When a legal permanent resident could not get her driver’s license renewal application approved for over nine months, the ACLU of Colorado wrote the Colorado Department of Revenue (which oversees the Division of Motor Vehicles) requesting an explanation.
The application was held up for over nine months, during which time the woman submitted at the request of the Colorado DMV a valid passport, marriage certificate, previous Colorado driver’s license, and employment authorization documents, all to no avail.
The DMV eventually informed the applicant that the delay was due the use of the federal government’s Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlements (SAVE) system, which is supposed to allow for a timely determination of immigration status. Instead, With the twelve-month time limit for renewals quickly approaching, the ACLU of Colorado asked the Department of Revenue for information about the SAVE system and the applicant’s pending application.
The woman was finally granted her renewed driver’s license.