Facial recognition to scan your status?

This is regarding getting a license in Washington and what they do to assure you're a resident of that state, feel free to skip to the bolded part of the article if you feel lazy.


So what do they mean facial recognition and social security screening?
I have an SS saying not valid for work, does that mean they will deny me if I were living in WA and gave my SS number? Am I better off just pretending I do not have one? And what is this facial recognition nonsense?

check the date , january this year, if another dreamer had an issue the would had tld us by now

Hence as to why I created this thread, not necessarily one would mention it

have you had a problem with anything?

This is a good thread. I am actually getting ready to move up there and try to get a DL. I have four B list documents that they require, one of them being my ssn card which also says not valid for work. I have been trying to decide whether or not I should use it or pretend like I don't have one and use some other B list document like the Matricula or something. The risk as I see it is that with the not valid for work ssn card they might reject me based on the fact that it says not valid for work, they could see this as irregular and look into it further which would reveal my status to them. With the Matricula on the other hand it is like you are flat out telling them that you are undocumented, but with proof of WA residency they shouldn't make a big deal about it. It would be great if someone who has been in a similar situation could shed some light on the not valid for work ssn problem. But in the mean time if anyone wants to discuss strategy let me know, I plan to try to be in WA by mid February.

you and i both are in the same exact situation. I'll be going there the January or February of next year and, like you, i'm not sure which is wiser: to show your SS with invalid for work status (which, if luckily accepted, allows you to have a quicker process) OR to pretend in not having one, yet the process itself will be longer.

I read that the workers behind the counter of the DMV are not allowed to ask for your status here in the US, but by not asking and having the lack of evidence to prove that one is an illegal, all they can go by is wether you are a resident of Washington or not. On the other hand, if you were to give your SS having 'not valid for work', it feels like you're taking a huge risk since, like you said, they may go further into it and search as to why your SS has this handicap.

Which leads me asking the following questions:
1. Is the reason WA "allow" illegals to have DL because they can't ask for your status here in the US?
2. Is it the same concept of "Don't ask don't tell?" Where if you were to say you are an illegal to begin with, they will deny you for a driver's license in WA?
3. Is it smart to just call WA DMV and ask straight out (and/or pretend) you live in Washington, and say you are an illegal with an SS invalid for work and ask if they will deny giving you a DL by just those facts?

1 and 2. From what I know, they don't "allow" them under a sort of "don't ask, don't tell" policy. They're pretty open about the fact that illegal immigrants can and do get licenses from the state. The supposed intent is to make sure that everyone who drives in the state of Washington is held to the same standards, regardless of legal status. The only issue they (and every other state) has is REAL ID, which obligates the state to switch to the federal standard by 2013 (at the moment).

3. It might be, but I'd still be wary of doing it. By taking the pretend-not-to-have-an-SSN route, you're automatically giving them cause to think you're undocumented anyway. Think about it: the population of individuals without an SSN is very limited. The only people who I can think of who have a valid reason to not get one are international students. And even then, that'd be out of laziness.

By giving them an SSN, regardless of whether or not you're authorized to work, as long as the number is yours, the SSN is valid. That's to say, if you do get an EAD at some point, you could work with that SSN. For that reason, you might just be better off using the SSN.

I believe that the facial recognition is to catch someone who already applied from applying under a different name, in the form you fill it asks you if you are a twin or a triplet, which I found odd, but it made sense when I learned about the facial recognition. As far as them finding out your status with that, I don't think they can, that would mean they would have access to every single database in the country to check your picture.... I don't think WA DOL, or any other state, has that privilege.

Could you elaborate more in what you said about REAL ID and switching to federal standard? What do you mean by that?

REAL ID requires that licenses that are valid for identification (that means, those that get get you on a plane and into federal buildings, basically) can only be given to people who have legal status. The thing is that this requirement only comes into effect in 2013 because the states have forced the federal government to keep pushing it back.

That said, some states give licenses that are marked "not valid for identification" on the license. Connecticut is about to do it (but no new illegal immigrants are eligible for licenses), Washington does it (for people who refuse to accept their picture standards), and Utah does, too (with illegal immigrants under really strict conditions).

Mind you, most states used to give licenses to illegal immigrants right after 9/11. REAL ID changed that.