scrubbedexpat099

I needed EAD YMMV

lapin_windstar

No offence, and I am sure you are trying to be helpful, but that's a rubbish resource: it's an anonymous opinion on the internet that isn't substantiated by any source.

SarahG

No offence taken. I was just pointing out to OP that he could also have a look online to see if he could find the answer to his question. Also I live in Indiana and I have recently gone through the process of getting a driving licence and I shared that with the OP.

megalaser

'Her tourist visa has expired'

ewwwww - she has technically become illegal?? Not good if that's the case. You have to be VERY careful not to do that.

ian-mstm

She has become "out of status"... huge difference!

Ian

Rete

To correct the point you stated above, your wife is not waiting to become a US Citizen. She is waiting to become a US Permanent Resident which is not citizen. She will not be eligible to apply for that for several years.

Contrary to what others have posted, she can still drive on her UK license. Her right to drive on that license is not contingent on her status in the US but as soon as she has an employment authorization document (EAD) and a social security number she must change her license over to a State Driver's License. While she can apply for one now with a social security number the DMV will not license her until she has proof of her status in the US which will be the EAD.

Be sure that she is covered under your auto insurance for accidents.

megalaser

There are four things that you have to remember about becoming out-of-status:

First of all, you are considered deportable once you become outof-status. This means that agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) can detain you at any time and have you removed from the United States when so ordered by an immigration court.

Second, your tourist visa will become cancelled or automatically revoked once you become out-of-status. For example, let us assume that you came here as a visitor, and you have a multiple entry tourist visa that has not yet expired. After becoming out-ofstatus for a couple of days, you went home and then, after six months, you tried to come back to the United States using the same visa. Since you became out-of-status the last time you entered the United States , there is a risk that you will not be allowed to enter as a tourist using the same visa by the officer at the port of entry from the US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP). Instead, you will be asked to go back immediately to your country of origin and be given advice to apply for and secure a new visa before making another attempt to enter the country as a tourist. The sad part of the story here is that once there is a record that you have become out-of-status in the past, even for a single day, the US Embassy will probably refuse to give you another tourist visa.

Third, you will accrue unlawful presence. You will be barred from coming back to the US for three years if you go home after accruing unlawful presence here for more than 180 days and up to a year. You will be barred from coming back to US for 10 years if you go home after accruing unlawful presence here for more than a year. The 180 days is counted from the date of expiration of your I-94 or, if you filed an extension application, change of status application, or adjustment of status application prior to the expiration of your I-94 and said application eventually got denied, then the 180 days is counted from the date of denial of said application.

Last, but not the least, you will no longer be allowed to extend, change, or adjust your status once you become out-of-status (a) unless you are covered by a special law that states otherwise (i.e., Section 245(i), Section 245(k), etc.) or (b) unless you are the beneficiary of a family-based petition that belongs to the Immediate Relative category (i.e., you are the minor unmarried child, spouse, or parent of a US citizen). This means that you will not be able to work legally during your stay here in the United States, and you have less chance now of becoming a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

Rete

She is not out of status. She is in pending status. Just because her I-94 is expired does not necessarily mean she is out of status. If you read the first post from the OP you will see that they have filed for her AOS and she has already done biometrics. So she is in status.

GeoffM

What happens in the interim between having the EAD and SSN, and getting a driver's license? Assuming, for example, that you may have to wait a week or three before a test slot becomes available, and therefore unable to get a "passed" driver's license until that time? Is there a [state-dependent] time limit where the UK license is still valid?

Rete

According, however, to a previous legal poster here that is not technically true either. You can work on the VWP for the same company you were working for in your own country while you are visiting the US.

What is the issue is that she did not leave the US at the end of her I-94 but rather choose to marry and remain in the US and file for adjustment of status. If working after the expiration I-94 is considered illegal or while she is waiting for the EAD after filing for AOS, is a determination to be made by ICE.

The one thing you definitely cannot do is work for a US company without authorization.

ian-mstm

Thanks for the heads up! After following this newsgroup for 13 years and going through the entire process myself, I knew none of this!

Ian

ian-mstm

I didn't have my coffee this morning! The neurons aren't firing properly.

Ian

Rete

Normally, yes there is. You have to check the DVM code for your state. Most have it worded that once you have taken up residency in the state, you must change your license to that state's license in 30 days. For some it is 90 days.

However, let's be honest here. If you don't change the license within that 30 days because of circumstances, i.e. no EAD or social security number, or waiting for test appointment, what are they going to do to you if you are driving on your UK license and are caught performing a traffic violation? You're not going to go to jail for it but you will probably get a ticket.

You want to obey the state's regulations but are unable to do to federal slowness in getting you the correct documentation needed in a timely fashion.

I'm not advocating ignoring the regulations but suggesting that one use common sense.

GeoffM

I'd seen the 30 days or whatever when I last looked it up (I can't remember the value!) but didn't know how it related to the EAD/SSN - sounds good enough for me! Of course, I want to be on my best behaviour so I want to do everything by the book - even though that book sometimes seems to be contradictory, confusing, or unreliable!

Cheers