Yes! This happened to me as well. I got my DACA renewal in September 2016, and sent in my EAD to the DMV by mail. When I got my new DL in the mail, it expires on my birthday, early next year. So my DL is only good for about 5 months. What could this mean?

The only thing I can come up with has to do with that other CA DL, the AB60. When I was worried that DACA would not be renewed in time I started looking into the AB60 DL because I need to drive 20 miles to work everyday. The form was the same as the regular DL form, but there was a part that said something like "I don't have an SSN, but I will provide one to the DMV as soon as I get it" or something. You had to sign that part, which is an affidavit, basically swearing that you don't have an SSN. Well what happens in our case when we get an SSN? If I were to need an AB60 I can't really sign the affidavit that says I swear I don't have an SSN because I do have one (thank you DACA), so does that mean that I can't get an AB60? That would not make sense to me. I applied for my CA DL as soon as I got my first DACA, and I renewed that DL with my DACA renewal, but that was all before the AB60 program. I already had my second CA DL that expired at the same time as my DACA renewal, the AB60 program was implemented after that.

When I got my latest DL that expires in 5 months I was disappointed. My plan was to wait until about a week before it expires and then go back to the DMV and insist that they give me a new one that expires on the same day as my EAD. After the election, that plan went out the window. But I was sure that it would still be okay as long as the AB60 DL is there, so my new plan was to just show up about a week or two before my current DL expires and just have them switch it to an AB60. I would just explain to the DMV person that I no longer have an EAD, so please give me an AB60. That might still be what I end up doing.

But what if this is actually good news? If the AB60 DL only wants an SSN, we already have that. If we show up in their system as someone with an SSN, maybe they put us into the "regular DL" category. I paid for my first DL about 4 years ago or so, but have not needed to pay for the renewal. If you go by that then when it's my birthday next year it will be about 5 years since I've had a CA DL, in other words just in time to pay $35 for the renewal. So what I am hoping is that they will just send me a "renew by mail" form with a "pay the fee" thing, and then I just fill out the form, send the money, and get a full term DL. Does that make sense or is it just wishful thinking?