Legal Presence Non-Citizen

You must provide proof of legal presence in the United States to obtain or renew a driver’s license or state ID. The full administrative rules for evidence of legal presence are available here. The following are lists of the most common documents noncitizens present to satisfy this requirement. Documents must be legible, valid, and unexpired or having no expiration date. This is not an all-inclusive list. Additional documents may be required in certain circumstances, including but not limited to the issuance of a REAL ID credential. If you have questions about how to demonstrate legal presence, please contact the License Information section at the Main Office of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles before visiting a branch office. The License Information section may be contacted at (207) 624-9000 ext. 52114 or License.BMV@maine.gov.

For permanent residents and others with permanent or unlimited duration legal presence:

1.            Permanent Resident Card or Resident Alien Card;

2.            Memorandum of Creation of Record of Lawful Permanent Residence;

3.            Arrival/Departure Form I-94 or foreign passport with any notation referencing temporary evidence of or processed for “I-551” or similar language, or I-551 Alien Documentation and Identification System (ADIT) stamp;

4.            Document indicating an approved or granted Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status;

5.            Temporary Resident Card;

6.            Court order or other document indicating a grant of cancellation of removal or suspension of deportation;

7.            U.S. Travel Document indicating that it is a Refugee Travel Document, or a Reentry Permit, a Permit for Reentry or similar language;

8.            Form I-94 Arrival card or other document showing admission as a refugee under INA Section 207;

9.            Document showing asylum granted under INA Section 208;

10.          Court order or other document establishing a grant of withholding of removal or of Convention Against Torture relief;

11.          A valid unexpired passport issued by the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, or the Federated States of Micronesia with a Form I-94 form documenting the applicant's most recent admission to the United States under the Compact of Free Association between the United States and the nation that issued the passport;

12.          Arrival/Departure Form I-94 or Canadian passport coded S13; or

13.          Letter or tribal document establishing that the person is a First Nations member born in Canada

For noncitizens with limited term legal presence:

1.            Document indicating a pending Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, including an Employment Authorization Document bearing the code C09 or C9;

2.            Document indicating a pending Form I-589 application for asylum, withholding of removal, or Convention Against Torture relief, including an Employment Authorization Document bearing the code C08 or C8;

3.            Employment Authorization Document (EAD);

4.            I-94 Arrival/Departure Form showing class of nonimmigrant visa admission, entry date and “Admit until” date that is unexpired, or that says “D/S” for “duration of status”. If the “Admit until” date is blank, this form must be accompanied by another document from immigration authorities establishing legal presence;

5.            Other document showing nonimmigrant visa status that includes the class of nonimmigrant visa, validity period or an expiration date;

6.            Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) forms (I-20 or DS-2019) properly endorsed or stamped;

7.            Document or other evidence of a pending or approved application for “temporary protected status,” “deferred action,” or “deferred enforced departure” or similar status;

8.            Document or other evidence indicating legal presence as a Parolee or person “paroled”, a Cuban/Haitian Entrant, or Conditional Entrant;

9.            Notice to Appear, court hearing notice or other evidence indicating a currently pending removal proceeding before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, or any pending appeals to a federal court;

10.          Document or other evidence of an Order of Supervision;

11.          Document granting a stay of deportation or removal;

12.          Document granting voluntary departure until a specified departure date;

13.          Document or other evidence indicating a currently pending or approved petition or application for an immigration benefit or immigration relief timely filed with immigration authorities including but not limited to a petition or application relating to a nonimmigrant visa status, or for permanent residency, or for humanitarian relief, under which the noncitizen is authorized to stay during the pendency of those petitions or applications, including exhaustion of available appeals; or

14.          Any other document issued by immigration authorities or other evidence that indicates legal presence in the United States, as approved by Maine’s Secretary of State or the Secretary of State’s designee.

A driver's license or nondriver identification card issued to a noncitizen may be issued for a period of time less than the terms described in statute. For further information about the expiration date of a credential issued to a noncitizen, review section 6 of the administrative rules for legal presence or contact the License Information section at the Main Office of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.