[Sleuth]

PDLM--As you feared, Georgia does not exchange foreign licenses for state ones. I would have to retake all the tests.
I can renew online, but I might have to submit proof of any address change, which I wouldn't be able to do. I might just try to renew my license ealry because I think I have lost it. If that is the case, I will renew for the ten year license.

Emuse--Welcome back. Are you coming to Atlanta or somewhere else?

[Emuse]

Little north of there... Oakwood. You probably don't know it. Yep, gotta go back there at the end of Jun and probably won't get back here to HK again till Sept. I guess I'll miss the hottest parts here and escape the "cold" in Ga too! Not a bad deal I suppose. You got me thinking though that it might not be a bad idea if I just renew my license while I'm there so I don't need to worry about it for awhile. After I come back to HK in September I plan on staying for a few years. Can you renew for more than 4 years at a time? I've got another year left on this so if I can claim I lost mine maybe they'll let me renew early. I don't suppose you know the intricacies?

[Sleuth]

Originally Posted by Emuse

Little north of there... Oakwood. You probably don't know it....Can you renew for more than 4 years at a time? I've got another year left on this so if I can claim I lost mine maybe they'll let me renew early. I don't suppose you know the intricacies?

You're right, never heard of Oakwood.
But you can renew a license for 10 years now. I am thinking of trying to renew early, since mine expires next month. I am also thinking of going the "lost" route. I need to call them and ask those questions.
It would also be nice to provide someone else's address, but I think that they would require some sort of proof for that.

[nina_70]

Just an idea for everyone. There's a way to maintain permanent address in the USA using following website
http://www.myus.com/
There's an annual fee, but we've found it to be very useful. We have an address there which we use for drivers licence renewal, us credit cards (for the ones where we want a US address), US buying (for places that won't ship internationally) and so on. They will forward your mail to any international address and you can do it all on-line. So far, we've been very satisfied with the service (we've used them for ~1.5 years).

[applefan]

nina_70: I've looked at their website before. Do you have a choice of the city and state of the address? How long does it usually take for them to airmail you things? Thanks.

[nina_70]

I "think" all the addresses are in Florida. When we signed up we were specifically looking for a FL address, so I have to admit I didn't check if you could get an address anywhere else. You'll probably have to ask them about this. The mail packages come once a month so, you could see up to a month delay on the mail. You can ask for express delivery if you need to, but so far we've never needed to do so. We're OK with 1/month.

[Emuse]

I'm not quite sure using that service to obtain a US Drivers License is legal. From what I've heard, the DMV is now part of the Department of Homeland Security. They probably won't like you messing with their heads. Anyway, it just seems it wouldn't be legal since you have to specifically list your place of residence. Also, you have to provide PROOF of that residence. Aside from those obstacles, does anyone know if this service can be used legally for this purpose?

[Sleuth]

That FL address thing seems like it would be really illegal in our post 9-11 USA. Of course, so is everything else I have thought of to maintain a US license.

[wing]

Do you need to take a written test before you can exchange your GA with a FL one ? You can't do that in CA.

Our driver license is our ID. You need it to get on the plane to board a train (sometimes), to go to a HMO hospital (Kaiser in NorCal). etc. It is much more than a license for driving.

[Emuse]

If you can legally renew by proxy I don't mind picking it up for you when I'm there. I have to go there anyway while I'm in GA. I don't know if they'll let you renew by proxy but if you can, and you work out all the details I don't mind picking it up.

I don't know how long I'll be back in GA but it shouldn't be longer than 2 months. Hopefully alot less.