Vehicle Questions for newbie to USA

[purem4g1c 113]

Hey guys,

 

Got a few question regarding moving to USA about driving/insurance.

 

1) As I know Canadian drivers license are valid to drive in USA as long as they don't expire right?

2) How about if my US citizen fiance does not drive, but me the beneficiary (canadian) can drive, will I be able to get insurance for my vehicle in USA? Some places I see you need to wait for a EAD which could take months? So what do people do if they can't drive for months and months? Just use public transport? That sounds terrible. lol~

 

3) It would be possible to maybe insure through Canada until you get your EAD and then cancel the insurance in Canada and swap over to USA maybe if this is the case at all?

[Boiler 45,584]

1. Incorrect

 

2. Walk, cycle?

 

3. I seriously doubt it.

[Cryssiekins 976]

You have a year to import your car.  You need a letter of compliance from the manufacturer that you provide to customs, who will give you a form to take to the dmv.  You must have US insurance in place before you can title and register the car at the dmv.

 

I couldn’t get US insurance, so I kept Canadian insurance after verifying it covered me in the US. 

 

Most states should have a reciprocity agreement with your province, meaning you can exchange a provincial license for a state license.  It will take the dmv forever to process it though.  I think I spent about 4 hours there (they made a lot of phone calls).  All I needed was the i94.  No social was needed.  You should do this within 30 days of arriving in the US.

[purem4g1c 113]

Alrighty. Sounds like insurance will be the main pain.  

 

And I take it you can't get insurance until you get EAD right? Even if you don't work?

[Boiler 45,584]

US Drivers Licenses and Insurance are State issues, so what works in one State may not work in another.

[Cryssiekins 976]

2 hours ago, purem4g1c said:

Alrighty. Sounds like insurance will be the main pain.  

 

And I take it you can't get insurance until you get EAD right? Even if you don't work?

For me, insurance was a pain to get bc I had no US driving history, and even a letter of experience from a Canadian insurer was tough to be accepted by a company with a reasonable rate.  You reallllllly have to shop around.

 

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

US Drivers Licenses and Insurance are State issues, so what works in one State may not work in another.

Yes, which is why I said most, and shared my experience with the dmv and insurance.  It IS slightly easier, at least in theory, for Canadians vs any other country though.  Even though I had mild issues, it was nothing compared to the struggle of a friend I met who is from Wales.  She has struggled with dmv stuff and career certification, meanwhile, most items carry over relatively smoothly from Canada (ie I didn’t need to do anything special for work as they accepted my degree and provincial license as an equivalent).  

 

@purem4g1c Another thought: most credit scores do not carry over.  The exception I believe is Amex, but I did not have one of those cards.  My score and history from tu/equifax/experian all needed to be rebuilt from nothing (no one told me

this and I didn’t think about it).  A US based capital one card with a small limit is usually easy to obtain once you have a job.  So in the 2 years I’ve had my own credit cards, I’m back up in a great credit range.

[purem4g1c 113]

21 minutes ago, Cryssiekins said:

For me, insurance was a pain to get bc I had no US driving history, and even a letter of experience from a Canadian insurer was tough to be accepted by a company with a reasonable rate.  You reallllllly have to shop around.

 

Yes, which is why I said most, and shared my experience with the dmv and insurance.  It IS slightly easier, at least in theory, for Canadians vs any other country though.  Even though I had mild issues, it was nothing compared to the struggle of a friend I met who is from Wales.  She has struggled with dmv stuff and career certification, meanwhile, most items carry over relatively smoothly from Canada (ie I didn’t need to do anything special for work as they accepted my degree and provincial license as an equivalent).  

 

@purem4g1c Another thought: most credit scores do not carry over.  The exception I believe is Amex, but I did not have one of those cards.  My score and history from tu/equifax/experian all needed to be rebuilt from nothing (no one told me

this and I didn’t think about it).  A US based capital one card with a small limit is usually easy to obtain once you have a job.  So in the 2 years I’ve had my own credit cards, I’m back up in a great credit range.

Thanks for the tips. I guess I will be spending a lot of time in NY then until I get my EAD (fiance's currently lives in NY) But we wanted to move to Florida, but we can put that off for the time being. xD