u/EveryBit377

okay so I need help because I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore
I’m an international student in Texas. Everything about my immigration status is valid — I-94 valid, I-20 valid, SEVIS active, enrolled in school. I am here LEGALLY. No issues whatsoever.

But Texas DPS won’t give me a driver’s license because my visa STAMP is expired.

Before anyone says “just show your I-94” — I know. And here’s what makes this situation different from everything you’ve read before.

Texas DPS recently separated their requirements into TWO completely different categories:

1. Lawful Presence — expired visa is explicitly fine here. I-94 works perfectly. No issue.

2. Proof of Identity — this is the new gate. They quietly updated this in April 2026 to require a valid unexpired visa stamp. Your I-94 doesn’t count here. Your I-20 doesn’t count here. Just the visa stamp.

So I can prove I’m legally here. I just apparently can’t prove who I am — despite having a valid passport with my photo, name, and date of birth right there.
I’ve been to two DPS offices. Denied both times.
I showed them their own official DL-15 form which STILL says “visa valid or expired” is acceptable for identity. They ignored it.

I emailed DPS customer service. Got a response so vague it was basically useless.

I can’t drive to school. I can’t drive to work. I’m stuck.
Has ANYONE successfully gotten a Texas DL with an expired visa stamp after April 2026?
• Which office worked?
• What documents did you bring?
• Did any office run a SAVE case?
• Has an immigration attorney actually helped with this?

If you’ve found a way out of this please I am begging you to share 🙏😭

Been grinding for months trying to figure this out.
I have 4 years of industry experience, two independently published papers, and I just got into a solid EE program starting this fall. No advisor lined up. No RA position. Just an acceptance letter and a deadline approaching fast.
I have been cold emailing professors but the silence is deafening.

For those who have been through this — how did you actually land an RA before the semester started?

A few things I am genuinely unsure about:
Do you email the whole department or target specific labs?
Does research fit actually matter or do professors just want whoever shows up and works hard?
Is it too late if the semester is 2 months away?
Should I be walking into offices in person instead?

I am not looking for someone to hand me anything. I just need one professor to take a chance and I will prove it from there.

Anyone who has been in this spot — what actually worked?