Local Driver's licence while on K1 with AOS pending

[Jeannie & Al 18]

What Insurance in the UK?

hi - do you mean what company? I'm not sure but I can ask him...we left his car there and left it insured and figured we'd have his parents sell it as soon as he got his license and was added to my insurance here. Does that make sense?

[Boiler 45,525]

Car (Auto) Insurance.

Managed to sell mine a few days before I left. However having Insurance in the UK is irrelevant to the US. My guess is that whoever you spoke to was confused, perhaps thinking out of State not out of Country.

[Jeannie & Al 18]

Car (Auto) Insurance.

Managed to sell mine a few days before I left. However having Insurance in the UK is irrelevant to the US. My guess is that whoever you spoke to was confused, perhaps thinking out of State not out of Country.

Ah, yes auto insurance.

I spoke to a few people and they all said the same thing...basically, when he is driving my car here with his UK licence and Int'l driver's license, my car is covered under my insurance for any claims if he was in an accident. But I think it's if he's injured that they said he would report that under his policy back home.

Hopefully we get his EAD next month and this is all moot so we can just add him to my insurance when I re-up in January.

[Boiler 45,525]

He does not need an International Drivers Permit, no such thing as a license, as he has a UK license. Permit is basically a translation.

No cover provided by a UK Motor Policy, the only thing that comes to mind would be Travel Insurance but that would apply if he was visiting, not emigrating.

State Farm and Colorado, so rules are slightly different, but I had no issue with State Farm, in CO I needed EAD to get a US license, different States different rules.

[steviedj 0]

Interesting because according to the link, and the online document checker, you shouldn't even need to wait for your EAD to be able to get your license...

I have NJ Manufacturers Insurance and spoke to them last week and I know they won't insure him without his new license...and I don't want to lose them because they are a great company. He said it was fine for him to stay off for now since he has his own insurance back in the UK and didn't think it would be a problem getting a license once we have the EAD.

I'm disappointed to read 3 DMV locations turned you down..if you use Boiler's link, and for non-citizens and go through the 6-point ID list, you technically shouldn't even need the EAD but certainly with it, you should be fine as long as you have the SS card. What is the reason you get turned away? Do you mind me asking what counties the DMVs you visited were in?

Yes you still need the EAD as one of your IDs because the date on your I-94 in your passport could be expired when you actually get your EAD (if it takes 90 days to issue it). There aren't any documents on the Primary ID that you could supply other than a Residency/Green Card. Don't forget - even though you have an I-94 in your passport, it is only valid for the 90 days for you to get married in, and once that date has passed it has, effectively, expired and you are then on your AOS. Some people on Visa Journey have said that they have used their USCIS letters to show that they are authorised by the USCIS/DOHS to be here but, according to the points system/leaflet, that isn't one of their accepted forms.

My wife's father has NJ Manufacturers and that is what her car was insured under, however when we got married it came up for renewal at the same time and obviously she couldn't continue on his policy any more. She shopped around and Geico and NJ Manufacturers were the only 2 companies that told her specifically that they would insure me as well using my UK Driver's Licence. She went with Geico because they were cheaper.

I would check on what they told you about his insurance covering you, though, because I would expect that his insurance would only cover him if he was on holiday/vacation over here and not living as a resident. Of course, I could be wrong and his policy may say in it that it will cover him if he lives abroad because I know a couple of companies in the UK do offer that. In fact, I used to have such a policy because I worked for a cruise line and would stay with my wife and her family between contracts. But I would make sure you read the policy completely just to check.

The DMVs that I went to were Wayne, Toms River, and....I can't actually remember the third as my wife drove me there and I'm still getting my New Jersey geography down. She is out at the moment so when she comes home I will ask her and let you know. The reason that they turned me away was that they told me that they couldn't use the EAD as Primary ID and that they would ONLY accept the Residency/Green Card. I even went back and showed them their points leaflet that I had printed out where it clearly states that they can, however they wouldn't accept it. They aren't the friendliest of people there either, no matter how polite or friendly you are to them. Of course they are wrong and they CAN accept the EAD. I'm going to try again next week so I will let you know.

The above is just my personal experience and knowledge from the processes I've gone through so yours may be different. Different States have different rules and one persons experience in a DMV can vary from another's even in the same State. So, what I'm saying, is that I'm not giving advice but just relaying my personal experiences and what I have been told.

[newacct 688]

Interesting because according to the link, and the online document checker, you shouldn't even need to wait for your EAD to be able to get your license...

So what document from the Primary Documents list do you think they can use?

[Jeannie & Al 18]

So what document from the Primary Documents list do you think they can use?

When I click in the 6pt online document tracker as a non-citizen, I see:

Primary ID - must show 1

4pts - Foreign passport with INS or USCIS verification and valid record of arrival/departure (Form I-94)

Secondary ID - must show

3pts - Marriage certificate

then as an extra item:

1pt - Social Security Card

I did that checklist and it said :

Total Points

Current total points:

8

Your selected documents: * Foreign passport with INS or BCIS verification, and valid record of arrival/departure (Form I-94) * Civil marriage certificate * Social Security card * Checking or savings account statement from the past 60 days Final review - congratulations! Total Points: 8 pts

You have now completed all of the steps necessary to prepare for the MVC’s 6-Point ID Verfication. To ensure that your trip to the MVC goes as smoothly as possible, print this page and bring it, along with your documents, to a Motor Vehicle Agency

Am I missing something or do the first two documents qualify without even having the EAD yet? I'm wondering if we should go and try that before his I-94 doc expires later this month? I feel like I'm missing something lol...

[Boiler 45,525]

When does your I 94 expire?

[Jeannie & Al 18]

Yes you still need the EAD as one of your IDs because the date on your I-94 in your passport could be expired when you actually get your EAD (if it takes 90 days to issue it). There aren't any documents on the Primary ID that you could supply other than a Residency/Green Card. Don't forget - even though you have an I-94 in your passport, it is only valid for the 90 days for you to get married in, and once that date has passed it has, effectively, expired and you are then on your AOS. Some people on Visa Journey have said that they have used their USCIS letters to show that they are authorised by the USCIS/DOHS to be here but, according to the points system/leaflet, that isn't one of their accepted forms.

My wife's father has NJ Manufacturers and that is what her car was insured under, however when we got married it came up for renewal at the same time and obviously she couldn't continue on his policy any more. She shopped around and Geico and NJ Manufacturers were the only 2 companies that told her specifically that they would insure me as well using my UK Driver's Licence. She went with Geico because they were cheaper.

I would check on what they told you about his insurance covering you, though, because I would expect that his insurance would only cover him if he was on holiday/vacation over here and not living as a resident. Of course, I could be wrong and his policy may say in it that it will cover him if he lives abroad because I know a couple of companies in the UK do offer that. In fact, I used to have such a policy because I worked for a cruise line and would stay with my wife and her family between contracts. But I would make sure you read the policy completely just to check.

The DMVs that I went to were Wayne, Toms River, and....I can't actually remember the third as my wife drove me there and I'm still getting my New Jersey geography down. She is out at the moment so when she comes home I will ask her and let you know. The reason that they turned me away was that they told me that they couldn't use the EAD as Primary ID and that they would ONLY accept the Residency/Green Card. I even went back and showed them their points leaflet that I had printed out where it clearly states that they can, however they wouldn't accept it. They aren't the friendliest of people there either, no matter how polite or friendly you are to them. Of course they are wrong and they CAN accept the EAD. I'm going to try again next week so I will let you know.

The above is just my personal experience and knowledge from the processes I've gone through so yours may be different. Different States have different rules and one persons experience in a DMV can vary from another's even in the same State. So, what I'm saying, is that I'm not giving advice but just relaying my personal experiences and what I have been told.

Thank you so much for the info stevie.

I am thinking based on your posts and others I've read, that we may want to go before our EAD arrives and before our I-94 expires (see checklist answer above).

Thanks for the info about the insurance (and to boiler too) - we are going to call his insurance company in the UK to see what exactly he is covered for in such an event...I would love for him to get the license sooner than later and then add him before I have to reup and add the other car if that's possible - especially if we're not really covered for any injury now that he's a resident here...

lol on getting your geography down - you're doing great. Those two offices are pretty far apart - we'll be trying Somerville first and will let you know how that goes...

I realize that we're all just sharing experiences so no worries there. This board was so helpful to me during the K1 process even more helpful than our attorney lol. Good luck with the next venture to DMV.

[Boiler 45,525]

I have never heard of anybody bringing there car over and having there UK policy provide cover. It would certainly be an interesting conversation.

Pretty sure they would tell you to go away.

[Jeannie & Al 18]

When does your I 94 expire?

I think his expires around 11/25 - need to check out his passport but if it's three months after he arrived, it would be 11/25.

I have never heard of anybody bringing there car over and having there UK policy provide cover. It would certainly be an interesting conversation.

Pretty sure they would tell you to go away.

Oh I think I said that wrong - he didn't bring his car over here...he left it there but keeps paying the insurance over there because my insurer here said as long as he has a valid policy over there, he'd be covered for any injury type claim to him. They also said that if he got in an accident here with my car, it's okay that he's not on my insurance because he has some insurance that's still valid in the UK. it sounds odd but it's what they keep telling me....

Just saw you are from Wales. My husband is Welsh too - from not far out of Cardiff. Beautiful country.

[Boiler 45,525]

My Mothers side is from GlynNeath, only half Wesh! (Up the valley from Swansea)

I spent more years in the UK Insurance Industry than I care to remember, I had dealing with the US on my multi national clients.

I would put a lot of money on your US Insurer not having a clue about UK Insurance. None of the US Brokers I dealt with did, had to have a basic understanding of US practices so I could see where they were coming from and translate for my UK clients. It is different in many ways.

Usually if you rely on an I 94 the license will only be issued until the expiry of the document, in this case a few weeks.

I used my EAD so my first license expired after a year, then my 2 year GC, and now I have a normal expiry date.

Still can not renew online!

Edited November 6, 2013 by Boiler

[newacct 688]

Primary ID - must show 1

4pts - Foreign passport with INS or USCIS verification and valid record of arrival/departure (Form I-94)

Right but the I-94 for K-1 expires 90 days after entry. That usually means even if you can get a driver's license, it expires at that time; many states won't even issue a driver's license with that short a validity.

[Muzh 1]

My wife and I wasted some time at the Los Angeles DMV today. Indeed, they won't bother with you if your I-94 has less that 60 days left of the total 90.

So I could better understand the ins and outs of this rule, I asked them specifically where it's codified and they were unable to point to anything specific. They just droned on about the 60 days. I merely wanted to read about what I'd missed and see if there was wiggle room for another method. So my wife and I, plus the DMV probably parted ways with a bit of emnity for the feeling of having mutually wasted time.

So, irony of ironies: until new legislation comes into effect, if you're a "furriner", right after you arrive should you want a California driver's license an immediate appointment with the DMV and get your DL44 filled out ASAP.

In the interim, while we await my wife's AoS outcome, she can tool around LA with her Russian driver's license and international translation/permit. Hubby will sit in the passenger's seat barking out "merge! merge!" and other necessary commands for surviving the LA freeway free-for-all.

[newacct 688]

So, irony of ironies: until new legislation comes into effect, if you're a "furriner", right after you arrive should you want a California driver's license an immediate appointment with the DMV and get your DL44 filled out ASAP.

But for K-1 people, they will have a period of time they cannot drive regardless, because even if they can get a driver's license, it expires when their I-94 expires, which is 90 days after entry. And they cannot get another license until they get their AOS EAD, which they will not have gotten by the time their I-94 expires, because the EAD usually takes 75-90 days, and they can't apply for it until after they marry and get the certified copy of the marriage certificate.