Osman Ullah

The DMV here in Virginia told my wife that they will give her a license,
but it will only be good until the I-94 expires (october 1). After that
we will need an EAD. Well we didn't apply for an EAD because she doesn't
plan to work and it's another $175 we would have to pay.

Thank goodness she has a canadian license, she is allowed to use that
here. They require she get a license within 60 days but the DMV officer
told us that "there isn't a set rule on when that 60 days starts". So I
think she is going to keep her Canadian license for now...but I am
afraid we might need to get an EAD!

Has anyone else had to deal with this problem?

Thanks,
Osman

User1

Yes, most states link their driver licenses validity to EAD validity. I
don't know why. Both NY and NJ do that and VA as well, apparently.
EAD is required even for volunteer (non paying) jobs for most organizations,
so it's definitely worth getting the EAD for non-work reasons.

"Osman Ullah" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:Gus%c.6757$OZ6.565@okepread06...
    > The DMV here in Virginia told my wife that they will give her a license,
    > but it will only be good until the I-94 expires (october 1). After that
    > we will need an EAD. Well we didn't apply for an EAD because she doesn't
    > plan to work and it's another $175 we would have to pay.
    > Thank goodness she has a canadian license, she is allowed to use that
    > here. They require she get a license within 60 days but the DMV officer
    > told us that "there isn't a set rule on when that 60 days starts". So I
    > think she is going to keep her Canadian license for now...but I am
    > afraid we might need to get an EAD!
    > Has anyone else had to deal with this problem?
    > Thanks,
    > Osman

sdmansour

My husband didn't experience this problem exactly because he came here on a CR-1 visa and got his I-551 stamp as soon as he entered the US. However, we live in VA and remember that he needed a number of different ways to prove that he was a resident of VA and had legal presence (the right to lawfully be in the US). Below is a link to the acceptable documents you can use to show residency and legal presence. Perhaps there will be another option for you from this list.

http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/pdf/dmv141.pdf

It also says on the website:

http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/ci...ligibility.asp

New Residents:

Within 60 days of moving here, you must obtain a Virginia driver's license. However, if hold a commercial driver's license (CDL), you must obtain a Virginia CDL within 30 days.

If you hold a valid driver's license issued by a U.S. state, territory, jurisdiction, a Canadian province, France or Germany, you may not be required to take the two-part knowledge exam or the road skills test, but you must pass a vision screening. Canadian or U.S. licenses must be surrendered when you apply for a Virginia driver's license. Be sure to photocopy your out-of-state driver's license before surrendering it -- you may need it for insurance or licensing purposes.


Best of luck getting this worked out!

Julia_sb

Hi Osman,

I am in GA and recently applied for my learner's permit. My 1-94 had expired so the next best thing to know if I am in this country legally is with my EAD card which is valid for 1 year. When they saw my EAD, they do not even need to see anything else. I do not need to work as well but applied EAD because I knew I would need it for DMV and SSN application. HTH.

Julia

Rete

The "why" is obvious. The DMV after 9/11 requires proof of legal right to live and work in the US before issuing a state driver's license. One such proof before the issuance of a green card is an EAD card.

As for the OP, the DMV is not entirely correct. She is deemed a resident of the state once she has migrated to the US and established residency. She did that when she entered with a K-1 and married you. If she did not enter with a K-1 her residency would have started the day she applied for adjustment of status and became in status as a pending resident.

Just Jenney

Yes, we had that problem when trying to apply for Mark's VA drivers license last year.

At the time, we *thought* he had all the required documents. We had:

1) Unexpired foreign passport with expired 1-94 (primary document);
2) Certified copy of our Virginia marriage certificate (secondary document);
3) Unexpired foreign passport with an expired K1 visa and valid I-94 (proof of legal presence);
4) Utility bill in Mark's name (proof of VA residence)
5) Social Security card

The problem we had was with #3 -- unexpired foreign passport with an expired K1 visa and valid I-94. It sounds stupid now, but the "valid I-94" part threw us off -- if it had said "unexpired I-94" it would've been clearer to us. A case of semantics, but he was turned away nonetheless.

Looking at the other documents Mark could've used to prove his legal presence, the only ones that he would eventually obtain would be an EAD or an I-551 stamp and/or green card. Mark got his EAD a few months later and finally got his license. For several months there I did all the driving, just to be on the safe side.

So, your wife doesn't HAVE to get an EAD if she doesn't want to. But in order to get a VA drivers license, she'll need to have another required document to prove her legal presence. She could always wait until she is approved for AOS, but that could be a while.

~ Jenney

ps. Sdmansour, I never realized that you also live in Richmond -- we're neighbors!

GoodGirl_J

I had a similar problem in Colorado. Althouhg I had my temporary EAD at that time, they wanted to give me a driver's licence valid only for the duration of the EAD, which was 3 months. My lawyer told me to take my Notice of Action for I-485 for (Application to Register Permanent Residency) with me. So I went to the driver's licence office again, showed them my NOE, they spent some time on the phone and then gave me a lincence good for "the expected duration of the AOS process..." which they estimated for 6 months.
That was back in February....my licence expires next week. And my AOS process is all done and I have a 2 year green card, so I suppose I'll get a licence that is good for 2 years now.

Hope this helps.

Bluegrass Lass

Only 2 years in CO? Our licenses are good for 4 yrs in KY. I guess that means that you think they'll set the expiration date to the date that your I-551 expires? That truly sucks.

I know here in KY, my hubby could have gotten his license by now but it would have expired the same day as his I-94. We finally got his EAD in August, but he still doesn't have his license because KY requires him to take the written & road test, plus we had to drive to the regional DMV office (1.5 hr drive) to get a letter saying that he was eligible to get a license. And, living in a small county, you have to make an appointment weeks in advance to even take the road test. <sigh> Can't wait til he has his..

L D Jones

sunflwrgrl13 wrote:

    >>I had a similar problem in Colorado. Althouhg I had my temporary EAD
    >>at that time, they wanted to give me a driver's licence valid only for
    >>the duration of the EAD, which was 3 months. My lawyer told me to
    >>take my Notice of Action for I-485 for (Application to Register
    >>Permanent Residency) with me. So I went to the driver's licence
    >>office again, showed them my NOE, they spent some time on the phone
    >>and then gave me a lincence good for "the expected duration of the AOS
    >>process..." which they estimated for 6 months.
    >>That was back in February....my licence expires next week. And my AOS
    >>process is all done and I have a 2 year green card, so I suppose I'll
    >>get a licence that is good for 2 years now.
    >>Hope this helps.
    >
    >
    > Only 2 years in CO? Our licenses are good for 4 yrs in KY. I guess that
    > means that you think they'll set the expiration date to the date that
    > your I-551 expires? That truly sucks.

Yes, it does. In NC the DMV gave my wife a license good for 6 years when
she had a conditional GC. I don't think they even looked at the
expiration date on the greencard and I'm sure would not have known that
even if the card expires the status does not (or maybe they do know this
and that's why she received a 6 year license -- though I doubt it)

jemavalon

I think that in VA it ultimately depends on the DMV official that is processing your application, though rules stay clearly the list of the documents one needs to prove the "legal presents" and also that "if you are here temporarily your drivers license will be good only for as long as you are allowed to stay in the US".

Here is my story. We moved from NJ to VA in April 2004, I had NJ DL good till 2007, but obviously I wanted to change to VA DL since we now live here. I was in the "I-751 pending" stage. My conditional GC expired on 6/21/2003, I got a one year extension, but when I went to Cherry Hill office in NJ to get a I-551 stamp for that extension they gave it to me valid till 8/21/2004. Probably it was a mistake but it really helped me...

So in June, 2004, I went to VA DMV in Fairfax county, showed them NJ DL, foreign passport with I-551 valid till 8/21, SS card... They gave DL valid till 8/21/2004 (for less than 3 months!). But then I found out that a co-worker with the exactly same set of documents got a 5-yr DL in Loundon county!! Go figure...

After that my conditions were removed, and a got a "permanent" I-551 stamp good till 8/17/2005, I went to DMV again, and this time asked to speak to superviser, trying to convince her that I'm here "permanently" and this is what I-551 stamp means, etc. etc. No luck. I got new DL good till 8/20/2005 (why 8/20 I don't know -- probably 3 day grace period from DMV . Now I got my 10yr GC in the mail -- and I'm trying to convince myself to go to the DMV for the third time.

Good luck to everyone with DMV!

Julia

Just Jenney

The DMV official who processed your colleague's DL application did his/her job incorrectly. As much as it's an inconvenience for you to have to keep reapplying for new licenses with extended expiration dates, the DMV officials who have worked with you are doing their jobs as they're supposed to. Luckily Virginia license renewals/replacements don't cost very much compared to other states.

~ Jenney

Sfm

jemavalon <member28125@british_expats.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected] om>...
    > > sunflwrgrl13 wrote:
    > >
    > > >>I had a similar problem in Colorado. Althouhg I had my temporary
    > > >>EAD
    > > >>at that time, they wanted to give me a driver's licence valid only
    > > >>for
    > > >>the duration of the EAD, which was 3 months. My lawyer told me to
    > > >>take my Notice of Action for I-485 for (Application to Register
    > > >>Permanent Residency) with me. So I went to the driver's licence
    > > >>office again, showed them my NOE, they spent some time on the phone
    > > >>and then gave me a lincence good for "the expected duration of the
    > > >>AOS
    > > >>process..." which they estimated for 6 months.
    > > >>That was back in February....my licence expires next week. And my
    > > >>AOS
    > > >>process is all done and I have a 2 year green card, so I suppose
    > > >>I'll
    > > >>get a licence that is good for 2 years now.
    > > >>Hope this helps.
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > Only 2 years in CO? Our licenses are good for 4 yrs in KY. I guess
    > > > that
    > > > means that you think they'll set the expiration date to the date
    > > > that
    > > > your I-551 expires? That truly sucks.
    > >
    > > Yes, it does. In NC the DMV gave my wife a license good for 6 years
    > > when
    > > she had a conditional GC. I don't think they even looked at the
    > > expiration date on the greencard and I'm sure would not have known
    > > that
    > > even if the card expires the status does not (or maybe they do know
    > > this
    > > and that's why she received a 6 year license -- though I doubt it)
    >
    > I think that in VA it ultimately depends on the DMV official that is
    > processing your application, though rules stay clearly the list of the
    > documents one needs to prove the "legal presents" and also that "if you
    > are here temporarily your drivers license will be good only for as long
    > as you are allowed to stay in the US".
    >
    > Here is my story. We moved from NJ to VA in April 2004, I had NJ DL
    > good till 2007, but obviously I wanted to change to VA DL since we now
    > live here. I was in the "I-751 pending" stage. My conditional GC
    > expired on 6/21/2003, I got a one year extension, but when I went to
    > Cherry Hill office in NJ to get a I-551 stamp for that extension they
    > gave it to me valid till 8/21/2004. Probably it was a mistake but it
    > really helped me...
    >
    > So in June, 2004, I went to VA DMV in Fairfax county, showed them NJ DL,
    > foreign passport with I-551 valid till 8/21, SS card... They gave DL
    > valid till 8/21/2004 (for less than 3 months!). But then I found out
    > that a co-worker with the exactly same set of documents got a 5-yr DL in
    > Loundon county!! Go figure...
    >
    > After that my conditions were removed, and a got a "permanent" I-551
    > stamp good till 8/17/2005, I went to DMV again, and this time asked to
    > speak to superviser, trying to convince her that I'm here "permanently"
    > and this is what I-551 stamp means, etc. etc. No luck. I got new DL good
    > till 8/20/2005 (why 8/20 I don't know -- probably 3 day grace period
    > from DMV :). Now I got my 10yr GC in the mail -- and I'm trying to
    > convince myself to go to the DMV for the third time.
    >
    > Good luck to everyone with DMV!
    >
    > Julia


I agree that if your wife does not want to work then getting an EAD
would be a big waste of money.

As far as the license thing goes, if the DMV won't issue your wife a
license until she has an EAD, I-551 stamp, or Permanent Residence card
then that is their problem - just have your wife hang on to her
Canadian license until she gets the required docs (I-551
stamp/Permanent Residence card) and then apply for a VA license.

Scotty