Driving in the US
 

Hello everyone!

I’m hopefully moving over to Nebraska next month on a k-1 Visa. I’m getting married in July, until I adjust my status, am I not a resident?

I just want to know as I want to drive almost straight away when I move, I have a full UK and can get an international driving permit if needed. Just need some advice!

Thanks,

Joshua

Re: Driving in the US
 

Essentially you're not anything. The K1 visa is one time use and once you get married it's null and void. Your NOA's from adjustment of status (and your I94) are proof that you're in the US legally until your I-485 is adjudicated.

I wasn't unable to obtain a driving license until I had NOA1 from AOS here in Colorado.

Re: Driving in the US
 

Does this mean I can drive on my UK driving license since technically I’m not a resident? I’ve seen people have done so but I’m not sure how it works with insurance etc..

Re: Driving in the US
 

You can drive on your UK license until you obtain a local one. Look up the State DMV to see how long that is. If you feel adventurous the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, to which the USA is a signatory gives you 365 days. Most States have a different time limit for residents, but Oregon does honor the Convention if asked.

Re: Driving in the US
 

Sounds good! I’ll get my fiancée to ring the DMV in Nebraska today. As far an insurance goes, do I just get added to hers? And does it cost a lot extra usually?

Re: Driving in the US
 

If you get the usual DMV dimwit quote the Convention to them and ask them specifically if they abide by it.

I got insurance on my UK license but you really need to get a local license ASAP because 1) insurance is usually more expensive without a US license, and 2) if you do get stopped I found most local police officers do not have a clue about the legality of out of country licenses. It saves a lot of hassle to get your test done and out of the way. It is ridiculously easy.

Re: Driving in the US
 

Remember that for a while, you will feel traffic coming from the direction you're used to back home. It's like muscle memory. And you might be tempted to pull out thinking the coast is clear. Make it a habit to always look both ways for a while.

Re: Driving in the US
 

I drove on my UK license until such time I could obtain one.

I also drove myself to my driving test which is fairly amusing.

As lansbury said, just make sure whoever the vehicle is insured by will acknowledge a foreign license will be using the vehicle.

Re: Driving in the US
 

and they let you drive! Shouldn't you always look both (all) ways every time.

Re: Driving in the US
 

Verbal advice from a government employee in the US is worse than useless, meaning if it is wrong and you rely on it, you may be wrong but think you're right. .... And the chances of you finding anyone at the DMV knowing what a K-1 visa is and anything about "adjustment of status", is as near to zero as makes no difference. :rolleyes:

So just go to the Nebraska DMV Web site for all the information you need. ... I'd start by downloading a copy of the Nebraska Drivers Manual, which you should read before taking the "written" part of your driving test.

Re: Driving in the US
 

Experience has taught me that I need to look both ways even in one-way streets. :eek:

Re: Driving in the US
 

Erm... good point. Follow the Green Cross Code. Look left(right), right(left), then left(right) again. Now it's safe to cross. Cross briskly, continuing to look left and right.

Note. This applies to crossing the street too. And jaywalking really is enforced at some places. A friend got a ticket in Atlanta for crossing from the Residence Inn to the Albertsons grocery store directory opposite. The cop wanted the guy to walk to the intersection - probably a 1/4 mile away - and then walk back on the other side. Way to add a mile to a hundred yard journey.

And you'll love the 'chicken lane'. Bwah ha ha ha.

Re: Driving in the US
 

I do not get the Jaywalking thing at all - it's the country of the free, that goes into a National strop when gun controls are discussed, how on earth did they get themselves into a position where Police provide a ticket if you cross the road safely!!!!!

Re: Driving in the US
 

Oh, and don't forget to look behind you as well - some drivers are not capable of seeing what is in front of them, especially on the Interstate, that or they've been watching too much IndyCar and are trying to slipstream.

Re: Driving in the US
 

Isn't that something else you should already have been doing continuously? :eek:

My eyes flick over the rear view mirror every few seconds. That was how I was taught to drive in the UK, and I have done ever since. I have good control over where I am going and what happens in front of my vehicle, the real danger is more likely to come from behind me. :nod:

Re: Driving in the US
 

Indeed, just emphasizing it is even more important - I have never known so much tailgating.

Re: Driving in the US
 

Another tip I was dun learned by my driving instructor. Put your rear-view mirror at a slightly off ankle, so you have to adjust your head to see behind you. The head movements will alert the examiner that you are indeed frequently using your mirror.

Remember, kids; mirror, signal, maneuver, mirror.

Re: Driving in the US
 

Around here, some folks spend so much time looking behind them that they have no idea what’s right in front of them. :blink:

Re: Driving in the US
 

How exactly do you position yourself in the driving seat? :blink:

Re: Driving in the US
 

We live in CO. It's basically the law to own a Prius with some sort of "Respect Life/Co-Exist or Free Tibet" sticker, be high as a kite and tailgate the car in front of you to within 1mm of the front bumper. :lol:

Re: Driving in the US
 

Because in the 1910s and 1920s as pedestrian deaths increased and people began to wonder about the safety of motor vehicles, the auto manufacturers lobbied for jay-walking laws to put the blame on the pedestrians. It's only the land of the free for corporations...

BTW, jay-walking is illegal in NYC too, although hardly ever enforced. A friend was arrested for it when he had the misfortune to be near a BLM demo. He spent the night in the cells but the case was dismissed when it went to court.

Re: Driving in the US
 

There is no "jaywalking law" in GA, so your friend was more likely cited for not being on a crosswalk and not yielding to vehicles.

https://www.gahighwaysafety.org/camp...t-pedestrians/

Re: Driving in the US
 

Doubting my veracity, sir? Here's the spot.
Apparently the Albertsons turned into a "hhgregg."

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8850...7i13312!8i6656

His name was Morgan Chow. If you scroll either way, you will not see an intersection for quite a distance either way.

Re: Driving in the US
 

Maybe to avoid a suit when someone gets hit while jaywalking? I remember when Guiliani tried to give out jaywalking tickets in NYC back in the 80s. A cop stopped me and was embarrassed to redirect my path. Didn't last long.

Re: Driving in the US
 

No, just pointing out, as per my link, that there is no such thing as a jaywalking law in GA. I would never choose to cross a road like that.

Re: Driving in the US
 

[QUOTE=Pulaski;12458197]

My eyes flick over the rear view mirror every few seconds. /QUOTE]
Until you wrote that, I didn't realize that I do that also.

Re: Driving in the US
 

You can usually tell the drivers that do, through the precise position of the RV mirror (from behind you can see their eyes centered in it), and by the way they drive. I would guess that fewer than a quarter of drivers in the US make adequate use of the RV mirror. :(

Re: Driving in the US
 

It's one of the benefits of the learning process in the UK, pushed on you until it becomes a subconscious action.

Re: Driving in the US
 

I agree. My wife always questions why I'm checking all three mirrors often! To me, I like to know where everyone is on the road, in case something happens that I need to react to. I trust myself, I don't trust MO drivers.

Re: Driving in the US
 

Your international licence will be worthless here, take the driving test and be done with it. You can drive on your UK licence for at least 30 days.

Re: Driving in the US
 

A few years after I took the UK driving test I took the Institute of Advanced Motorists test. I thought I was a fairly reasonable driver. Some years later I got a police advanced driving course. I quickly realized how bad of a standard the normal UK driving test is, and had badly most people drive.

I trust myself, I don't trust any other driver. I'm appalled any one in the US is even allowed to drive they are so bad. :lol:

Re: Driving in the US
 

Oh yeah, I don't trust any other American driver.... But have you been in MO? Whole other breed of drivers here :o:nod:

Re: Driving in the US
 

The ONLY thing an International License is good for is a translation of a foreign one into English. As your regular license is in English to start with, you do NOT need an International one.

As for insurance, you are usually covered automatically by you future wife's policy as long as she gives permission. That will get you going to start. It's not acceptable in the long term though, you you will need to get an adjustment eventually.

The golden rule here, is DON'T accept the advice of some anonymous internet axe-murderers. Check everything out with the relevant agency to be sure.

Re: Driving in the US
 

And don't accept the word of employees in the DMV (or state equivalent). I went armed with knowledge and facts but they initially said I had to do something which I knew wasn't true. So I politely asked for a supervisor. "I AM the supervisor!" she spat. Thankfully somebody next to her redirected her to the correct course of action. She was not happy being corrected.

Not all DMV employees are like that, to be fair.

Re: Driving in the US
 

You are a resident for purposes of obtaining a driver's license.

In many states, you will need an EAD to show that you are authorization to live and work in the US. In those states, usually, not always, your driver's license is only good for as long as your EAD is valid, which is normally one year. If you obtain a green card before that year is up, you can go to the motor vehicle department, should them the green card and get your driver's license for the full period of time allowed under that state's law, i.e. 5 years, 10 years, whatever.

As for your status, once you have married and filed for adjustment of status and it has been accepted for processing, you are tend considered a resident under the USCIS rules under color of law. While it appears to be a state of limbo, it is a legal status until your AOS has been adjudicated either positively or negatively.

BenK said he needed an NOA1 from USCIS to get his license while he resides in Colorado. Your NOA1 will not work for the state of New York. They demand an EAD or a valid visa in your passport. Check to see what Nebraska requires for you to be able to apply for a driver's license.

What people need to remember is that the definition of 'resident' differs from state to state and a resident in state law is not the same as permanent residency status conferred by the USCIS (federal government). You can be considered a resident by the IRS (federal government) for tax purposes without having a green card.

Re: Driving in the US
 

Same happened to me, the one DMV person insisted I drive with a vehicle permit as a rental car couldn't be used to take the test

The next day I went to a different DMV in the rental and took the test fine

My latest is that they've only issued my new licence for just one year as the Green Card expires at the end of this year even though my status continues after the card expires