I came to the US from Canada on a J1 Visa and wanted a California ID for personal reasons. I followed some of the advice in this forum (thank god I found it) and got my ID within 2 weeks of finding this forum. Total wait time has been 1 month and 2 weeks (way better than others). Just like the earlier posts, CPDCCSSM@dmv.ca.gov wouldn't help me either and told me to call in. What I DID learn from the forum is that you have to call the legal presence department several times to get through to a wait list. Call as many times as necessary. I called over 40 times before I got through and then selected the callback option and got a call back the next morning. Be very nice and courteous with them so that everything goes smoothly. All I had to do was resend passport, I-94, and my J-1 document (they didn't ask for the J-1 at the DMV) with the name of the person who helped you, ID/License number given in the DMV receipt, and your number. I called in the next day and found that they had gotten all documents and sent it out already. Got in on a Friday, got the ID a little over 1 week on a Monday. The number to call is 916-657-7445 which is the number they give you. I think all of the numbers that this forum show lead to the same line. Don't forget to be persistent.
Pro tip: do the calls early after 8 or 9 so that you only have to wait about 30 mins for a callback.
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United States
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