Question about Driver License for Spouse

[sashitaski 3]

I read on the NYS DMV site that you must get a NYS license within 30 days of becoming a NYS resident. When does an immigrant formally become a state resident? We are doing DCF and if all goes well we will be moving to the States in the summer, and my husband should receive his green card in the mail soon after crossing the border. Does that mean he has 30 days from the time he receives the green card in order to get his license (before that he can use the license from his own country, like all non-immigrants can)?

[Mononoke28 134]

You need to call the NYS DMV office to find out more about it since all states handle things differently. We were told the same thing in Colorado and on top of that they didn't accept my husband's Colombian DL. What we had to do was wait for his green card to arrive in the mail, which took about 7 weeks, and then take that with his social security card to the DMV office to get his learner's permit and then eventually his driver's license. So call your local DMV office to find out if he can use his country's DL in the state of NY while he gets his green card in the mail.

Diana

[sashitaski 3]

You need to call the NYS DMV office to find out more about it since all states handle things differently. We were told the same thing in Colorado and on top of that they didn't accept my husband's Colombian DL. What we had to do was wait for his green card to arrive in the mail, which took about 7 weeks, and then take that with his social security card to the DMV office to get his learner's permit and then eventually his driver's license. So call your local DMV office to find out if he can use his country's DL in the state of NY while he gets his green card in the mail.

Diana

Thanks, Diana! I will do that.

Alexandra