Provisional Licence question...

I have a valid US licence and will be allowed to drive in the UK through July.  I'm working towards taking both my theory and practical driving tests and would like do so before I leave the country at the end of June. 

I've just received in the mail the Provisional Licence Application Completion Form and am concerned that if I send in my US passport this week (May 15-18) that I won't get it back in time for my scheduled June 28th trip back to the US. 

Is there anything I can do proactively to make sure I get my passport back?  Am I allowed to take the theory and practical tests using just a US licence and not have a provisional one in hand? 

Thank you!

Six weeks is plenty of time to get your passport returned. The official turnaround time is two weeks and in my experience was less than that. You need a provisional to take your theory and full test, there's no way, I'm aware of, around it.

https://www.gov.uk/track-your-driving-licence-application

It only took five days to get my provisional and three more days to get my passport back (they come separately).  That was around Christmas, so maybe it could be faster. 

I went to the Wimbledon DVLA to make my application (there are a couple DVLAs where you can apply in person).

Here's my post about it (scroll up to see the discussion):

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=78098.msg1059585#msg1059585

Excellent.  Thank you for taking the time to reply! 
Cheers!

I sent off for my provisional license last week. I sent my applicaton/visa recorded delivery and included a self-addressed recorded delivery envelope for them to return my visa with. My visa was returned to me this morning with a letter saying my provisional license should follow shortly. So, it was a pretty quick turn around. Obviously, I can't guarantee that you'll have the same experience, but it's always comforting to know when other people have a positive experience. 

Is there no way to apply for a provisional licence in person and not have to submit my passport by post? I am petrified to send off my passport (I will even make an appointment with the US embassy to get a new passport when that time comes) as I endured 7 months of the UKBA holding my passport before issuing my EEA2 residence card in it (so no travel and no documentation proving my right of employment even though by law I did so, but no one cares).  If for some reason DVLA loses my passport, I would have to reapply all over again for my EEA2, again not be able to leave the UK and not have that precious card displaying my right of employment in the UK (which I need as I'm currently looking). 

It's just too risky, it seems crazy to me that there's no way you can do it in person since in person is the way you apply/renew for licenses in the US. :/

Is there no way to apply for a provisional licence in person and not have to submit my passport by post?

No, unfortunately, there is no way around sending off your passport - you have to do it if you want the provisional licence.

It is possible to make an appointment in person at a local DVLA office to submit the application (someone here went to the office in Wimbledon, London recently), but they still have to send off your passport. I believe it only took a few days for the other person to receive her passport back though.

I am petrified to send off my passport (I will even make an appointment with the US embassy to get a new passport when that time comes) as I endured 7 months of the UKBA holding my passport before issuing my EEA2 residence card in it (so no travel and no documentation proving my right of employment even though by law I did so, but no one cares).

You know that if you had wanted it, or if you wanted to travel, you could have requested your passport back from UKBA at any time during those 7 months without it affecting your application, right?

For EEA2 residence cards, you can request your passport back while your application is processing without it affecting anything (this is not the case for UK visas, where requesting the passport back invalidates the visa application). Also, UKBA should have sent you a letter of confirmation of your EEA2 application, which would have proven your right to employment while the EEA2 was processing.  
 

If for some reason DVLA loses my passport, I would have to reapply all over again for my EEA2, again not be able to leave the UK and not have that precious card displaying my right of employment in the UK (which I need as I'm currently looking). 

I have never heard of the DVLA losing or not returning anyone's passport before - hundreds of people on the forum have sent off their passports to DVLA for provisional licences with no problems at all, usually receiving their licence and passport back within a couple of weeks.

No, unfortunately, there is no way around sending off your passport - you have to do it if you want the provisional licence.

It is possible to make an appointment in person at a local DVLA office to submit the application (someone here went to the office in Wimbledon, London recently), but they still have to send off your passport. I believe it only took a few days for the other person to receive her passport back though.

You know that if you had wanted it, or if you wanted to travel, you could have requested your passport back from UKBA at any time during those 7 months without it affecting your application, right? Well back when I applied for it, yes I could have asked for my passport back but then had no proof (other than that flimsy COA) that I had right of residency in the UK, yes via EU law I do not even need said proof but I didn't want to risk being denied without having the proper documentation.  Also back then you still had to return your passports when asked immediately or they'd cancel your application, really didn't want to risk waiting around for months to then have to go through the process all over again. Now I understand they'll check your passports with application before returning them when you've requested them and issue RC on a paper instead, I'll be doing this for my EEA4

For EEA2 residence cards, you can request your passport back while your application is processing without it affecting anything (this is not the case for UK visas, where requesting the passport back invalidates the visa application). Also, UKBA should have sent you a letter of confirmation of your EEA2 application, which would have proven your right to employment while the EEA2 was processing.  How simple that sounds, but try to get an employer to take your word for it with that UKBA COA as "proof", I tried, didn't happen.  And if they call UKBA regarding the letter, UKBA will neither confirm nor deny right of employment.  In a perfect world yes I could have my passport when applying for my EEA2 and travel in/out of UK and the border agency would understand and believe what I'm telling them when I return and a potential employer would take a letter from the UKBA as proof of right of employment, as that is EU law but in actual practice that's not how it works.  At the time of getting my EEA2 as well my husband and I weren't yet married (but had lived many years together to qualify for the EEA2) so I wouldn't even have had a marriage certificate to show at the border either
 
I have never heard of the DVLA losing or not returning anyone's passport before - hundreds of people on the forum have sent off their passports to DVLA for provisional licences with no problems at all, usually receiving their licence and passport back within a couple of weeks.

Well it just recently happened to a friend a few months ago, so it DOES happen.  It's nuts that we must submit our passport in the mail for a provisional licence and that there's no possible way of doing this in person.  I may breakdown and go ahead and send in my passport at some point for my provisional (once I've found a new job and don't need to present my RC anytime soon) but I won't stop thinking it's discriminatory to require non-UK residents to send them in

I was the one that ksand24 mentioned going to Wimbledon to apply in person.  They did send off my passport, but since the DVLA staff member processed it, I knew it wouldn't get lost by my mistake.    I included a prepaid envelope and they returned my passport and provisional licence separately within a week.    I was worried about sending it off, but had no problems.  

Also, if you're ever without your passport or proof of right to work, your employer or future employer can check your status and your right to work online.

Edit-

The link isn't working for me right now, but I think this is it (or at least leads to it):
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/business-sponsors/preventing-illegal-working/checking-brp/

Rereading your post, lilbruiser4, I don't think you're able to renew US passports in person at the embassy..... I could be wrong, but I think it needs to be done by post (but sent through the embassy and they send it on to the States and then return it back to you).

Hmm... thanks for the UKBA link, I'm not sure this link applies to EEA2 residence cards as it certainly doesn't look like this, but good to know (granted the employer actually has to be motivated enough to follow this through) and I've seen most to be quite lazy to the point of questioning my residence documentation because "it doesn't look like the others we get".

I don't trust the system enough to send along my passport until I'm settled in a new position, will just have to hold out then. 

And as for renewing your passport at the embassy, in most cases you would mail it off but you can book at the embassy if you need a special appointment (which I do for another non-relevant reason)

Just from memory (and this was a long time ago...) I seem to remember being required to send my passport off when I applied for a provisional licence, and I'm a Brit. So, unless the rules have changed, I don't think this is non-Brit requirement, its just an ID requirement.