significant delays.

2.            List Alien Registration number.  If driver has ever been issued an Alien Registration Number.  Even if driver is a naturalized citizen, a missing or wrongly listed Alien Registration Number will significantly delay processing.

3.           Do not list Naturalization Number.  If referencing Naturalization documents, the Alien Registration number is generally listed below the Naturalization number.

4.           Alien registration number should be 9 digits long with no alphabetical characters.  When referencing Naturalization Documents, the alien registration number is below the naturalization number.

5.           All numbers (e.g., height, weight, CDL, phone numbers, SSN) should not have dashes, spaces, hyphens, apostrophes, parentheses or any other characters other than numerals.  For example, height and weight are each three digits only (e.g. 5 feet 4 inches is entered as 504, not 5’4”, 5-04, etc.), SSN’s and CDL’s must not contain dashes, slashes or spaces.

6.            All telephone numbers should be 10 digits only; do not include hyphens, parenthesis, the leading 1 for long distance calling, etc.

7.            Drivers must fully complete home address, including zip code.  If mailing address is not different, leave field blank; do not allow ‘same,’  ‘see above’ or ‘n/a’, etc.  If mailing address is different, fully complete, including zip code.  The address field should be filled out completely or not at all.

8.            If any field does not apply, do not put zeroes, “N/A”, “none” or anything else. Leave fields blank if not applicable.  If a field does apply, fill it with complete information. 

9.            All date fields should be left blank if not applicable.  If applicable, a date field must include a valid day, month and year; do not put a partial date (e.g., year only).

10.        Many applicants are confusing “country” with “county.”  Please insert country.

11.        Employer names are max 40 characters long.  Please abbreviate as necessary.

12.        Addresses are max 30 characters long.  Please abbreviate as necessary.

13.        If a driver does not know the exact date of military discharge, he/she should provide the best estimate.  Ensure that the information is a complete date (month, day, year) and not just a year.  Incomplete dates will error the application and require resubmission.

14.        If somebody is still in the military, they should mark the military as their current employer and fill out a discharge date in the future (if applicable).

Issues that Affect Adjudication Processing Time

One of the greatest causes of delays is related to immigration issues.  Most of these issues can be avoided by proper reporting of the alien registration number. 

If a driver has an alien registration number and it is not reported or recorded inaccurately on the application, the driver’s final disposition will be substantially delayed.

An alien registration number is not the same as a naturalization number.  The alien registration number is typically nine digits in length (preceded by an “A”), while the naturalization number is eight digits in length.  On naturalization documents, the alien registration number is generally listed directly below the naturalization number.  DO NOT USE THE NATURALIZATION NUMBER.  The alien registration number must be used on the application.  Do not annotate the alien registration number’s alphabetical characters.

Alien registration numbers issued years ago contained 8 digits instead of 9.  Should you be confronted with an 8-digit alien registration number, add a leading zero when annotating it on the application.  Again, do not annotate the alien registration number’s alphabetical characters.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) may have to ask a small number of drivers for documents. Though it is an inconvenience, once we get those documents, there tends to be a very quick turnaround to get results out to them.

Q:  Can’t a naturalized driver present a passport at the DMV for proof of citizenship?

A:   We can only check SAVE data at this time; there’s no process for TSA to verify passport information for citizenship, nor any other documents, electronically, except for the alien registration number.

Q:  Should the driver fill out the A in the alien registration number?

A:   No.  Submit exactly nine digits and no letters.   Should the driver have an older alien registration number that is 8 digits in length, precede the number with a “0” to ensure the number is 9 digits in length.

Q:  Why do alien registration numbers need to be submitted?

A:   There is no other way to efficiently confirm country of origin and verify immigration status.

Comment: True/false questions regarding criminal history are misleading.

A:   We are taking that into consideration, and expect to have clearer wording on the next version of the application. 

Q:  What if people don’t know the exact date of military discharge?

A:   Provide the best estimate.  Ensure that the information is a complete date (month, day, year) and not just a year.  Incomplete dates will error the application and require resubmission.

Q:  If somebody is still in the military, what do they fill out for discharge date?

A:  They should mark the military as their current employer and fill out a discharge date in the future (if applicable).