FILE 17 · THE MOVE / PART 3, FIRST MONTH PLAYBOOK FILE · CHECKED OCT 2026

SSN, ITIN and your California licence

Some good news first: nothing on this page is hard. These are three boring government errands, and the order is the only trick. The SSN is your Social Security number, the nine-digit ID almost everything in America keys off. The ITIN is a tax-only number for a spouse who isn’t allowed to work. The licence comes from the DMV, California’s licence office. The order matters more than the speed, because the second and third errands queue behind the first. Pick your visa below and the page arranges itself around your household, and every form and agency here is decoded in the glossary at the bottom.

Your visa, and your spouse’s

Almost every decision below forks on two answers: which visa you’re on, and whether a spouse came with you. The spouse question is the one that catches people, and it has a phone number attached further down. Your picks here also set the what-to-bring list later on the page.

SECTION A — YOUR BRANCHPICK ONE OF EACH

YOUR VISA

SPOUSE WITH YOU

YOU · {{ youVisa }}

SSN, THEN THE DMV

SPOUSE · {{ spVisa }}

WHAT THAT CHANGES

SEE THE ORDER, WITH DATES ↓

Saved in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.

What these three things actually are

The SSN. It is nine digits, issued by the Social Security office, generally only to noncitizens who are authorised to work here. In practice it works like a national ID number. Your employer uses it to report your wages. Banks, credit card issuers and phone companies often ask for it, and so does the DMV unless you are not eligible for one. There is a paper card, but the card matters less than the number existing in the system.

The ITIN. It is also nine digits, but issued by the IRS, the federal tax office, rather than by Social Security. It exists for people who owe US tax but aren’t allowed to work here. In practice, that often means a spouse on a dependent visa. It lets that spouse be included on a joint tax return. It gives no right to work. And you cannot hold both: if you’re eligible for an SSN, you’re barred from an ITIN.

The California licence. What it’s for is obvious. Why it’s urgent is less obvious, even if you don’t plan to drive much. California law gives new residents only 10 days before they need a California licence, and the foreign licence you arrived with stops covering you after that. The licence also works as an everyday photo ID, and the REAL ID version can board a domestic flight.

Why the order matters

California gives new residents 10 days to get a state licence (Vehicle Code 12505). But the Social Security office suggests waiting about 10 days after you arrive before you apply, the card then takes 5 to 10 business days to arrive, and the DMV checks your number electronically while you’re at the counter. The legal deadline and the working sequence don’t fit together, so many people end up past the 10 days.

That is worth knowing before you start, because chasing the 10-day mark can push people to rush the SSN step. If you are eligible for an SSN and arrive at the DMV without a number, the DMV can’t issue the licence until you have one. The appointment is the thing to protect. Appointments can be weeks out, and each visit only works if every document is in hand.

SECTION B — THE CLOCKCOUNTED FROM YOUR LANDING DATE

I LANDED ON {{ landLabel }}

{{ s.n }}. {{ s.name }}

{{ s.note }} ({{ s.dur }})

Everything depends on step 1. Form I-94 is your electronic arrival record: the government’s proof that you entered legally, and a statement of how long you can stay. The Social Security office and the DMV both ask for your I-94, and USCIS (the agency that handles visa petitions) uses it too. Bring the most recent record, not the one from your first landing. Get it at i94.cbp.dhs.gov under “Get Most Recent I-94”, save the PDF, and do it again after every trip abroad.

Getting the SSN

Generally, only noncitizens whom Homeland Security has authorised to work can get an SSN. That covers work visas such as O-1, H-1B, L-1 and E-2, and F-1 students with valid work authorisation. Spouses are where it gets confusing, so here are the three cases.

SECTION C — SPOUSES AND THE SSNTHREE CASES

L-2 / E-VISA

Can work, so can get an SSN

Since 12 November 2021, USCIS has treated E-1, E-2, E-3 and L-2 spouses as authorised to work, with no separate permit needed. The proof is the I-94: it should show a code such as L-2S or E-2S, with the S standing for spouse. Check yours. A spouse can also apply for an EAD (work-permit card) for stronger proof.

H-4

Work permit first, then the SSN

An H-4 spouse first needs an EAD, a physical work-permit card. That is its own application, with its own wait.

O-3

No work allowed, so no SSN

O-3 holders can’t work at all. They take the ITIN route instead, and they hit the DMV problem further down this page.

SECTION D — THE SSN, IN FIVE STEPSBUDGET A FEW WEEKS

STEP 1

Wait 10 days after landing

The Social Security office recommends waiting about 10 days after you arrive. That makes it easier for them to check your immigration documents online and speeds up your application.

STEP 2

Start the application online

Social Security now has you start the application online. For a first-time number, a noncitizen then finishes at an office, and you have 45 days from starting the application to get there. You may be able to book the appointment yourself.

STEP 3

Book the appointment, don’t walk in

Since 6 January 2025, Social Security offices have required appointments. The agency said it would not turn away people who can’t make one, but book rather than walk in. Appointments at San Francisco offices can be a few weeks out, so check more than one office.

STEP 4

Bring originals

Bring your unexpired passport, your printed I-94, and the documents that show your work status, such as the I-797 approval notice your immigration lawyer emailed you. The exact list depends on your visa. Originals or copies certified by the issuing agency only. Photocopies and notarised copies are not accepted.

STEP 5

Budget more than ten days

Social Security says the card arrives by mail 5 to 10 business days after your application is approved. If the office can’t check your immigration document straight away, its own guidance says it can take two more weeks.

a friend will tell you this

You can start work before the card arrives. Your employer can complete the I-9, the proof-you-can-work form, without an SSN and add the number once you have it. When the number arrives, give it to your bank, card issuers and payroll. Then go to the DMV.

“By the time I moved to the U.S. in August 2025, the system had become fully appointment-based, and I was simply turned away when I visited an SSA office without one.”HIBIKI KATO · MOVED TO THE US IN AUGUST 2025 · PERSONAL BLOG · OCT 2025 ↗

With an appointment, it can be quick. One recent arrival wrote up the whole visit, from the text-message booking to walking out early.

The California licence

California does not exchange a foreign licence for a California one. The DMV treats a foreign licence holder like an out-of-state driver plus a driving test, so you sit both the written test and the driving test, however many years you’ve been driving at home. A 2026 bill, AB 2196, would have let the DMV waive the driving test for licences from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. It failed in committee in May 2026.

Your home licence covers you as a visitor. Once you become a California resident, you have 10 days before you need a California licence. An International Driving Permit is a translation of your home licence. It adds no driving rights of its own.

Start the DL 44 application online (that’s the DMV’s licence application form), book an appointment, and read the California Driver’s Handbook. Waits differ by office, so compare two or three nearby offices before you settle on one. A drive to a quieter office can save time.

WHAT TO TAKE TO THE COUNTER{{ bringLabel }}

Ask for the REAL ID version of the licence, the one marked with a bear and a star. Since 7 May 2025 a REAL ID or a passport is what boards a domestic flight. Visa holders are explicitly eligible. Yours will be a limited-term card: it expires on the same date as your document showing legal presence. Extend your stay and you can get a new card with the new date.

WHAT THE LICENCE COSTS, AND THE TEST RULESOCT 2026

$46

one fee, Class C application

3 + 3

written and driving attempts included

80%

written-test pass mark

The application stays valid 12 months. A fourth attempt at either test means reapplying and paying again. Driving-test retakes cost $9 each on the fee schedule, though the DMV’s licence page still says $7, so budget for $9. Cash is accepted in the office. Card payments there carry a 2.1% service fee.

The written test, which the DMV calls the knowledge test, happens at a testing station during the same appointment. There’s no separate booking. The DMV says the pass mark is 80%. It doesn’t publish the question count for adult applicants, but test-prep sites report 36 questions with 30 needed, which works out to 83%. The test must be started before 4:30pm. You can’t use the handbook or a phone during it, so give the handbook a proper read beforehand.

YOU NEED SOMEONE TO DRIVE YOU TO THE DRIVING TEST

If you hold a valid licence from another country, the DMV’s own FAQ says an accompanying driver is required to and from the driving test. The driver handbook says that person must be a California-licensed driver aged 18 or over. Plan for someone else to drive you there and back.

The driving test is a separate appointment, and the DMV doesn’t give driving tests without one. Book it as soon as you pass the written test. It comes in two parts. First is a pre-drive check, where the examiner asks you to find and demonstrate items on your own car, such as the signals, brake lights, horn, parking brake, wipers and hazard lights. If a main safety item fails, the test is rescheduled. Then you drive with the examiner. You bring a safe car with valid proof of insurance and registration. California’s minimum liability cover is $30,000 for injury to one person, $60,000 for more than one, and $15,000 for property damage. A rental can work, as long as your name is on the rental contract and the contract doesn’t exclude behind-the-wheel drive tests.

What the DMV scores:

Full stop at the line

The DMV’s scoring criteria ask for a full stop within about 6 feet (half a car length) behind the limit line, with no creeping forward or rolling back.

Head turns, not just mirrors

The DMV criteria call for moving your head and eyes to check for traffic, not only glancing at mirrors. Failing to do so at an uncontrolled intersection with a hazard present is a critical error.

Yield when safety requires it

You are expected to yield to vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians whenever safety requires it, even where the rules at home are different.

Know your own car

The pre-drive check is you operating indicators, wipers and hazard lights on request. Practise in the car you’ll bring.

Consider an hour with a local driving instructor the week before, and a practice drive in the car you’ll bring. Pass, and the DMV gives you a temporary licence valid for 60 days. The card arrives by mail within three to four weeks.

The ITIN comes at tax time

An ITIN is for people who have a US federal tax purpose, such as being included on a joint return, but aren’t eligible for an SSN. That often means a spouse on an O-3 or H-4 without work authorisation. If your spouse is eligible for an SSN, they cannot have an ITIN. The two are mutually exclusive.

You can’t usually apply on its own. The W-7, the ITIN application form, has to travel attached to a tax return unless you meet one of a few narrow exceptions. So the first realistic window is your first US tax filing, and the IRS says to apply on or before that return’s due date. The IRS asks you to allow 7 weeks, or 9 to 11 weeks during tax season (15 January to 30 April) or if you apply from overseas. If you need more time, you can request an extension without an ITIN by writing “ITIN TO BE REQUESTED” on Form 4868. Don’t send a W-7 with it.

SECTION E — WHO IN THE HOUSEHOLD NEEDS ONEW-7 REASON BOXES

BOX (e) OR (g) · JOINT RETURN

Spouse on H-4 or O-3, no work authorisation

The standard case. The W-7 lists reason (e) for the spouse of a US citizen or resident alien, and reason (g) for the dependent or spouse of a nonresident alien holding a US visa. Which one fits depends on the working spouse’s tax status, so let your tax preparer or a Certifying Acceptance Agent pick. Since 2018, a spouse is only eligible if claimed for an allowable tax benefit, such as a joint return, or if they file their own return.

BOX (b) · 1040-NR

You, filing your own return as a nonresident

Reason (b) is for a nonresident alien filing a US federal tax return, on Form 1040-NR. The W-7 goes in with the return, unless a specific exception applies.

BOX (a)+(h) · NO RETURN

Claiming a tax-treaty rate on passive income

A case that can go in without a return: reason (a) for a treaty benefit, or reason (h) with one of the exceptions in the W-7 instructions. Treaty terms differ by country, so check the W-7 instructions and your own country’s treaty with the US.

NOT ELIGIBLE

You, on a work visa (H-1B, O-1, L-1)

You’re eligible for an SSN, so the IRS won’t issue you an ITIN. Apply for the SSN instead and skip this section.

WHAT THE IRS TELLS YOU, AND WHEN NOT TO FILE

The IRS answers with one of three notices: CP565 (ITIN assigned), CP566 (more information needed) or CP567 (rejected, resubmit). The W-7 instructions also say not to file one while an SSN application is pending. File only after Social Security tells you that you’re ineligible, and attach the letter of denial.

WHAT AN ITIN DOES AND DOESN’T DOFOUR FACTS

SCOPE

A tax number only

It gives no right to work, no Social Security benefits, no Earned Income Tax Credit, and no change to your immigration status.

EXPIRY

It lapses if unused

If it isn’t on at least one federal tax return for 3 consecutive tax years, it expires on 31 December of the third year and must be renewed.

CREDITS

Some credits now need an SSN

A July 2025 federal law requires SSNs for the Child Tax Credit, and for the education credits from tax year 2026. An ITIN alone no longer unlocks them. Check the IRS pages for the current rules before you file.

EXTENSIONS

You can ask for more time without one

An extension request or an estimated tax payment doesn’t need an ITIN. Write “ITIN TO BE REQUESTED” where the number goes. Any tax you owe is still due by the April date.

DON’T MAIL YOUR SPOUSE’S PASSPORT

If you mail original documents, the IRS says it returns them to you within 60 days. The three in-person routes below hand back most documents at the end of the appointment instead.

WHERE TO APPLY — THREE IN-PERSON ROUTESDOCUMENTS HANDED BACK

TAC · FREE

An IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center

The IRS’s own office. Pick one that offers ITIN services. It can review your completed W-7 but not help you fill it in. The IRS says it may take several weeks to get an appointment, so book before tax season rather than during it.

VITA · FREE

A VITA volunteer tax site

The IRS’s free volunteer tax-help programme. Only select sites offer ITIN services, and those can help complete the W-7, so ask before you turn up.

CAA · PAID

A Certifying Acceptance Agent

An individual or firm the IRS has approved to authenticate most supporting documents in person. Fees vary, and agents work in the US and abroad. Many also prepare the return and the W-7 together. If cost matters, the free options above exist.

If your spouse can’t get an SSN

California law says that if you’re legally in the US but not eligible for an SSN, the DMV’s SSN requirement doesn’t apply to you. The DMV checks that eligibility electronically with the Social Security office while you’re standing there. The problem, in the DMV’s own words: dependents of people on visa types like E-1, E-2, L-1 and L-2 may not be eligible for an SSN, but the system’s answer can still read “SSN required”, because it doesn’t distinguish the main visa holder from the dependent. A spouse who is work-authorised, such as an L-2S or E-2S spouse, can get an SSN, so for them the fix is to get the number.

When that happens, the DMV describes a secondary check of the legal-presence documents at its Issuance Unit in Sacramento. It takes approximately two weeks from the date of your application at the field office.

IF THE SCREEN SAYS “SSN REQUIRED”DMV FAST FACTS FFDL 08A

~2 weeks

manual re-check at the Issuance Unit, Sacramento

(916) 657-7790

the Issuance Unit; call if two weeks pass with nothing back

two errands while you wait

Ask Social Security for a formal letter of denial: your spouse visits the Social Security office and is found ineligible on the record. The IRS’s W-7 instructions say you must attach one if Social Security finds you ineligible. The DMV can issue a licence once its check shows your spouse isn’t eligible for an SSN.

What to do now

Tick these off as you go. Saved in your browser.

THE LIST — DAY 1 TO TAX DAY

CLEARED ✓

Good to know

Sequence the DMV around the SSN

The DMV checks your name, birth date and SSN with Social Security and Homeland Security while you’re in the office. If you’re eligible for an SSN and don’t give one, the DMV can’t issue the licence until you do. So the order stays: land, then the SSN, then the DMV.

Every entry to the US generates a new I-94

Download the new one after any trip abroad, before you touch Social Security, DMV or USCIS paperwork. Use your most recent record.

Renewing a limited-term licence means going back in person

The DMV sends a renewal notice asking for your updated immigration document, and a REAL ID applicant can’t mail documents in to renew. Sort the extension well before the licence expires, not the week of.

The DMV fixed an expiry-date error

In December 2025 the DMV said a 2006 system setting had given some non-citizen REAL ID holders the standard renewal period instead of an expiry matching their authorised stay. About 325,000 people (1.5% of REAL ID holders) are being notified, with fees waived. Only people who get a notice need to act. The DMV says it will never call, text or email you for personal information or payment, so check any message on 1-800-777-0133.

The glossary

Every term on this page, decoded once.

THE ACRONYMS16 TERMS

I-94 · CBP

Your electronic arrival record: proof you entered the US legally, and how long you can stay. Not a card. A web page you print after you land.

I-797 · USCIS

The approval notice for your visa petition. The letter your immigration lawyer emailed you.

SS-5 · SSA

The application form for a Social Security number. Applying online fills most of it in for you.

I-9 · EMPLOYER

The form your employer has you complete in week one to prove you’re allowed to work.

EAD / I-766

A physical work-permit card. Only some dependent spouses need one, and it is its own application with its own wait.

W-7 · IRS

The application form for an ITIN. It is usually attached to the front of a tax return.

DL 44 · DMV

The California driver’s licence application. Start it online before you go in.

REAL ID

A version of the state licence that federal agencies accept, marked with a bear and a star. Since 7 May 2025 a REAL ID or a passport is what boards a domestic flight.

SSA

The Social Security Administration, the Social Security office. It issues the SSN. It checks your immigration documents with Homeland Security, and it also asks to see your unexpired foreign passport.

CBP

Customs and Border Protection. The officers who stamp you in at the airport. They own the I-94.

USCIS

The agency that handles visa petitions and work permits. It sits under DHS, Homeland Security, alongside CBP.

IRS

The federal tax office. It issues ITINs.

DMV

The Department of Motor Vehicles, California’s licence office. Not federal, which is why its rules differ state to state.

VITA

The IRS’s free volunteer tax-help programme. Only some sites handle ITINs.

CAA

A Certifying Acceptance Agent: an individual or firm approved by the IRS to authenticate most ITIN supporting documents in person. Charges a fee.

LIMITED TERM

The card expires on the same date as your document showing legal presence in the US.

Sources · checked Oct 2026

SSA · request a number↗ SSA · appointment-based service↗ DMV · driver’s licences↗ DMV · licensing fees↗ DMV · permits and drive test↗ DMV · REAL ID for non-citizens↗ DMV · SSN supplemental rules↗ IRS · how to apply for an ITIN↗ USCIS · E and L spouse work rights↗ CBP · I-94↗ SSA · SSNs for noncitizens↗ SSA · online request, 2026↗ DMV · the testing process↗ DMV · insurance minimums↗ DMV · REAL ID notice, Dec 2025↗ IRS · Form W-7 instructions↗ IRS · ITIN overview↗

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Check with a professional before acting.