Garner woman finds destination wedding a road block to getting REAL ID

One Wake County woman says the process to get a REAL ID - which will be a requirement beginning in 2020 for those who fly or visit federal buildings, military installations and nuclear facilities -- has become impossible to navigate and has petitioned law makers for a change.

Posted 9:33 p.m. Jul 11, 2018 — Updated 2:47 p.m. Jul 17, 2018

Natalie Matthews

, WRAL.com editor & Mikaya Thurmond, WRAL reporter/anchor

GARNER, N.C. — One Wake County woman says the process to get a REAL ID – which will be a requirement beginning in 2020 for those who fly or visit federal buildings, military installations and nuclear facilities -- has become impossible to navigate and has petitioned law makers for a change.

The federal government approved the change after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 to increase security in the air and on the ground.

Amy Cordry said she gathered nearly 20 documents before she headed to the DMV to get a REAL ID.

"Marriage certificate, birth certificate, driver's license, social security card," she said were among the papers.

In all that paperwork, it turned out that her marriage license landed her in the rejection pile because it was issued by the Island of Jamaica.

Patrice Bethea, with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, said the DMV will only accept a marriage license as an official name change document if it was issued in the United States. A name change document is only necessary if the person’s name is different than that on their birth certificate, passport or other REAL ID.

Bethea said Cordry was not the first person to run into this problem.

"We are looking into it to see if there is any flexibility within the federal law," she said.

Bethea said it is common for people who get married out of the country to have a valid passport, which would allow Cordry to not have to show her marriage license. But Cordry does not have a valid passport. She said she has only traveled outside of the U.S. once - to get married in Jamaica more than 20 years ago – and does not plan to again.

"I've had my married name for 21 years. Everything is in my married name, and all they looked at was my certificate, and because it’s from Jamaica, they wouldn't accept it," Cordry said.

Now, Cordy is reaching out to her lawmakers to create new legislation for other women who may soon be in the same situation.

"Every day, I'm sending an email with my same exact story just in the hopes that somebody will change it," she said.

Bethea said Cordry's issue is not the first of its kind, but the first to reach the Commissioner’s office. She said the DMV is researching the issue.

The non-REAL ID license will not be valid for air travel and federal facility access beginning October 1, 2020. Residents who do not have REAL ID-compliant licenses or IDs will need to present an acceptable alternative such as a passport

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