H4 and SSN and drivers license in VA

[Sad Expat]

I've seen this problem reported before, but I was wondering if there
have been any new developments.

I'm here on H1B, my wife on H4. We arrived in Virginia before 911 and
got our drivers licenses. My wife doesn't have a SSN, as she only has a
H4 visa. No work => no SSN. She has a TIN so I can do my taxes.

My wife's license is due for renewal in April. The DMV wrote and
complained that she doesn't have a SNN and we need to get that settled
before she can renew. They won't accept a TIN, must be SSN.

So we have a H4, therefore no SSN, therefore (it looks like) no drivers
license. What can we do?

You can't survive in Virginia without a drivers license.

I'm going to see DMV and Social Security, and then when they fail, I'll
see our State Member. Maybe we could move to North Carolina and commute?
Drive on her foreign license and hope nothing happens until the Green
card arrives? That should be only another, hey, two to seven years. I
don't think my auto insurance company would like one of us not having a
drivers license.

Any suggestions?

[misha]

Post by Sad Expat
I've seen this problem reported before, but I was wondering if there
have been any new developments.
I'm here on H1B, my wife on H4. We arrived in Virginia before 911 and
got our drivers licenses. My wife doesn't have a SSN, as she only has a
H4 visa. No work => no SSN. She has a TIN so I can do my taxes.
My wife's license is due for renewal in April. The DMV wrote and
complained that she doesn't have a SNN and we need to get that settled
before she can renew. They won't accept a TIN, must be SSN.
So we have a H4, therefore no SSN, therefore (it looks like) no drivers
license. What can we do?
You can't survive in Virginia without a drivers license.
I'm going to see DMV and Social Security, and then when they fail, I'll
see our State Member. Maybe we could move to North Carolina and commute?
Drive on her foreign license and hope nothing happens until the Green
card arrives? That should be only another, hey, two to seven years. I
don't think my auto insurance company would like one of us not having a
drivers license.
Any suggestions?

...

Hi,

I sympathize totally because I (H4 status) went through the exact
experience! The good news, however, is that I did eventually renew
my licence.

The DMV in California initially gave me a 90-day temporary licence when
I submitted all my documents for a renewal (walk-in). However, when I
called them almost 3 months later to check on the status of my renewal,
they said I could not get a permanent licence because of the lack of a
SSN. I even told them I had a letter from Social Security indicating
that I was not eligible for a SSN and that I could use the letter when
applying for a licence at DMV. Still, the DMV said no, and referred me
to the DMV State Headquarters.

I suggest you call your DMV State headquarters, and get the name of a
representative to follow your case. Here is what I had to do to
eventually get my licence renewed. I had to send COPIES of the following
documents to DMV headquarters:

- Passport personal info page and page with the H4 stamp (I guess your
visa page if you have one -- I am Canadian so I only have an H4 stamp)
- Notice of action/Approval Notice for H4 visa (be sure that it includes
the bottom portion which has the original I-94 and receipt #)
- Temporary licence (I guess expired licence if you did not get temp)
- Current I-94 if you have travelled outside and come back into U.S.
since obtaining the original I-94

Please be aware that the application process will stop if you leave the
country while your licence is pending approval; it basically means that
you will to submit a new I-94 to DMV when you come back to the country.

Just be patient and eventually you will get the licence. Good luck. :)

[Kevin Keane (see Web site for email)]

Sigh... You may have to mount a media campaign here. Unfortunately, the
recently-passed so-called "REAL ID" law mandates that all states require
an SSN before issuing a driver's license.

If she has a foreign license, most states actually do allow you to drive
with it now. Whether you can get insurance with it, I don't know.

Post by Sad Expat
I've seen this problem reported before, but I was wondering if there
have been any new developments.
I'm here on H1B, my wife on H4. We arrived in Virginia before 911 and
got our drivers licenses. My wife doesn't have a SSN, as she only has a
H4 visa. No work => no SSN. She has a TIN so I can do my taxes.
My wife's license is due for renewal in April. The DMV wrote and
complained that she doesn't have a SNN and we need to get that settled
before she can renew. They won't accept a TIN, must be SSN.
So we have a H4, therefore no SSN, therefore (it looks like) no drivers
license. What can we do?
You can't survive in Virginia without a drivers license.
I'm going to see DMV and Social Security, and then when they fail, I'll
see our State Member. Maybe we could move to North Carolina and commute?
Drive on her foreign license and hope nothing happens until the Green
card arrives? That should be only another, hey, two to seven years. I
don't think my auto insurance company would like one of us not having a
drivers license.
Any suggestions?

...

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It may answer your question. Remember, I am strictly a layperson without
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They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You
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[Sad Expat]

I should follow up on this.

This is in Virginia.

My wife went to DMV, with her passport and the visas in it, all the
H4 approval notices showing clear legal presence since 1998, birth
certificate, and anything else she had, just in case. She explained her
situation. A supervisor was dragged into the discussion. Apparently,
they have a special code in the computer files for temporary residents
without a SSN. They had entered the wrong code when my wife got her
drivers license originally, and that was why the letter had been sent to
her. So they entered the right code, and issued her a renewed drivers
license. However, the license is only until the end of her legal status,
which is end of October. We're on one-year extensions of the H1B, so we
only get one year at a time. So my wife will have to get a license each
year until we get Permanent Residency. Maybe when it's time for next
renewal we can do it online and go for multi-years? Have to wait and see
what loopholes exist.

Because I have a SSN, I seem to have escaped the one-year limits. Maybe
when it's time for my renewal, I'll end up on a one-year drivers license
too.

So we have success, although limited success. Jeez, I hope the LCA comes
soon so we can get PR moving.

Post by Sad Expat
I'm here on H1B, my wife on H4. We arrived in Virginia before 911 and
got our drivers licenses. My wife doesn't have a SSN, as she only has a
H4 visa. No work => no SSN. She has a TIN so I can do my taxes.
My wife's license is due for renewal in April. The DMV wrote and
complained that she doesn't have a SNN and we need to get that settled
before she can renew. They won't accept a TIN, must be SSN.
So we have a H4, therefore no SSN, therefore (it looks like) no drivers
license. What can we do?
You can't survive in Virginia without a drivers license.
I'm going to see DMV and Social Security, and then when they fail, I'll
see our State Member. Maybe we could move to North Carolina and commute?
Drive on her foreign license and hope nothing happens until the Green
card arrives? That should be only another, hey, two to seven years. I
don't think my auto insurance company would like one of us not having a
drivers license.
Any suggestions?

...