Hans goes to the DMV to apply for a drivers license, so that he would be able to buy his own car. I think that many Americans and immigrants have experienced the frustration of having to go and then having to wait hours at the DMV, and Hans is no exception. Despite having a British drivers license, Hans still has to go through the trouble of applying for an American one. Hans notes that he doesn’t tell Rachel about him deciding to buy a new car, because he thinks that it would have supported her idea of him “embracing the American lot.” At the DMV, Hans’ application for a drivers license is rejected, because the name on his green card does not match his other documents. Despite getting a full score on the written test, he is forced to go to the INS to correct the mistake on his documents. Hans talks to a very hostile manager, who almost throws Hans into the category of an illegal immigrant, by insinuating that his documents are false. I think that this part of the book is significant, because it shows how Hans, despite being European, is still classified under the group of immigrants and is still treated as such. Even though Hans may not have had the struggles as the other immigrants in the book, he is still one of them.
