laety

Hi everyone
I have 2 small questions.. (totally unrelated I know..)

1/ do you know straight after the interview if your visa has been accepted or do you have to wait for a decision
2/ have you done your driving test in the US and if so how was it/what do you have to do (theory and actual driving or driving only etc..)
Thank you very much!!
Laety

Weeze

Yes we were told at the interview that we had been approved(L1). Driving differs state to state so if you do a quick search on here for california driving, you should find the info. Texas was theory, practical and vision test. It is the time frames you have to do it in that differs.

laety

ah great, we are H1b but I guess it must be the same for everyone

I cant beleive we have to get a new driving test! this is one thing I thought I was over and done with.. thank you

Weeze

The Texas one was no where near as hard as the UK one. I did need to study for the theory bit though. Good luck with the move!

Mummy in the foothills

California test was very easy, I was only in the car for 5 minutes or so. The written test was short and if you read the book will pass that easily too.
Vision test your on your own, I need glasses.

laety

oh good!! thank you :-) going there next week so ill get a book so we are ready when we go there in October

Bob

There are sooooo many threads on driving tests, especially for CA...have a search and you'll get an idea about what to expect and some tips.

RayM

Had my H1b interview today. They tell you at the interview if you're ok. The alternative is that they tell you they need more info. Either way you get told at the interview.

Havnfun

In California you have to do the written test and then a road test. You can do practice tests on the Department of Motor Vehicles website at www.dmv.ca.gov

It states that you have to get a California drivers license within 10 days of becoming a resident of California. This is not possible when you move from out of the country since it takes longer than that to get your SSN.

Englishman43

x 2 they'll take you outside of the DMV and point to a tree and a car, if you can correctly identify the car you've passed your test.

If you're not sure but think you can tell the two apart you passed your test.

If you wrongly identify the tree as a car but then change your mind and get it right you passed your test.

Prof_Yaffel

Ca theory test is I belive 60 multiple choice questons with 3 possible answers. You are allowed to get 5 wrong. I think you can do up to 3 theory tests on the day; after you have it marked and you if fail you are simply given another test to do. Just make sure you read and learn the book from the DMV, you can get this in any DMV ( unless you are unlucky, they only had Spanish when I went ) or download it.
The driving test is very easy, I just drove around for 10 mins while the examiner and I chatted.

If you want to take your motorbike test, apply within a year of passing your car test and you won't have to do the car theory test again. I missed it by a few months and had to do half the car theory + the motorbike theory !

Mummy in the foothills

So your DMV doesn't use the eye charts anymore then.

laety

thats good to know ill have a look on line. This ssn number, how do you request one? I wont be working as ill have the h4, so do i get one anyway?

GeoffM

I like the sound of that! Beats the UK version of "I think this is about 20.5m: read that poorly lit and dirty number plate over there". Though not an exact conversion, it's roughly 20/35 vision on the Snellen required. I vaguely recall CA was officially 20/40. Why is this a concern to me? I was borderline UK. I'm hoping I won't have problems in the US!

I think you get a denial letter from SSN, since they're not usually issued to H4 holders, and present that to the DMV. No doubt somebody will stamp on my head if I'm wrong!

Edit: "If you are legally present in the US, but ineligible for an SSN, you are exempt from SSN requirements. However, you must still provide an acceptable birth date/legal presence document for any DL/ID card application OR provide a valid SSN." - from CA DMV: http://dmv.ca.gov/dl/dl_info.htm#SSN

sd001

Hi

I have a question, is there a time limit to get your drivers license in the state of california?

I have read on some websites you have 10 days to get it from when you become a permanent resident. Has anyone had this experience and what was the timeframe you got your license in?

Thanks