Learner's Permit v. I-94

[Chris_B 9]

So my husband has his permit and has started driver's education. He called to find out why his permit expires so early. Turns out the permit expires when his I-94 does. SOOOOOOOO what now? Does this mean he can't do the driving portion with the teacher and get his license until he gets his green card? I'm so irritated. The class is already paid for.

Christina

[h13rma 35]

Its different in every state but I was able to get mine when I got an EAD and SSN.

[Chris_B 9]

Ok. We're in MD. Calling the MVA is fruitless. But I guess calling around is the best bet to figure it out.

[Hypnos 6,578]

He will need his EAD or green card, yes, although in Maryland might be able to obtain a non-federal-compliant licence until he has either of those.

http://www.mva.maryland.gov/Driver-Services/Apply/international-applicants.htm

Edited January 24, 2014 by Hypnos

[Chris_B 9]

Thanks for the help. I think waiting is my only option. The permit expires regardless of what choice I make in the beginning of February and VJ predicts his EAD will be adjudicated in Mid-March. I'll have to work something out with the driving school in the mean time. I just wish that the MVA would have let us know of our options before we went through the whole rigmarole of getting the permit and starting driver's ed. Thanks for the advice.

[van1234essa 11]

I think this is one of the cases where people aren't trained or know what they are doing. I got my permit with my I-94, passport and ssn. No ead needed and the permit doesn't expire till 2015. So maybe it's worth a shot to go back to the DMV and ask if it's correct that the permit expires so soon.

I mean who gets a permit that expires in 3 months or less anyways? Makes no sense.

Good luck!

[therealspalover 0]

This happened to my daughter in AZ. We had to go back in the day before the driver's permit expired and ask for a manager to do a six month "courtesy" extension. That should work.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

~ Moved from AOS from Family Based Visas to Moving Here and Your New Life in America - topic about getting DL, not AOS process ~

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I think this is one of the cases where people aren't trained or know what they are doing. I got my permit with my I-94, passport and ssn. No ead needed and the permit doesn't expire till 2015. So maybe it's worth a shot to go back to the DMV and ask if it's correct that the permit expires so soon.

I mean who gets a permit that expires in 3 months or less anyways? Makes no sense.

Good luck!

You are in NY, not Maryland. Each state has different rules.

[Warren and Vivian 10]

Thanks for the help. I think waiting is my only option. The permit expires regardless of what choice I make in the beginning of February and VJ predicts his EAD will be adjudicated in Mid-March. I'll have to work something out with the driving school in the mean time. I just wish that the MVA would have let us know of our options before we went through the whole rigmarole of getting the permit and starting driver's ed. Thanks for the advice.

Tell me about it. We live in Maryland and the same thing happened to us. They didn't tell us my wife's learner's permit expired 3 weeks after it was issued. Now she has to take the test and pay another $50 to get a new permit. We are going next weekend and I'm going to see where on the screen it says her permit expires. I got an a discussion with the manager and she said it's on the screen when they ask us to verify her infomtion. I'm just trying to see if we can get the payment waived.

[LadyPiret 6]

Hey guys, I just got my driver's permit and thought I might share some experience.

I live in Washington state, I don't have a GC yet, my EAD arrived today. To take a knowledge test I just had to show my ID (a passport in my case) and a confirmation number (here in WA you have to apply online and fill out the application with your data, then you get a confirmation number, so the person checking your knowledge test's answers can update it online - also, I already use my husband's last name and if someone asks, I just show my marriage certificate). I passed the test, my score was updated online and then my husband drove me to the closest DOL. I explained I am a legal alien, showed my passport with a visa (my I-94 is expired, but they didn't even ask), my SSN card, my marriage certificate. I also took all the official papers from USCIS with me, and I decided to show that one about my GC interview, which was scheduled for this month. I was told I needed 4 documents proving my residence, I had more than 4. So the lady collected my data, I signed a paper, had a picture taken and I received my (for now) paper permit, the actual plastic card is going to be here in about a week. My permit is valid for 1 year. The fee was $25 for the permit itself and $25 for the knowledge test.

BTW, I think this may be useful for people with I-485 pending: I read one's attorney answer about expired I-94 and I-485. As long as we came here legally (so for example on K-1 visa) and we filed for AOS and our I-485 is pending, it gives us "a period of authorized stay". There is no special document, apart from the I-485 receipt notice, that reflects a person's right to remain lawfully in the U.S. while the I-485 application is pending.

Hope this time I found a right topic to share my experience lol

Edited February 6, 2014 by LadyPiret