A Gwinnett County woman says new rules at the Department of Driver Services have made it nearly impossible for her to renew her license.

Mary Carpenter, 69, is a naturalized U.S. citizen and has renewed her Georgia license twice before.

She told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh she has all the paperwork the Department of Driver Services requires to renew her license, including "my Social Security, my two utility bills, my certified birth certificate and my certified naturalization papers," she said.

But, even the addition of her decades-old marriage certificate wasn't enough.

"They have to send my naturalization papers to Washington, D.C., for verification because they couldn't verify it," Carpenter said.

Carptenter has lived in Georgia since 1980. She's lived in the United States since 1954. She emigrated with her family from Ireland at age 11.

A signed and sealed document shows the date she became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1960.

"I interpreted it to mean I was 'illegal'. If it is denied they will terminate my driver's license immediately," Carpenter said.

DDS told Channel 2 Action News they couldn't comment on Carpenter's situation. But a spokesperson says it could be the result of the SAVE program, or Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, implemented in January 2008.

SAVE uses a series of databases to verify citizenship. It may have hit a snag with looking at carpenter's papers.

This is just the latest issue to arise during trips to driver services locations across metro Atlanta.

Since the 2005 Real ID Act, Georgia has slowly added new rules to align with federal requirements.

In July, the state began requiring additional documentation for license renewals turning visits here into all-day affairs. On Tuesday, the quoted wait time at the DDS location in Norcross was 6½ hours.

"Innocent people are suffering because of it," Carpenter says.

Her temporary license expires in November.