Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Ever since the Green Light Law took effect, day to day operations at the Erie County Clerk's office have become busier, says Clerk Mickey Kearns.
"We've had about 170 people come in to apply for Real ID. After reviewing and authenticating, we had 75 people qualify for a Real ID meaning they have the proper documentation," says Kearns. He says many of them are students at UB on J-1 Visas and are here to work in the community. "We are still trying to authenticate 100 applications under the Green Light Law. We have not issued any licenses under the Green Light Law because they are under my review," explains Kearns.
Kearns says his staff has undergone additional internal training. "We go over foreign passports, and there are 195 different countries and we have to interpret these passports," says Kearns. He says authentication machines can authenticate the document, but not the person.
Kearns says passport applications have been on the rise. "Our passport applications are up. We have a passport facility at Southgate (in West Seneca) and we had 47 people come out (Thursday) so we're getting prepared," says Kearns. He says the numbers he anticipated haven't been reached yet. "If you told me prior to December 16th, we would have this number of people applying, that would be something we could handle. But we have 136,000 people who are renewing their licenses and we all know about Real ID taking effect October 1st," says Kearns.