Before you start

A valid visa or other admission category
An electronic I-94 record from the CBP website
Work authorisation from DHS for a Social Security number
Two proofs of Virginia residency for a REAL ID credential
For defence-sector roles: written confirmation from the employer of whether a clearance is required

Step-by-step

1
Download your I-94 in the first few days
It records your admission class and 'admit until' date, and it is what employers and the DMV will ask for. Retrieved electronically from the CBP website — the visa sticker in your passport is a different document entirely.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
2
Wait about ten days, then apply for a Social Security number
SSA verifies status against DHS systems that lag entry by one to two weeks, so an immediate visit usually wastes the trip. File Form SS-5 in person with your passport, visa and I-94. There is no fee.
In personWho: YouFrom ~day 10Free
3
If you cannot get an SSN, file for an ITIN
IRS Form W-7 produces an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number for tax filing, and many banks accept it. It grants no right to work.
OnlineWho: You
4
Deal with the vehicle inside 30 days and the licence inside 60
Virginia gives 60 days for the driver's licence but only 30 to title and register a vehicle — and a commercial licence must be transferred within 30. Both are DMV, but the shorter clock catches people who assume the licence is the priority.
In personWho: YouWeeks 1–4
5
Ask for a REAL ID and bring two residency proofs
Since 7 May 2025 a standard state credential cannot be used at an airport security checkpoint. Virginia issues both versions; the REAL ID needs two documents proving Virginia residency rather than one. Your passport also works at the airport.
In personWho: You
6
Settle the clearance question before you commit
If your offer is with a defence prime, a ship repair yard, a base support contractor or anything touching the Navy, ask explicitly whether the role requires access to classified information. Relocating a family to Hampton Roads and then discovering the answer is the most expensive mistake a foreign national makes here.
Via employerWho: You and your employerBefore signing

Documents you’ll need

Passport with valid visa
I-94 admission record from the CBP website
Form SS-5 for a Social Security number, or IRS Form W-7 for an ITIN
Two proofs of Virginia residency for REAL ID
Certified English translations of any non-English documents

Things most newcomers don’t know

A security clearance is a US-citizenship requirement in practice, and this is a fleet town.

32 CFR 117.10(k) tells contractors to make every effort to ensure non-US citizens are not employed in duties requiring access to classified information. The exception — a Limited Access Authorization — applies only where a non-citizen has unique or unusual skills urgently needed for a specific contract with no clearable US citizen available, and it is never valid for TOP SECRET, restricted data, intelligence, COMSEC or NATO information. Hampton Roads is built on the Atlantic Fleet, so this is the shape of the job market rather than an edge case.

Source: 32 CFR 117.10 — National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual

Virginia's vehicle deadline is half the licence deadline.

Sixty days for the driver's licence, thirty to title and register a car. Most people sort the licence first by instinct and quietly miss the shorter one. If you drove here, the vehicle is the urgent item.

Source: Virginia DMV — new to Virginia

Every vehicle in Virginia needs an annual safety inspection.

This is statewide and separate from emissions, done at ordinary repair shops rather than the DMV, and driving without a valid sticker is a ticketable offence that goes on your driving record. Newcomers from states with no inspection regime routinely do not know it exists. Emissions testing, by contrast, applies only in Northern Virginia — not here.

Source: Virginia DMV — new to Virginia

The visa sticker's expiry is not your permission to stay.

A visa authorises travel to a port of entry; the officer there decides how long you may remain and records it on the I-94. Overstaying that date carries consequences the visa expiry does not.

Source: US Customs and Border Protection — I-94 record

Common mistakes to avoid

Accepting a defence, shipyard or base-support job as a non-citizen without confirming whether it needs a clearance.
Sorting the licence first and missing the 30-day vehicle deadline.
Not knowing Virginia requires an annual safety inspection on every vehicle.
Bringing one proof of residency and then wanting a REAL ID, which needs two.
Visiting a Social Security office before DHS records have synced.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.