California Driver License J1 Visa
Sourn Sanneh
I'm planning to attend a Californian university as a visiting scholar (not paid by the university) on a J-1 visa, for a total of four weeks; a colleague of mine will do the same, but for 12 weeks. I've been told (personally, ie. no citable sources) that, if you're staying on a J-1, you're effectively a California resident for the time you're there, and, therefore, need a Californian driver's license.
If you are a visitor in California over 18 and have a valid driver license from your home state or country, you may drive in this state without getting a California driver license as long as your home state license remains valid.
If you become a California resident, you must get a California driver license within 10 days. Residency is established by voting in a California election, paying resident tuition, filing for a homeowner's property tax exemption, or any other privilege or benefit not ordinarily extended to nonresidents.
The line between resident and nonresident for California driving purposes is murky. As you have read, certain actions mean you are probably a resident, but this is not a complete list, so just because you have done none of those things doesn't mean you are a nonresident.
J-1 is an exchange visitor category. By definition, you are a visitor to the United States and a nonresident of the United States. Therefore, you may drive with a valid, unexpired license from your home country for the duration of your J-1 program.
If your license does not contain your biographic information in English (so a U.S. law enforcement officer can read it), you should get a translation to keep with your physical license. The translation can be in the form of an International Driving Permit (IDP) or may be an alternate format. The translator should attest that he/she is competent to translate from the other language to English, and that the translation is correct to the best of his/her ability.
Any Californian who can prove their current legal presence in the United States (U.S.) with one of the accepted identity documents (original or certified copy) is eligible to receive a REAL ID driver license or identification (DL/ID) card. This includes all U.S. citizens, permanent residents who are not U.S. citizens (Green Card holders), and those with temporary legal status, such as recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and holders of a valid student or employment visa. For Californians with temporary legal status, their REAL ID DL/ID card will expire on the same date as their U.S. legal presence document, and they can receive a new card with a documented extension of their legal status.
If the name of your identity document is different from your current name, you must bring a document with the new name. Check the REAL ID Document Checklist for a full list of acceptable certified legal documents supporting a name change.
Yes, DACA recipients are eligible to receive a REAL ID DL/ID card if their legal presence documents are current. The REAL ID DL/ID card will expire on the same date as their U.S. legal presence document. When it is time to renew, DMV will send a renewal notice to the address on file requesting an updated DHS extension information/document. The applicant should visit a field office and present their documents if they want to retain their REAL ID.
California law does not allow for an ID card to be issued to individuals who are not legally present in the United States. If a DACA recipient with an ID card, loses their DACA status and has no other form of legal status, they will not be able to renew or convert their ID card.
The DMV chatbot and live chat services use third-party vendors to provide machine translation. Machine translation is provided for purposes of information and convenience only. The DMV is unable to guarantee the accuracy of any translation provided by the third-party vendors and is therefore not liable for any inaccurate information or changes in the formatting of the content resulting from the use of the translation service.
The content currently in English is the official and accurate source for the program information and services DMV provides. Any discrepancies or differences created in the translation are not binding and have no legal effect for compliance or enforcement purposes. If any questions arise related to the information contained in the translated content, please refer to the English version.
The web pages currently in English on the DMV website are the official and accurate source for the program information and services the DMV provides. Any discrepancies or differences created in the translation are not binding and have no legal effect for compliance or enforcement purposes. If any questions arise related to the information contained in the translated website, please refer to the English version.
My K1 visa has been approved and I am going to USA (California) in few days. I would like to know if anyone tried to obtain drivers license (DL) while on K1 visa. Is it possible to get DL on K1 visa while AOS is pending? What difficulties one could have in obtaining DL? I had lived and studied in US and possess drivers license (expired now) and SSN. What possible impediments could be there for me?
You can get a DL once you have your EAD (which you apply for after marriage at the same time as AOS) you need to have your EAD and SS number when you apply. If you change your name when you apply for AOS be sure to update your SS records so that it matches whatever name your EAD (and GC) will be issued in. You will have to pass both the theory and road test again. (I had to, as my Cali license had been erred too long)
^which means that yes, you can get your DL with your I94 (what they replace the K1 with, in terms of documentation), and drive, but that IF you don't get your GC or your EAD before the 194 expires, you will not be able to drive until you have one of those things. I went directly to the DMV to ask since there was speculation on a different thread on this board. People were saying you couldn't get your license in CA until you had your green card, but you can. If your i94 expires before you get your GC, you just don't drive until you have the proper documentation to reinstate your license. It's not a big deal. It'd be like driving on a suspended license. This information comes from TWO different employees. same info from both of them.
Kiwinyc, did they take your foreign license, or at least invalidate it, like they do when you come from a different state? My fiance and I debated this for over an hour last night (he says that if he has to take the road test too, that he's keeping his Irish license, and that it should be valid for when we go back and visit; I said WRONG! haha).
I answered in the other thread but in case you haven't seen it - nope they did not. I'm afraid you are buying dinner! (He will however, have to the full test, including the road test where he will have to reverse into a parking Space and merge and exit from at least one freeway... (OK, it's not difficult))
The short answer is Yes. In California even people on non-immigrant visa (B1/B2) can apply for and get DL. However, the DL is valid only until the legal stay is valid. The paper I-94 is obsolete now. But at POE they stamp the passport with the duration of valid stay. At the California DMV they will make a copy of the passport and the page with that date and will issue the DL valid until that date. So you will have to go back to show the change in your status to continue your DL.
First of all, the California DMV (or for that matter any DMV) does not take away your foreign DL. They do not even take away DL from the other state you moved from. So he is of course allowed to keep his Irish DL.
Secondly, if you move from another state (USA) you will only take the multiple choice written test. It is not so difficult to pass (although I passed on my third attempt as I did not study the DMV handbook). If you move from another country or never had a DL then you take the written test first, at which point you get a Permit (to drive). Then you have to go back and take the road test. I believe you have one year to pass the road test after your pass the written test.
I held a license in the UK, not sure if this applies to all countries, but when I passed my written test, I was issued with a temporary license valid for 3 months that gave me full driving entitlement ie, didn't need to have a full license holder in the car with me.
My local DMV said that I could have a DL only for the remaining duration of my I94 and that had to have 60+ days on it otherwise they won't issue. A K1 visa is no use as that expires the moment you do your POE. After that it's the EAD/AP card. She did say I could drive on my full UK licence so I have taken that advice literally
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