Some married women across the U.S. are sharing that they’ve been facing unexpected hurdles in obtaining their REAL ID as the May 7th deadline looms to have the documentation to fly domestically.
The common obstacle among them is proving their name change due to marriage without having in their possession their original marriage certificate needed to verify that change.
It has become a logistical nightmare, for example, for Dorothy Ballone — formerly Hotchkiss — of Rochester, New York. She’s been on a mission to try to obtain her original marriage certificate from 67 years ago, she told Fox News Digital this week.
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The nonagenarian has been working since February to track down the authentic document since being turned down on her first trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles in New York.
“I found online all the documents that I would need, my Social Security [card], my birth certificate. A couple of things stating where you live, like your utility bill and your bank statement, stuff like that — and your marriage license,” said Ballone.
“I had even more documents than that with me.”
She arrived at the DMV with a copy of her marriage license from Aug. 19, 1958, along with certification stating that the document was an exact photocopy of the original with a notary public’s stamp and all applicable information.
“I put all my documents on the counter, and [a clerk] pulled out the marriage license and said, ‘I can’t accept this.’ And I said, ‘Why not?’ She said, ‘It’s a copy.’ And I said, ‘That’s all I have.’ And she said, ‘No, I need the original,’” Ballone told Fox News Digital.
She went on a wild goose chase to try to obtain her original marriage license.
Ballone said she was told to go to her church to obtain the original.
Ballone reached out to the church in East Rochester where she was married, and was told the church does not have marriage licenses dating back that far.
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She then went on a wild goose chase as she tried to obtain her original marriage license — reaching out to local clerks’ offices, government officials, even the Diocese of Rochester.
The city of Rochester eventually claimed to have the original marriage license — and mailed it.
The document she received was certified, yet Ballone was denied a REAL ID once again, she said.
She has been in contact with her local assemblywoman and the assistant commissioner of the New York Department of Motor Vehicles, she told Fox News Digital.
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Even though she’s lived under her married name for decades and has a driver’s license bearing her married name, the state has continued to deny her REAL ID application, Ballone said, until she provides her official marriage document.
They’ve heard from DMV officials that this has become an issue.
Ballone told Fox News Digital that two of her neighbors are having the same issue with tracking down their original marriage licenses.
They said they’ve heard from DMV officials that this has become an issue.
Fox News Digital reached out to the city of Rochester, New York.
Fox News Digital spoke with travelers at the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., this week to get their thoughts about the REAL ID process with May 7 just a week away.
Alicia from Minneapolis, Minnesota, told Fox News Digital that she, too, has been having issues obtaining her REAL ID due to her changed name.
“I’m a stay-at-home mom, so I don’t have a paycheck delivered. So it was a little harder to have all the forms of [identifications],” she told Fox News Digital.
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“I went one time, and then I had to go back a second time because I was missing our marriage certificate because my name had changed, so it was a little more complicated for me,” said Alicia, who did not share her last name.
“I had a baby with me, so [this has been] annoying,” she added.
As the enforcement deadline of May 7 approaches, these women say they’re racing the clock.
Fox News Digital reached out to the TSA for comment on the topic.
A spokesperson responded, “This would be a state documentation requirement, so please contact the [individual] states where this might be an issue.”
Fox News Digital reached out to New York State for comment.
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