A challenging Real ID process is stranding immigrants

Axios

20-05-2025

Some immigrants living here legally are struggling to get Real IDs as the federal government slows the processing of green cards and removes some refugee statuses.
Why it matters: As of May 7, Real IDs (or passports) are required to board commercial flights.
Those in the U.S. without those documents are now stuck.
Refugees and asylum seekers aren't required to have a passport, and many don't have travel documents because of the way they fled their countries.
Between the lines: Real ID concerns come as many immigrants — and some of their attorneys — are being told to leave the country even if they are here legally.
What we're hearing: Community Refugee & Immigration Services clients are arriving to Ohio BMVs with documents that prove their legal status in the country in an effort to attain Real IDs, only to be turned away, staff attorney Vincent Wells tells Axios.
For many, issues begin with the requirement for immigrants to show the BMV a work authorization card proving full legal name and date of birth.
But asylum seekers and refugees don't need that document to work — they " are authorized to work indefinitely because their immigration status does not expire."
"The federal government was issuing these to make it easier for employers to understand their status," Wells says. "If I have a refugee coming in to my office with an expired work authorization card, the first thing I say is, 'Good news: You don't need a work authorization card to work.'"
The fine print: Even if an immigrant does have their work authorization card, that's not enough to prove legal presence in the U.S. — one of several elements of identification required by the Ohio BMV.
Immigrants also need the original approval notice for that card. But some never got the card and some who did may not have known the importance of keeping the approval notice.
"My clients will show up with an unexpired work authorization card and an unrestricted social security card, and [the BMV] will say, 'We can't issue a Real ID because you don't have the approval notice," Wells says.
State of play: The Ohio BMV is also required to verify immigration status with federal databases, spokesperson Lindsey Bohrer tells us, and that can sometimes "take longer" and require a wait "for a response from the appropriate federal agency."
The big picture: The process isn't just difficult for immigrants. It's also putting unnecessary stress on federal administrative systems.
Normally, a green card would eventually replace work authorization and allow them to get an ID.
But green cards aren't being processed, so attorneys like Wells have to file for otherwise superfluous work authorization cards.
"It's just an incredibly inefficient process … to apply for unnecessary work documents being processed at the cost of the federal government."