NOW I'm panicking.Well, the good news is, my birth certificate is hopefully going to be FedExed to me tomorrow and will arrive here Thursday! Yay, and double-yay and hooray for my friend who found me a notary public who would take her word that I was who I said I was. Triple-yay for same friend loaning me her credit card so I could pay for the rushed Birth Certificate from VitalCheck. Quadruple yay for the friend who told me about the online/FedEx option.
I can't get my driver's license replaced without a birth certificate or passport.
I can't get my birth certificate without a sworn, notarized statement that I am who I am (per a new law passed in California to prevent identity theft). This, of course, will need to be based on ID, which I don't have.
I can't get a passport without the birth certificate.
I can't get on a plane (scheduled for May 11th) without some form of ID.
No one seems to be able to help me.
The DMV is insistent that I can't get my driver's license replaced without this government ID (birth certificate).
This could all be a bit tricky. I am officially panicking just a bit.
I told the guy at the DMV that I could bring in my birth announcement, cards I received on my first birthday, all my school report cards, and my degrees, but they don't seem to care about that. Not sure why a thief might have all of that, but it's not enough for me to establish that as who I am.
Doesn't seem to matter to them that they have my picture and signature on file. Nope. They need that birth certificate, marriage license or passport. GAH! Yeah, now I'm getting freaked out a bit. I really don't want to cancel my trip to CA. Not only do I have unrefundable airline tickets, but I am really looking forward to it.
I am really so incredibly happy this might be getting resolved. I honestly don't know what I would have done otherwise. I was so upset yesterday midday, before this all started to fall into place. Especially when everyone was telling me no, and I thought the soonest I could get my birth certificate (if I could find a notary public willing to help me) would be 4 weeks. So yay-yay-yay-yay. I am very close to being a real person again with an identity.
This also means I can have access to some money again. My bank is mailing me a new bank card, but I can't activate a new PIN unless I come into the branch with, you got it, photo ID! In the meantime, I am doing fine with some cash I'd stashed, although I feel so incredibly naked leaving the house everyday with just my keys.
As soon as I get my birth certificate and make a bunch of copies and stash them all over my house, I'm going to get a passport. This is never happening to me again! If they'd let me get two passports, I'd probably do that, too!
so glad the birth certificate is coming through. Phew.
ReplyDeleteWhen a trans person attempts to get a passport or a drivers license that have to go through that hassle over and over again. In the case of a MtF in Connecticut; diver license says female with a female name, birth certificate says male with female name, passport has male with a female name, social security has a female name listed as male and a credit check will list both names.
ReplyDeleteA lot of my friends carry around their probate court letter with there name change and I carry around a letter from my psychiatrist saying that I am TS because all my documentation still list me as male but I present as female. The paper chase never ends.