Getting a California Driver's License, Final Word

[khrfx4 16]

This is our RECENT experience from a K1 Fiance point of view.

 

First of all, DO NOT bother with trying to drive until you have a driving permit or learner’s permit which you should get ASAP upon arriving in the country.  You DO NOT have to be married to get this or have a Social Security Card.  All you need is a passport and it wouldn’t hurt to bring a translated copy of a birth certificate if you have one, but I don’t remember needing this.  What you do need to be aware of is that the permit will expire when your I-94 expires which is 90 days from entering the US for a K1 Visa.  If you find you need more time to pass the written and behind-the-wheel tests then you will need to apply for a permit and/or license under the new AB60 law.

 

The AB60 law allows any UNDOCUMENTED person to get a driver’s license (LEGAL PRESENCE IS NOT REQUIRED).  The reason you may want to consider this is because everyone will have a certain amount of time in which they are in a gray area of “Legal Presence”.  That is the time between when the I-94 expires and when you are issued your Green Card.  Of course, when your I-94 expires you better have gotten married and filed for Adjustment of Status (AOS) for those on a K1 Visa.  Once you have your Green Card then go back to DMV and apply to convert your AB60 license to a normal license.

 

AB60 License - Go here and scroll down a bit to learn about the AB60 Law

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/newsrel/newsrel16/2016_01

 

AB60 Limits – it is important to know the limits of an AB60 License

https://www.aclunc.org/our-work/know-your-rights/california-ab-60-drivers-licenses

 

Once you have passed the written and behind-the-wheel test and you have your Green Card you can apply for a NORMAL License.  The people at local offices really don’t know what goes on at the Legal Presence Unit in Sacramento; they only know what they are told.  Many of them will tell you it takes months to get your license because the Legal Presence Unit has to verify your legal presence in the US with immigration and Social Security.  This is probably true, but it does not take months.  Some people can and have waited and have luckily gotten their license in a reasonable time-frame.  However, many people wait and wait and never see a license.  We waited 3 months before making our first call and we had to call twice.  We had to wait two months after the first call before calling again and then my wife got her license in 10 business days.  My advice is to not wait longer than ONE month maybe TWO months at the most before making your first and hopefully last call.

 

BTW, this was a big surprise.  We were told by the local office when we got the normal license that the expiration would be the same as our 2-year green card which made sense.  That was not the case.  My wife’s Green Card expires in July 2018, but the regular Driver’s License she got expires on her birthday near the end of 2020.  This is great news because it means we won’t have to deal with the gray period of legal presence between when her 2-year card expires and when she gets her 10-year card.

 

The Legal Presence Unit at DMV in Sacramento has a voice mail system that you can usually get into, but sometimes it is too busy and you will be told to call back…DO NOT give up, keep calling.  It has a feature that allows you to press “1” and then you can hang up and they will call you back preserving your place in line.  You are given this option a couple of minutes after being on hold.  This worked every time for us.  Once it took 50 minutes, but the last time it took about 15 minutes. 

 

CAUTION:  They will only talk with the person who the license is for.  They are uncompromising on this issue.  If they can tell you are on speaker they will tell you to take it off speaker so be quiet and type the answers for your spouse on a computer screen if she or he needs help.  If your spouse cannot speak or read English then DMV has interpreters for just about every language.  I guess you will have to ask Legal Presence how to arrange for this.

 

They have several numbers, but this is the one we called and it worked fine:

 

916-657-7445         VOICE MAIL

 

They will ask you to send them a scanned copy of your Green Card or other Legal Presence document and your Social Security Card.  They will ask you to put your phone number, driver’s license number and ATTN: to whomever you talked with on the page you fax them.  They gave us the following fax number and it worked fine using a free internet fax service.

 

916-657-6419     FAX

 

An alternate way to get your license more quickly might be to send a copy of your Legal Presence document or Green Card and Social Security Card to them via mail.  I have not verified this works, but someone else on a great forum I found did this and it worked for them.  I would do this soon after your temporary NORMAL paper license is issued by your local DMV office.  It’s certainly worth a shot.

 

Address:

 

Licensing Operations Divisions
Legal Presence Verification Unit.
Building West MS G204
Sacramento, CA 95818

 

There is a common perception that the Legal Presence department is overwhelmed, but somehow I think they just sit on many of these and hope no one ever calls.  We have a saying in English:

 

“The squeaky wheel gets oiled first”.  It’s not about being loud or rude; it’s about being polite and persistent.

 

Edited January 26, 2017 by khrfx4

[ShanghaiSurfer 135]

Thank you this is very helpful and detailed. Appreciate it.

 

i didn't understand the first part when you said Don't bother driving until you have drivers or learning permit. Can you explain your meaning. 

[khrfx4 16]

5 hours ago, ShanghaiSurfer said:

i didn't understand the first part when you said Don't bother driving until you have drivers or learning permit. Can you explain your meaning. 

 

Yeah, that was probably a mis-statement.

 

Can you drive with a foreign license, yes you can…for a certain period of time.  You will need a good amount of time to help your fiancé learn to drive in the US where the driving is on the right-hand side or they come from a country where the driving is like the Wild West or both.  However, if your fiancé already comes from a well behaved right-hand drive country and is a good driver then you are in great shape to start studying for the written and behind-the-wheel tests and have that over with fairly quickly.  So driving on a foreign license while learning may never be a problem.

 

If you look at it from the point of view that it is legal for a certain time period to drive on a foreign license, then I guess it's OK as long as any cop who may stop you for some infraction agrees.  I just thought it was much better to get the Learner’s Permit so there was no question she was legal to drive throughout the entire time she was learning.

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by khrfx4

[databit 328]

A few more important things: the car that you bring to take the behind-the-wheel test must be currently insured with proof of the coverage; the car's registration must be current; and all the parts of the car must be in working order (no broken taillights, horn, windshield wipers, etc.). And you CANNOT be the one who drives the car to the test--unless you have a learner's permit and are accompanied by a licensed driver. Otherwise, someone must drive you there.

 

If any of these things are wrong, they will not allow you to take the test, AND you will get a ticket!

[ShanghaiSurfer 135]

20 hours ago, khrfx4 said:

 

Yeah, that was probably a mis-statement.

 

Can you drive with a foreign license, yes you can…for a certain period of time.  You will need a good amount of time to help your fiancé learn to drive in the US where the driving is on the right-hand side or they come from a country where the driving is like the Wild West or both.  However, if your fiancé already comes from a well behaved right-hand drive country and is a good driver then you are in great shape to start studying for the written and behind-the-wheel tests and have that over with fairly quickly.  So driving on a foreign license while learning may never be a problem.

 

If you look at it from the point of view that it is legal for a certain time period to drive on a foreign license, then I guess it's OK as long as any cop who may stop you for some infraction agrees.  I just thought it was much better to get the Learner’s Permit so there was no question she was legal to drive throughout the entire time she was learning.

 

My fiancé is from China so even though they drive on same side as USA your Wild Wild West description is fitting. Will take your advice then on learning permit even though she has a Chinese drivers license. Thanks again.

[khrfx4 16]

1 hour ago, ShanghaiSurfer said:

My fiancé is from China so even though they drive on same side as USA your Wild Wild West description is fitting. Will take your advice then on learning permit even though she has a Chinese drivers license. Thanks again.

My Fiance and myself, since I lived there for 6 1/2 years, came from a country with the 2nd worst fatality record in the world...and left-hand drive...THAILAND. We had some bad habits to break, plus they had no 2-way or 4-way stops so that was new for her.  The police only stopped people for speeding at roadside checkpoints, virtually no other laws were enforced.

[khrfx4 16]

2 hours ago, ShanghaiSurfer said:

My fiancé is from China so even though they drive on same side as USA your Wild Wild West description is fitting. Will take your advice then on learning permit even though she has a Chinese drivers license. Thanks again.

BTW, if you do get a Learner's Permit it will expire on the day your Fiance's I-94 expires.  That is as long as they can authorize it for since her legal presence expires at that time.  If you want to extend it then you will have to apply under the AB60 program.  If you do this then the Learner's Permit will be good for 1 year.

[ShanghaiSurfer 135]

11 hours ago, khrfx4 said:

My Fiance and myself, since I lived there for 6 1/2 years, came from a country with the 2nd worst fatality record in the world...and left-hand drive...THAILAND. We had some bad habits to break, plus they had no 2-way or 4-way stops so that was new for her.  The police only stopped people for speeding at roadside checkpoints, virtually no other laws were enforced.

I used to work in Thailand on and off so know exactly what you mean. China has much better roads than America. Unfortunately it doesn't make up for the bad driving. Lane markers are just "suggestions". Although the police do crackdowns for small periods of time. I've found the lack of fear of dying on roads to be amazing in both Thailand and in China.