tom169

Disclaimer: This may be state dependent information - I am in NC.

This is just a message to anyone here on a K-1 with an expiring driving licence as from doing research there was some old and conflicting messages.

When I first entered the country I passed my test and was given a driving licence until my I-94 date.

I applied for adjustment of status at the beginning of December and received a I-797C NOA1.

With my licence expiring in a week, I visited the DMV today to try renew with my I-797C letter. The employee couldn't do this as their policy was to not issue a renewal if the I-797C date + 60 days is less than 20 days from now.

After speaking to the head office on the phone she was cleared for authorization to issue me with a 6 month licence.

So if you go to renew and encounter an issue I would advise asking to escalate to a manager. The woman at the DMV was very happy to do so and together we got the situation resolved successfully.

BenK91

Did they explain why they only issued your driving license with such a short validity period?

Here in CO my license is valid until 2020 which I wasn't expecting, I assumed it would expire along with my I-94!

Noorah101

Happened here is AZ. They would only issue the State ID until the expiration of whatever proof my fiance/husband had at the time...I-94, EAD, 2-year card, 10-year card, and finally when he became a USC it was issued with no expiration.

Each state is different.

Rene

Olly_

They probably made a mistake. It happened to me too - I got given a full 4 year license valid until 2019 even though my I-94 at the time expired in November 2016.

tom169

It's by all accounts the state policy.

They've also introduced rolling 20 day temporary licenses for those stuck in the USCIS backlog. I thought I would have got one of these and was pleasantly surprised.

The next licence I'll get is when I get my EAD / GC.

Count yourself lucky, I guess.

scottyvisa

Yeah my Virginia licence expires the same day as my conditional residency, so will need to get another once conditions are removed. Luckily the Virginia DMV hasn't been receiving lessons from the DVLA so don't bankrupt you at every turn!

livinginnyc

^^ This.

NY State will issue a drivers license/permit with sufficient proof - which is typically a visa stamp, EAD card, SSN.etc .etc .etc

My license was stamped with the expiry of my EAD card and had an 'A1 restriction' - which read 'temporary visitor'.

Once I got my (conditional) Green card, I went to the DMV to request a new license under status change... they photocopied my green card, made a number of phone calls and took my photo again (my request as I didn't know first time round you could smile - so I looked psychotic) and about a month later I received an updated 10 year license without the A1 restriction (they charged a $14 admin fee too).

Looks like once you're an LPR in NYS, they ignore the expiry date of the green card and assume you'll just renew, and remove any reference of alien on it.

On the same day, I also went to the SSA to remove the 'not authorized for work without DHS authorization' stamp on my social security card too, and let them know I was an LPR.