FILE 17 · THE MOVE / PART 3, FIRST MONTH PLAYBOOK FILE · CHECKED JUL 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 to anyone allowed to work here. It was invented to track retirement contributions, then drifted into being the closest thing America has to an Aadhaar number. Your employer needs it to pay you. Banks want it. Credit cards, phone contracts and the DMV all key off it. You get one number, and it is yours for life. There is a paper card, but the card barely matters. What matters is that the number exists 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 means a spouse on a dependent visa. It lets you file a joint tax return, which usually saves a family real money. 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 plan to Uber everywhere. Car insurance here is priced off your local driving record, and having no licence makes insurance expensive or impossible. Getting stopped by police on a foreign licence after you’ve become a resident means a ticket. And the licence doubles as your everyday photo ID, which beats carrying your passport into a bar.

Why the order matters

California gives new residents 10 days to get a state licence. But your SSN takes about three weeks to arrive, and the DMV checks the number electronically with the Social Security office while you’re standing at the counter. The legal deadline and the working sequence contradict each other. Almost everyone breaks the 10-day rule.

That is worth knowing before you start, because chasing the 10-day mark is what makes people rush the SSN step and turn up at the DMV before their number is in the system, which fails the appointment. The appointment is the thing to protect. In the Bay Area you may have waited three weeks for it, and it 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, the DMV and USCIS (the agency that handles visa petitions) all check the current one, 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 to India.

Getting the SSN

Anyone with permission to work qualifies: O-1, H-1B, L-1, 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

The government has treated them as allowed to work automatically since November 2021, with no separate permit needed. The catch is proof: the I-94 has to show the code L-2S or E-2S, with the S standing for spouse. Border officers have been inconsistent about adding it. Check yours.

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 3 WEEKS

STEP 1

Wait 10 days after landing

The Social Security office checks your status against Homeland Security’s records, and those records take days to sync. Apply too early and you get sent home to come back.

STEP 2

Start the application online

Social Security moved to a simpler online application in February 2026, and some applications finish entirely online. The rest let you book an office appointment from inside the application.

STEP 3

Book the appointment, don’t walk in

Since 6 January 2025, Social Security offices run on appointments. The agency says it won’t turn away people who can’t make one, but a walk-in on a busy Tuesday in San Francisco is a bad plan for something this easy to schedule.

STEP 4

Bring originals

Bring your passport, printed I-94, and your I-797, the approval notice your immigration lawyer emailed you. Photocopies are not accepted.

STEP 5

Budget three weeks, not ten days

The office’s own estimate is 5 to 10 business days from approval to the card in your mailbox. The status check against Homeland Security is where it stretches.

a friend will tell you this

You can start work before the card arrives. Payroll needs the number issued, not the plastic, and your employer can complete the I-9, the proof-you-can-work form, without it. When the card arrives, add the number to your bank accounts, cards and payroll. Then go to the DMV.

The California licence

California has no licence-exchange agreement with any country, India included. 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, no matter how many years you’ve been driving in Bangalore.

Your Indian licence plus an International Driving Permit covers you as a visitor. It stops covering you once you’re a resident. An International Driving Permit is only a translation of your Indian licence, never a licence in itself.

Start the DL 44 application online (that’s the DMV’s licence application form), book an appointment, and read the California Driver’s Handbook. Independent trackers put the statewide average appointment wait around two weeks, with San Jose and other busy metro offices running 20 to 30 days. Each office page posts its own current estimate, so check two or three before you settle. A 40-minute drive to a quieter office can save a fortnight.

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 May 2025 it’s what boards a domestic flight if you’re not carrying a passport. Visa holders are explicitly eligible. Yours will be a limited-term card: it expires when your permitted stay does, rather than running the standard five years. Extend your visa and you get a new card with the new date.

WHAT THE LICENCE COSTS, AND THE TEST RULESJUL 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, though the DMV’s own licence page still says $7 while the fee schedule updated in July 2026 says $9. Carry a card either way, and note the 2.1% service fee on card payments in the office.

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% and doesn’t publish the question count for adult applicants. Test-prep sites consistently report 36 questions with 30 needed, which works out to 83%. Either way, you can afford to miss six. Start it before 4:30pm or you’ll be sent back another day. People do fail it, usually because they assumed twenty years of driving substitutes for reading the handbook, so give the handbook a proper evening.

BETWEEN THE TWO TESTS, YOU CAN’T DRIVE ALONE

Passing the written test gets you a permit, not a licence. The DMV’s own FAQ is unambiguous: on a valid foreign licence, an accompanying driver is required to and from the driving test. Plan for someone else to drive you there.

The driving test is a separate appointment. Book it the day you get the permit. It comes in two parts. First is a pre-drive safety check, where the examiner confirms you can work your own car’s indicators, wipers and hazard lights, and that the car is roadworthy. Then come 20 to 30 minutes of driving with the examiner scoring you. You bring the car, registered and insured to at least California’s minimums: $30,000 for injury to one person, $60,000 for more than one, and $15,000 for property damage. A friend’s car or a driving school car both work. A rental usually doesn’t. That’s not because the DMV bans rentals, but because rental agreements generally don’t cover an unlicensed driver taking a test, and the examiner will ask for the registration document.

Where experienced drivers fail it:

Full stop, every time

Stop behind the white limit line, not a rolling stop. This is the single most common fail for experienced drivers.

Head-turn shoulder checks

Turn your head enough that the examiner sees your chin move. Checking mirrors alone doesn’t score.

Yield earlier than feels natural

Pedestrians have right of way in ways that feel excessive coming from Indian roads.

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.

Spend an hour with a local driving instructor the week before. They teach the examiner’s checklist rather than driving, and you need someone in the passenger seat anyway. Pass, and you get a paper temporary licence valid for 60 days. The plastic card arrives in three to four weeks.

The ITIN comes at tax time

An ITIN is for people who owe US tax but can’t get an SSN. That usually 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 apply whenever you like. 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, the April after your first year here. The IRS asks for 7 weeks, or 9 to 11 between 15 January and 30 April, when everyone files at once. File early in that window rather than on 14 April.

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

BOX (e) · JOINT 1040

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

The standard case for this corridor. The form needs the working spouse’s name and SSN on it. Since 2018, applications only clear if the spouse is actually claimed for a tax benefit. Filings done “for the records” get rejected.

BOX (b) · 1040-NR

You, abroad with a US LLC or C-corp

You live outside the US but have US income to report on a 1040-NR, the tax return for non-residents. The W-7 goes in with the return, unless a specific exception applies.

BOX (a)+(h) · NO RETURN

Claiming the treaty tax rate on royalties or dividends

The one case that doesn’t attach a return: claiming the reduced US–India treaty tax rate, filed with the withholding certificate. Leaving out the treaty article number is a standard rejection.

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 in week one and skip this section.

WHY APPLICATIONS GET REJECTED

The IRS rejects rather than asking for corrections, and the same causes repeat: the wrong W-7 box for the actual situation, an expired passport, non-English documents without a certified translation, a treaty claim without the article number, and no tax benefit claimed (the 2018 rule).

WHAT AN ITIN DOES AND DOESN’T DOFOUR FACTS

SCOPE

A tax number only

No right to work, no Social Security credit, and no claim to the Earned Income Tax Credit.

EXPIRY

It lapses if unused

Unused on a tax return for 3 years running, and it expires.

CREDITS

The credits changed in 2025

The Child Tax Credit now requires SSNs, and education credits follow from 2026. Family members with only an ITIN no longer unlock those.

BANKING

Some banks open accounts on it

A handful of banks and credit unions accept an ITIN for opening a primary account, not just a spouse add-on. Worth asking at community banks.

DON’T MAIL YOUR SPOUSE’S PASSPORT

The IRS can hold original documents for up to 60 days. The three in-person routes below hand them back 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 walk-in office. Pick one that offers ITIN services. Appointments take several weeks, 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 some sites handle ITINs, so ask before you turn up.

CAA · PAID

A Certifying Acceptance Agent

A private accountant the IRS has authorised to verify passports in person on its behalf, for a fee. Plenty of India-corridor accounting firms are CAAs and will bundle the W-7 with your return, which is convenient and fine. If cost matters, the free options above exist, and most guides don’t mention them.

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: spouses and dependents 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.

When that happens, the application has not been rejected. It goes to the DMV’s Issuance Unit in Sacramento for a manual second look at the immigration documents, which takes roughly two weeks. Nobody at the counter will explain this, and the natural reaction is to assume you failed and start over.

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

Get a formal SSA ineligibility letter: your spouse visits the Social Security office and gets turned down on the record. It is worth having, and several banks want it too. Also, a spouse without an SSN generally can’t book the DMV appointment online. Plan on booking in person or by phone.

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, date of birth and SSN against the Social Security database in real time. A mismatch, or a number that doesn’t yet exist, produces a “Request for Verification” letter instead of a licence. 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 home, before you touch Social Security, DMV or USCIS paperwork. The agencies check the latest record.

Renewing a limited-term licence means going back in person

You can’t mail documents or renew online, and the visa extension document you bring has to expire 60 or more days after the day you apply. Sort the extension well before the licence expires, not the week of.

The DMV had an expiry-date bug

In late 2025 it found that old software had given some non-citizen REAL ID holders the standard renewal period instead of an expiry matching their permitted stay. If your card’s expiry looks generous next to your I-94, call the DMV and check.

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 has to be stapled to 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 May 2025 it’s what boards a domestic flight if you’re not carrying a passport.

SSA

The Social Security Administration, the Social Security office. It issues the SSN, and it checks your immigration status against Homeland Security records rather than looking at your 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 private accountant the IRS has authorised to verify passports in person on its behalf. Charges a fee.

LIMITED TERM

The card expires on the same day your permission to stay in the US expires, rather than running the standard five years.

Sources · checked Jul 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↗

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

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Money & the credit clock

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