Obtain SSN before card arrives? Needed to obtain CA drivers license within 10 days of CA residency

[WaterLeaf 200]

There are ride share assistance out there if you need it.
Uber, Lyft, Taxi, family, friends, or even a few strangers would help out as needed.

 

Please be safe. Even if you could not get it (SS Card) in time, you don't want the issue and hassle of being in a timeout for inconveniences like jail or so.

 

I've supported my Husband by finding all the sources of help with ride share all I can. Sharing on Facebook asking for help also can come along the way. Just be ready to have back up plan. Where I live at in TN we don't have public transportation so we had to rely on the local to help us out.

[visacats 9]

58 minutes ago, visacats said:

I wasn't asking you to advise me on how to break Cali law. The point of my post is to avoid that - hence my actual question, which is asking if there are ways to obtain the SSN to try to reduce delays in the situation that I'm already in. If you aren't inclined to share, fine.

 

Re: AB60 - there is no inconsistency. As I said, I acknowledge your point that that it would be faster due to the lack of SSN. However, the wider issue appears to remain, as I would still have to take a driving test once I have my AB60 permit, as I currently have a non-US license. And there are no driving test appointments available within the next 14 days in any of the DMVs I can find, or at least none that I can reasonably get to (i.e. 2-3 hours each way) assuming that someone with a full CA license will need to drive with me to get there. So even if I had obtained an AB60 on the day I applied, I would still be in the same boat, i.e. unable to get a CA license within 10 days - although perhaps not for as long.

@Mike E on reflection, my response above was probably a bit terse. Sorry about that.

[Loren Y 2,755]

They will not release the number to you. We went to the SS office the day after my stepson arrived on his FX2 Visa. They had already processed his SS card, and said it was in the mail. They wouldn't give the number though, but it was there. 1 week later it was in the mailbox. I guess it is all automatic now. Came thru LAX, on Nov 09, 2022, shows issue date on SS card as November 10th, so printed the next day.

[top_secret 2,417]

One thing to consider about California law is that nowhere does it say that not getting a California drivers license within 10 days revokes or in any other way invalidates a valid overseas or out of state drivers license.  It is as valid as it ever was until a court or DMV hearing says otherwise.  You are still a legally licensed driver.  What you ARE guilty of, is the fairly trivial administrative infraction of not getting a California drivers license in 10 days.  It means you are late, it doesn't mean you are unlicensed.  Most likely any police officer would not even question it or else just warn you.  If you got a really mean, ill-tempered officer who just didn't like you, he would write you a ticket and send you on your way.  There is no cause or grounds for them to do anything more.  The ticket is not a moving violation, does not go on you driving record, there are no points or any other consequences.  If you just paid the ticket it's probably like $150 fine.  If you showed up at traffic court and showed them you had corrected the situation with a newly acquired California drivers license, they would dismiss the whole thing for like a $20 fee.  It is at most a minor "fix-it ticket".

[Scandi 4,166]

In most DMVs in Los Angeles county you can't even get an appointment for a driving test in 10 days. When I got my license there was a 2 month wait in almost all DMVs, had to drive down to O.C. for an earlier appointment. That said, I drove on my Swedish license for almost a year, I was only stopped twice for a "routine check" and my license wasn't an issue any of those times. As with everything, I guess it depends on who you end up talking to. 

[visacats 9]

9 hours ago, top_secret said:

One thing to consider about California law is that nowhere does it say that not getting a California drivers license within 10 days revokes or in any other way invalidates a valid overseas or out of state drivers license.  It is as valid as it ever was until a court or DMV hearing says otherwise.  You are still a legally licensed driver.  What you ARE guilty of, is the fairly trivial administrative infraction of not getting a California drivers license in 10 days.  It means you are late, it doesn't mean you are unlicensed.  Most likely any police officer would not even question it or else just warn you.  If you got a really mean, ill-tempered officer who just didn't like you, he would write you a ticket and send you on your way.  There is no cause or grounds for them to do anything more.  The ticket is not a moving violation, does not go on you driving record, there are no points or any other consequences.  If you just paid the ticket it's probably like $150 fine.  If you showed up at traffic court and showed them you had corrected the situation with a newly acquired California drivers license, they would dismiss the whole thing for like a $20 fee.  It is at most a minor "fix-it ticket".

So I'm not a lawyer, and I'd like to believe what you've written here, but I don't think what you've said is correct from a reading of the California vehicle code. Not trying to be picky but it is a confusing area and I think it's good for the facts to be out there.

 

My understanding is basically that:

1. You must have a license issued under the California Vehicle Code to drive in California, unless you have an exemption. See 12500(a): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=12500.
2. One exemption to the above is that you are a non-resident of California, holding a valid foreign-issued license. See 12502(a)(1): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=12502.
3. If you are driving in CA on a foreign license under an exemption, such as a non-resident using a foreign license (12502(a)), and you then become a resident, you may continue to operate a motor vehicle in CA under that excemption for a max of 10 days. See 12500(c): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=12505.

So from a legal point of view it seems (unfortunately) pretty clear to me actually. You are exempt from the requirement to have a CA license if you are a non-resident with a valid foreign license. Once you become a resident, that exemption expires after 10 days and my reading of that is your foreign license is thus no longer legally valid in CA.

 

Whether it's practical or sensible law in the scenario we're talking about, or whether it would be likely to be enforced if an individual could demonstrate they had taken all practical steps to obtain the license as quickly as possible, is of course up for debate but won't be solved on here. There is also the question of course as to when a new arrival becomes a resident, but all else equal I think crossing the border on an immigrant visa and travelling to a spouse's abode with the intent of living there will count.

 

I do think it's unreasonable that there isn't some kind of grace period for new arrivals who have other barriers such as SSN and just the lack of DMV availability within 10 days, especially for the drivers test, but so it goes...

[top_secret 2,417]

I'm not saying it is completely legal to drive.  I'm saying it is a very minor infraction with fairly trivial consequences even in the worst case scenario.  12500(a), when the driver is in possession of an otherwise valid licence would be an infraction (ticket) with a maximum penalty of $250 (which would almost certainly be dismissed if the driver corrected the licence situation and showed the court.)  No one is getting arrested, no cars are getting impounded, it's not a moving violation, it doesn't affect your driving record or insurance or anything else. 

 

If there was no evidence the driver EVER had a licence anywhere or there were multiple occurrences then there is a small chance 12500(a) could be charged as a misdemeanor.  Those circumstances don't seem to apply here. 

 

If the driver is driving with a suspended or revoked license that is a whole different charge and that is where it starts getting serious.

Edited August 4, 2023 by top_secret

[visacats 9]

On 8/4/2023 at 10:33 AM, top_secret said:

I'm not saying it is completely legal to drive.  I'm saying it is a very minor infraction with fairly trivial consequences even in the worst case scenario.  12500(a), when the driver is in possession of an otherwise valid licence would be an infraction (ticket) with a maximum penalty of $250 (which would almost certainly be dismissed if the driver corrected the licence situation and showed the court.)  No one is getting arrested, no cars are getting impounded, it's not a moving violation, it doesn't affect your driving record or insurance or anything else. 

 

If there was no evidence the driver EVER had a licence anywhere or there were multiple occurrences then there is a small chance 12500(a) could be charged as a misdemeanor.  Those circumstances don't seem to apply here. 

 

If the driver is driving with a suspended or revoked license that is a whole different charge and that is where it starts getting serious.

 

Understood, thanks for clarifying. And actually as of 1 Jan 2023 it appears it's now $100 for the first infraction, if I am interpreting this correctly: 

 

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=40000.10.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, my intention remains to comply with CA law, but I've found this thread very useful and I appreciate the contributions from everyone.