Three weeks after Arrival in the US. When to get a Driver License?

[carL♥tRin 1]

I was with my parents in the DPS this morning to walk them through the application to get a Driver License. They were told that it was too early for them to apply for a Driver License( less than a month since POE) and their information was not in the system yet as per immigration. Also was told that they can request a letter from immigration stating their eligibility to apply for Driver License. I am not sure about this. Do you think it's too early to apply for a DL here in TX? Or they can give few more weeks to apply? By the way, they showed the i-551 in the visa that serves as temporary GC for one year. Do you think that was the problem? I will greatly appreciate your inputs here. Thanks in Advance

[Harsh_77 718]

I-551 should be enough, try again in couple days, I think the information should synch with in week or so.

If they apply for DL now with I-551 they would only get a DL with 1 yr validity, if you don't need DL and can wait for GC to come than they will get a DL with 6 yr validity if they have 10 yr GC.

[NikLR 13,227]

Did they pay the $165 new immigrant fee? Have they tried to get an SSN number? (most states require an SSN to get a DL.) At the SSA office they can get their SAVE checked to make sure it's correct. If it's not you have to go to a place that can fix it (either a department of revenue office or CBP) to make sure it's corrected in the SAVE database.

They can also talk to a supervisor if the person they are talking to doesn't understand that they have an I-551.