Local Driver's licence while on K1 with AOS pending

[Arinlars 19]

in WA you can get a driver's licence but do the whole procedure as if you are applying one for the first time unless you are from South Korea or Germany.

[Harsh_77 716]

My husband just made a good point. Think about it, if I enter the US in NYC and then fly to Washington and then to CA. My first point of entry is NY but that does not make me the resident of that or any other of the three states, because entering the country is a federal thing and not specific to any state.

This law is specifically based on getting benefits or voting (which obviously I cannot do at the moment), getting into a country is not a benefit, geting K1 approved is but is not state specific.

We went on the road trip for our honeymoon recently and the person whose car I was driving called the insurance company to ask if it would be okay if I was driving (I have a foreign valid licence and obviously my name was not on the insurance), they confirmed that it is fine.

If you are driving a rental car that does not have you or your spouse listed on the insurance than you can be liable for the damage if there was accident, insurance will not cover it.

Insurance will only cover the person and their spouse whose name is on the insurance card.

[newacct 688]

Is there any way you can get an international driver's license? I don't know about CA but in IN it is valid for 1 year which should give you enough time to get your documents proving that you are a resident

Valid foreign and out of state driver's licenses are already valid in California, given that the person is visiting. An "international driver's license" has no effect in California. But once you become a resident of California, you need to get a California driver's license in 10 days.

[Boiler 43,676]

It is not a license, its a permit, just a translation.

[ppihtr123 68]

If you are driving a rental car that does not have you or your spouse listed on the insurance than you can be liable for the damage if there was accident, insurance will not cover it.

Insurance will only cover the person and their spouse whose name is on the insurance card.

Not true. You can lend your insured car to a friend that is licensed but has no insurance and if there is an accident, it goes on your insurance. Rentals are a whole other matter.

[Boiler 43,676]

He was talking about rental cars.

[Teya 4]

Hey there

This is really simple...apply for your EAD and when you get it, use it to get your CA drivers license.

I did apply for my EAD together with the AOS, however, it should arrive in the mail right before New Year and I'm thining of what to do till then. For now I can use my Lithuanian licence as I'm not a resident, but in 2 weeks I'll become one by renting a place and putting my name on the lease, so the question is more like is there anything I could do between becoming a resident and getting the EAD which is a good couple months if I'm lucky.

[Teya 4]

If you are driving a rental car that does not have you or your spouse listed on the insurance than you can be liable for the damage if there was accident, insurance will not cover it.

Insurance will only cover the person and their spouse whose name is on the insurance card.

As far as that goes, the car is not rental and after double checking with the insurance company a couple hours ago they confirmed that while on K1 and being married (apparently that is important) even though the car does not have neither mine nor my husband's name on the insurance car I would not be liable for the damage done. But thanks for raising this issue, it's a good thing to know these things, they are insurance company and maybe even state specific.

[Teya 4]

Agreed. However, the license will only be valid as long as the EAD is. Additionally, the DMV will require a SSN with the name matching your EAD. My wife until she got her GC to get her license (the EAD/AP card arrived the day before our GC interview). The EAD or GC will be needed to shoe you are a legal permanent resident.

Yeah, name matching is not an issue and this is exactly why I did not change my name after marriage to avoid things like that. Thanks for the info!

[fancygirl 1]

In Colorado when you get the letter that you are AOS you can use that to obtain your drivers licence. It means you are legally here in the US.

[Teya 4]

in WA you can get a driver's licence but do the whole procedure as if you are applying one for the first time unless you are from South Korea or Germany.

Now this is interesting, and what if you are from South Korea or Germany?

[Brit Abroad 166]

Did you ask if you can apply for a permit, rather than a license, and whether you can drive unsupervised on it because you have a current foreign licence that states you have passed a test?

There is a recent question of this same issue - http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/449841-temporary-driver-license-in-ca/ Hope it helps!

[Teya 4]

In Colorado when you get the letter that you are AOS you can use that to obtain your drivers licence. It means you are legally here in the US.

I wish this was true for California, but they will only issue you a licence for a period while you are here legally. Once you apply for the AOS the DMV has no idea of whether you'll be approved or denied and when the USCIS will decide. Since there is no date they can get you the licence for, they just don't I wonder how they go around this issue in Colorado, though. How long is the licence valid for then?

[Arinlars 19]

Then you just trade it and pay an amount as if you lost or renew your drivers license.

[Boiler 43,676]

Colorado requires EAD and will issue until EAD expiry.