Driving licence

[david b 2]

Do I have to wait until my green card arrives before I can get a California Driving licence?

I read the manual and it says I could get one but it will expire when any visa I have expires, which is next month. I got married last week and filing for AOS ASAP, but will need a driving licence for my job, (mechanic).

I am still driving sometimes on my UK licence and hoping I don't get stopped lol! Is it legal to do this? I am guessing not, but everyone keeps telling me US cops don't stop you if you are driving good and not speeding... they sure do in the UK for no reason at all!

[hopeful pinay 0]

Do I have to wait until my green card arrives before I can get a California Driving licence?

I read the manual and it says I could get one but it will expire when any visa I have expires, which is next month. I got married last week and filing for AOS ASAP, but will need a driving licence for my job, (mechanic).

I am still driving sometimes on my UK licence and hoping I don't get stopped lol! Is it legal to do this? I am guessing not, but everyone keeps telling me US cops don't stop you if you are driving good and not speeding... they sure do in the UK for no reason at all!

Better wait for your green card so you will just apply for DL one time. I hope you won't get caught driving without US license yet. Good luck:)

[jjbandero 39]

It depends on where you're driving in California, the police in my city (Southern California) are very strict and depending on whether they understand your immigration situation, most don't care about immigration issues. I heard a horror story of having to fork out over $1000 for fines because of not driving with a correct license because the person was not able to get the police to understand why he had a home address in CA but he was still not a resident. The police basically said, if you've been living in CA for a couple of weeks and intend to continue to do so, then you should have a CA license.

Is it very difficult for you to get a license and then renew it? I renewed mine just by filling in a form online and paid the fees (I think <$30).

[Nik+Heather 121]

It depends on where you're driving in California, the police in my city (Southern California) are very strict and depending on whether they understand your immigration situation, most don't care about immigration issues. I heard a horror story of having to fork out over $1000 for fines because of not driving with a correct license because the person was not able to get the police to understand why he had a home address in CA but he was still not a resident. The police basically said, if you've been living in CA for a couple of weeks and intend to continue to do so, then you should have a CA license.

Is it very difficult for you to get a license and then renew it? I renewed mine just by filling in a form online and paid the fees (I think <$30).

I read about that here on VJ. The guy was really in a catch-22, and not just with the police officer, but with the judge and everything!!! It almost makes me wonder if he was polite, because at the end it really just sounded like everyone was sticking it to him!

Anyway, no DL until you get the Green Card (But maybe with the EAD? You can't work without the EAD anyway), but, you have to have a CA DL if you have "moved" there. Sorry to say, but I think you're stuck between a rock and a hard place.

[April + Chris 0]

Have you gotten an International Driving Permit? Contact AAA, they may know the answer for you. In the UK, you can drive for up to a year with a foreign license. I wonder if there is something similar to this in the US...

[david b 2]

I went to DMV today and they said I can't get a license because there is less than 90 days left on my I94.. that is dumb as there was only 90 days on it when I arrived, so they said wait until you get a green card. That sucks as I am sure the EAD will come before the green card right? It might make it harder for me to get work anyway if I don't have a driving license!

[Nik+Heather 121]

I went to DMV today and they said I can't get a license because there is less than 90 days left on my I94.. that is dumb as there was only 90 days on it when I arrived, so they said wait until you get a green card. That sucks as I am sure the EAD will come before the green card right? It might make it harder for me to get work anyway if I don't have a driving license!

You might get lucky. Nik only got his EAD a week or two before the green card. Some people get the GC before the EAD and never get the EAD at all.

[zenaxe 22]

I don't think so. Not sure about California but I had some bad information here for Arizona. I was advised and read on the DMV website that I needed to have my SSN before I could register my vehicles in the state and that I couldn't register them until I had my driver's license. So I've been waiting. I crossed over Aug 13th...well it turns out that wasn't the case at all. So I registered my cars late last week and got my driver's license this week. I 'm still waiting for my green card and SSN.

You should go directly to the DMV and inquire. Had I known what I know now, I woul have done this sooner. Plus in my case, I've still got my cars insured in BC and paying a big premium for having them register in Canada but out of province, so it's nice of the insurance companies to double my premiums....but now I've cancelled the Canadian insurance and may get a refund....woot woot

Now in my case, I had the CR 1 and my stamped passport. so it may be different for K 1 visa holders. Also I had to complete a simple written test to obtain the license.

Good luck...