Before you start

A valid visa or other admission category
An electronic I-94 record, retrieved from the CBP website
Work authorisation from DHS for a Social Security number
A California address for the DMV and most account applications

Step-by-step

1
Retrieve your I-94 in your first few days
The I-94 records your admission class and the date until which you may stay. It is generated electronically and downloaded from the CBP website — no one hands it to you. Check the 'admit until' date immediately; errors are common and far easier to correct early.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
2
Wait about ten days, then apply for a Social Security number
SSA verifies your status against DHS systems that lag entry by one to two weeks, so an early visit usually ends in being turned away. Complete Form SS-5 and apply 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
Dependants and others without work authorisation are ineligible for an SSN. File IRS Form W-7 for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, which works for tax filing and is accepted by many banks. It confers no right to work.
OnlineWho: You
4
Book a DMV appointment before you land
California's ten-day rule collides with DMV appointment availability, which is frequently weeks out. Booking from abroad, before you have an address, is the standard workaround — you can change the appointment later but you cannot conjure an earlier slot.
OnlineWho: YouBefore arrival
5
Get a REAL ID, not a standard licence
Since 7 May 2025 a standard California licence cannot be used to board a domestic flight. Ask for REAL ID at the counter and bring the extra documents it requires. Your passport also works, and from 1 February 2026 a $45 TSA ConfirmID fee plus extra screening is the fallback if you have neither.
In personWho: You
6
Diarise your status expiry yourself
No one will remind you. USCIS extensions and change-of-status petitions take months, so start well before the 'admit until' date. Falling out of status is much harder to unwind than maintaining it.
OnlineWho: You

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
Employment authorisation document or approval notice, where applicable
Proof of California residence for the DMV

Things most newcomers don’t know

California issues driver licences without proof of lawful status.

Under AB 60, California grants licences to applicants who cannot prove lawful presence, using alternative identity documents. Such a licence is marked as not federally compliant and cannot be used to fly, but it is a real option if your status is pending. California and New York take the same approach here; Florida and Texas do not.

Source: California DMV — AB 60 driver licences

The ten-day rule is much tighter than the DMV can actually serve.

California requires residents to obtain a licence within ten days, but appointment availability is routinely measured in weeks. The practical resolution is to book the appointment as early as possible — even before arrival — and to keep driving on your foreign licence in the interim, which remains valid for visitors. Enforcement in practice is light, but the exposure is real if you are stopped.

Source: California DMV — new California resident portal

Establishing residency is defined by benefits you claim, not by days.

California defines residency for licence purposes by acts like voting, paying resident tuition or claiming a homeowner's exemption — 'any privilege or benefit not ordinarily extended to nonresidents'. Signing a lease and starting a job puts you firmly on the resident side of that line, and starts the ten-day clock.

Source: California DMV — the California driver licence

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

A visa authorises travel to a port of entry; the officer there sets how long you may remain and records it on the I-94. People with five-year visas routinely assume five years of residence and fall out of status. Only the I-94 governs.

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

Common mistakes to avoid

Treating the visa expiry as your permitted stay rather than the I-94 'admit until' date.
Arriving without a DMV appointment and discovering the next slot is a month away, inside a ten-day deadline.
Visiting a Social Security office in your first few days, before DHS records have synced.
Paying a fee for a Social Security card — it is free, and the fee is a scam.
Accepting a standard California licence instead of a REAL ID, then finding it doesn't work at the airport.

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

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