AB60 and California drivers license

[Boiler 43,539]

I thought CA was pretty clear about what you can get as a DL, ID I have no idea.

[JJtheJetPlane 2]

My wife got an AB60 license in CA. She came here on a K1 visa. The people at the dmv were very friendly and helpful. I just told them she wanted an AB60 license and did all the paperwork normally. She just got her EAD so we're going to try to convert it to a regular licenses. I don't think we will have any issues but we will see. 

[Biffa 89]

Update: So I went to the DMV with all of my paperwork, i94, visa, ssn, proof of addresss. All to be told I am not eligible for a drivers license or a real id because I don’t have more than 60 days on my k1 “so the computer automatically denies it”. 

 

So there we go. Maybe I’ll give the AB60 a go after all, another day. 

[JJtheJetPlane 2]

16 minutes ago, Biffa said:

Update: So I went to the DMV with all of my paperwork, i94, visa, ssn, proof of addresss. All to be told I am not eligible for a drivers license or a real id because I don’t have more than 60 days on my k1 “so the computer automatically denies it”. 

 

So there we go. Maybe I’ll give the AB60 a go after all, another day. 

That's exactly what they told us and I just said ok give her a AB60!

[Biffa 89]

10 minutes ago, JJtheJetPlane said:

That's exactly what they told us and I just said ok give her a AB60!

Thank god someone else has gone through it. Perhaps the other commenters on the thread did when the rules were different. When you asked for the AB60 did they put up a fight? What did you have to provide for the AB60? I feel that once they know you’re here “legally” they might put up a fight. 

[Boiler 43,539]

I can not say I have seen everybody who has posted and went this route, but all the ones I have seen had no issue.

[Biffa 89]

6 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I can not say I have seen everybody who has posted and went this route, but all the ones I have seen had no issue.

What do you mean? I just went the route everyone suggested and it doesn’t work. 

[Boiler 43,539]

5 minutes ago, Biffa said:

What do you mean? I just went the route everyone suggested and it doesn’t work. 

Everyone?

 

You did not qualify for a Regular DL, you do for an AB 60.

[Scott001 119]

I haven't lived in CA for about 15 years. So my memory is a little fuzzy.

 

Whine I was living there you didn't need a DL to register a car or have insurance. Any type of official ID and proof of residency (utility bill, rental agreement, etc.) was good enough.  I believe this is because a DL is not a requirement for owning a car. But the still needs to be registered. Owning a car does not mean you're the one driving it. 

 

Same was true for insurance since it was/is a requirement for registering a car. Of course you would have to pay a lot more $$$ because the plan would cover any driver with a valid licence.

 

As far as obtaining a gold star ID/DL I don't know. 

 

Again I've been out of CA for a long time and don't plan on living there again.  

[redvines 57]

I am from Australia and kind of going through this (I am going through this with a SSN and green card as I came here on CR1) .

 

First, figure out if you are going to have to take the exam and a practical test to get your AB60 licence, if you have to take a practical test you can do it by appointment only - at my local appointment centre the current wait time is about 3 months out and multiple centres near me have no appointments available at all. Plus you need to have a licenced california driver at your test, so you also need to find a time that fits in with two work schedules etc.

 

Second, in California you can legally drive on a foreign licence as long as it is valid. They say you must get a California licence within 10 days on their website if you are a California resident, but that is physically impossible given it takes months to get an appointment https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/hdbk/ca_dl

 

I was able to register my car, for insurance reasons though I put it in both my and my wife's name and she added the car and me as an additional driver to her policy. I was able to use my car registration documents as proof of address, as well as a phone bill and a health insurance bill. 

 

[Fr8dog 312]

Here is how it was explained to me recently. Caution, this was explained to me by people that work with VIRGINIA STATE POLICE AND VA DMV.

You are allowed to drive on your foreign license while visiting the country. When you are a resident of a state you are required to get a DL from that state.

Half of them stated, you are living in the state therefor you are a resident and therefor you need a state license. The fact you don't qualify for that is not our problem, resulting in you are not able to drive.

The other half went this route. You are not able to get a license since you can't proof your a resident of the state. If you can't proof you are a resident, you are not and therefor you are visiting and can drive on your foreign license.

 

There were also some insurance people at this party and things got really interesting at that point. In the end they all agreed that the K-1 is a small problem that nobody really knows how to deal with but the numbers are not big enough to make it an issue that is going to get solved soon.

 

The CA AB60 license does solve this problem however you cannot travel with it. If you do go out of state with it you really need other proof of legal presence on you.

 

[Biffa 89]

56 minutes ago, redvines said:

I am from Australia and kind of going through this (I am going through this with a SSN and green card as I came here on CR1) .

 

First, figure out if you are going to have to take the exam and a practical test to get your AB60 licence, if you have to take a practical test you can do it by appointment only - at my local appointment centre the current wait time is about 3 months out and multiple centres near me have no appointments available at all. Plus you need to have a licenced california driver at your test, so you also need to find a time that fits in with two work schedules etc.

 

Second, in California you can legally drive on a foreign licence as long as it is valid. They say you must get a California licence within 10 days on their website if you are a California resident, but that is physically impossible given it takes months to get an appointment https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/hdbk/ca_dl

 

I was able to register my car, for insurance reasons though I put it in both my and my wife's name and she added the car and me as an additional driver to her policy. I was able to use my car registration documents as proof of address, as well as a phone bill and a health insurance bill. 

 

Seriously 3 months? God. 

[Biffa 89]

23 minutes ago, Fr8dog said:

Here is how it was explained to me recently. Caution, this was explained to me by people that work with VIRGINIA STATE POLICE AND VA DMV.

You are allowed to drive on your foreign license while visiting the country. When you are a resident of a state you are required to get a DL from that state.

Half of them stated, you are living in the state therefor you are a resident and therefor you need a state license. The fact you don't qualify for that is not our problem, resulting in you are not able to drive.

The other half went this route. You are not able to get a license since you can't proof your a resident of the state. If you can't proof you are a resident, you are not and therefor you are visiting and can drive on your foreign license.

 

There were also some insurance people at this party and things got really interesting at that point. In the end they all agreed that the K-1 is a small problem that nobody really knows how to deal with but the numbers are not big enough to make it an issue that is going to get solved soon.

 

The CA AB60 license does solve this problem however you cannot travel with it. If you do go out of state with it you really need other proof of legal presence on you.

 

Thanks for the input. Seriously feels like you get punished for following the rules!

[stacyt 209]

I've moved to CA on K-1. I was able to get a bank account, get myself added to PG&E bills, get me on the lease, and Kaiser insurance even though the only thing I had was my marriage license (I was late to apply for SSN).

Tried to get AB60 from 2 different DMV's about 2 months into the EAD application, they said I'm better off waiting for EAD because AB60 takes about 6 mo to go through all the security checks and I can't cancel it, so if I know I'll have my EAD before that I better wait and apply via normal process.

 

In your case, I'd recommend getting more proofs of residence and applying normally, you should be able to do that.

 

Hope it helps!

[Loren Y 2,732]

You can't drive on just a real ID, you need a valid operators license, or DL. The real ID is just a gold star on your license that shows you proved residency, it does not mean you are here legally? Love to know where a real ID proves immigration status? California along with most other states requires you to prove your current immigration status via I94, green card, EAD. If not you get the AB60 license that they will give to anyone with a pulse, but expect higher insurance rates to go along with that license. You can get a license valid until your I94 expires, but by the time you pass the written test and get the driving test done your I94 is going to be expired anyway, things are not very fast at the DMV in California. 

Also, driving as a tourist on a immigrant Visa is not advised, you can pull it off for a month or so, but everyone thinks you can drive on your passport for 6 months or something as a tourist, you are not a tourist, you came to live here. So don't believe that, you are a intending immigrant, not a tourist.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Loren Y