South Korean immigrants who wish to obtain their California driver’s license can now submit their applications by using the new consulate card as their form of identification.
“The California Department of Motor Vehicles has notified us that it will begin accepting the consulate card as an ID from today,” L.A.’s South Korean consul general Key-cheol Lee said on Monday. “The consulate ID is now accepted as a primary document during the screening process.”
Therefore, South Korean immigrants in the U.S., who already hold the new consulate ID, are eligible to apply for their California driver’s license. The consulate office have been granting the ID card since Oct. 4.
The DMV’s latest announcement is thanks in large to AB 60, which directs it to grant driver’s license to all California residents regardless of their immigration status.
Until Monday, the DMV has only agreed to accept the consulate ID as a primary document without announcing when it will begin the new screening process. The decision came sooner than many have expected, as November was seen as a more realistic timetable.
“The consulate office’s efforts made it possible to expedite the waiting period,” said Lee. “I am happy to announce that we can now provide valid and recognizable form of identification to South Korean citizens in the U.S.”
By Koo hyun Chung
