Stupidity Abounds!

July 16, 2009

WARNING: Michelle is about to show her, ummm, shall we say impatient and judgemental side.

My drivers license expired on my birthday in May. In April I wrote the Va DMV about renewing by mail and/or to see if they made any sort of exceptions for diplomats. Well, they do. This is a small excerpt from the e-mail they sent me.

Effective July 1, 2006, only one extension can be granted up to three years from the date of license expiration. Drivers wishing to have their license extended will be given an extension card to carry in conjunction with their expired license that indicates their license is valid for an additional three years or within ninety days of their return to the Commonwealth.

I was given a list of things I needed to send to the DMV in order to obtain the extension card. I went to the DMV today because I could not find one of their forms on the website and thought a personal visit was the way to go, right... WRONG!

I got there early, 10 min. before they opened, so only had about a 15 minute wait. The woman at the information counter said my paperwork was all in order and she gave me a number. The guy at the desk however, was not so well informed. He insisted that I needed to renew my drivers license but then wouldn't let me renew because I didn't bring proof of residence. Um, HELLO, I DON'T LIVE HERE! Now not to be completely rude but this guy was not American. Perhaps the word "extension" was new vocabulary for him. He was so fixated on the fact that my license expired he couldn't see the forest for the trees. Whatever, give me a new license. I just wanted to get out of there! Finally he accepts my passport and my parents address, charges me $35 and takes my photo. THEN, the lady working next to him informs him that she looked it up and I, of course, am right and legally I do not qualify for a new drivers license because I am NOT a resident - duh. But now no one knows how to remove the new info from the computers and refund my money. So, after a long painful discourse they ended up just letting me have a new license. Nice. Now I know how illegals get through the cracks.