Hey folks,

It's been 3 weeks that I entered the US on my K1 fiance visa. I already applied for and got my Social Security Number (SSN), but the REAL problems I'm facing are at the DPS in Texas. They won't issue me a drivers license, because my I-94 is only valid until August 31. As to their regulations, the I-94 has to have a validity of at least one year, with a remaining validity of six months. Since the K1 is only valid for 3 months, I have no chance to get a Texas DL.

Has anyone here applied for a Texas DL lately, while being on the K1 visa ? If so, was it issued ? I really need help on this, because I just bought a car and the insurance requires me to get a Texas DL within 45 days.

Thanks -
Daniel

It is not just Texas

Georgia is like this too. My husband had to have his EAD *in hand* or have his green card *in hand* before they would allow him to take the test and the physical driving test. Sounds like the only thing you can do is wait on the EAD. We were K1 too.

Problem is that most states require evidence of legal presence, that us for K-1 the I-94 card, but since the card expires 90 days after entry, many states either will issue a DL or permit that expires the same time as the I-94, or they wont issue a DL at all.

NY wont issue a DL unless you have an I-94 that is valid for more than a year, like K-3, or if you have EAD or Green-card.

same in Oklahoma. fortunately I could drive around using my Canadian DL until I had my GC in hand.

Correct, most states will allow the use of foreign driver's license until you are considered to be a US resident (Green-card holder), at that time you can apply for a state driver's license.

Would have been nice if Georgia had allowed Joel the opportunity to do that. He was given 30 days on his Cdn license.

Texas requires a visa that is at least 1 year long to get a DL. The good news is that Texas allows for recirprocal agreements with many countries which allows you to use your foreign DL. http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readta...ch=15&rl=91

We went through this last year. It's very frustrating I know!

ETA: The EAD works also since it is good for one year.

What would have happened had he simply retained the Canuck licence till expiry, and then changed it?

(I ask this because GA Patrol actually allows temp workers to retain foreign DL's for time exceeding 30 days; admittedly, the Provinces all frown on this)

I don't know tbh. The DDS told him that he could obtain an International License to use until he could get a GA DL. That was a huge load of misinformation. They are the ones that said if he were to get caught driving on his Canuck license past 30 days he could be in heap big trouble. The DDS can rank right up there with the USCIS for misinformation. They had to go dig out their manuals regarding immigrant licensing...and the area we live around is very high for immigrants. They really didn't know what to do with us, even with the information printed out from their very own website. GAH!!!! At least it's over though and he has his license.

Sounds like you guys just need to move to less tyrannical states. In Alaska - wife got her learner's permit with her K1 visa and social security number, about 2 weeks after arriving in the US. She had DL in hand about a month after arriving in the US.

To add to Karen's frustration - when I moved to Georgia in 2004 they wouldn't give me a driver's license on my I-94 either - but the same DMV that told Joel he could only drive for 30 days told me it was alright for me to drive on my Canadian license for up to a year or until I received either my EAD or Green Card - and so I did. They did say that the closer it was to the 'year' the more difficult I might find to convince a police officer if I was stopped, so they said to get the Georgia license sooner rather than later. I got it when I got my EAD. I was very surprised, therefore, by Joel's experience. There really is no consistency.

It doth appear that the best way to handle this (assuming "plenty of time" left to expiry of the Canuck licence) is to simply "brasen it out"--keep the Canuck licence and don't visit the DMV/DPS/MVA until you have EAD (or better yet, conditional GC) in hand.

(I actually got away with simply using my AD DL for almost 3 years in the US while I was on TN-1)

You can use your foreign driver's license in Texas, and just look for another insurance company that does not require a TX DL right away. We used to live in TX, and we did all that. We use MET LIFE for car insurance, they didn't mind the foreign DL, didn't charge much of a premium that my husband didn't have a TX DL..I think it was like 10 dollars more a month or something. Their rates are really good. We then got the TX DL when he had his 2 year GC in hand. The DL is good for 10 years.