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
Six points of identification for the NY DMV

Step-by-step

1
Download your I-94 in the first few days
It records your class of admission and your 'admit until' date, and it is what employers, the DMV and the Social Security Administration will ask for. It is generated electronically and retrieved from the CBP website — check the details immediately, since corrections are far easier early.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
2
Wait about ten days, then file Form SS-5 in person
The Social Security Administration verifies your status against DHS records that lag entry by one to two weeks, so an immediate visit usually ends in being sent away. Bring passport, visa and I-94. There is no fee for the card, and there is an SSA field office in Yonkers as well as in the Bronx and White Plains.
In personWho: YouFrom ~day 10Free
3
File IRS Form W-7 for an ITIN if you are not work-authorised
Dependants and others without work permission cannot get an SSN. An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number covers federal, New York State and Yonkers tax filing and is accepted by many banks and landlords. It confers no right to work.
OnlineWho: You
4
Get a New York licence or ID within 30 days of becoming a resident
New York is explicit: become a resident and you must obtain a New York State driver licence within 30 days. The DMV works on a six-points identification system, so assemble the document set against its published points table before you go. Westchester County's DMV offices at Yonkers, White Plains, New Rochelle and Mount Vernon are county-run agencies, and reservation availability is the binding constraint rather than the paperwork.
In personWho: YouWithin 30 days
5
Choose between a REAL ID, an Enhanced licence and a standard one
New York offers three. A standard licence cannot board a domestic flight since 7 May 2025. A REAL ID can. An Enhanced Driver Licence additionally works as a land and sea border document for Canada and Mexico, but is available only to US citizens — so most newcomers here want the REAL ID and their passport.
In personWho: You
6
Register your Yonkers address correctly from day one
Your address determines things that are easy to get wrong here. It decides whether you owe the Yonkers resident income tax surcharge or only the non-resident earnings tax; it decides which of New York's two minimum wages applies to you; and a few streets in the north and east of the city sit right on the Bronxville, Hastings and Tuckahoe lines. Confirm the municipality on the deed or lease, not from the postal address.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1

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
Documents totalling six points on the NY DMV's identification scale
Proof of a Yonkers address

Things most newcomers don’t know

Your municipality, not your postal address, decides your local tax.

Yonkers is one of only two places in New York State with a local income tax, and the boundary matters. Live in Yonkers and you owe a resident surcharge of 16.75% of your net state tax; live in Bronxville or Hastings-on-Hudson and you owe nothing local at all; work in Yonkers while living elsewhere and you owe the 0.5% non-resident earnings tax on those wages. Several streets in the north and east of the city are a block from a different municipality, and the postal address does not always match the taxing one.

Source: NY Department of Taxation and Finance — New York City, Yonkers and MCTMT

The visa sticker's expiry date 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. Holders of five- and ten-year visas routinely assume that is the length of their residence, never check the record, and fall out of status without noticing. The I-94 'admit until' date is the only one that governs.

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

Applying for a Social Security number too early is the classic wasted trip.

SSA verifies status against DHS records that take one to two weeks to sync after entry. Turning up on day two normally means being told to come back. Waiting until about day ten turns two visits into one, and nothing else meaningfully depends on the number before then.

Source: Social Security Administration — noncitizens and Social Security numbers

New York gives you 30 days for the licence, which is tighter than most states.

Virginia allows 60 days, Kansas 90, Wisconsin 60. New York says plainly that a new resident must obtain a New York State driver licence within 30 days of establishing residency, and the DMV's six-points document scale means a wasted first attempt is common. Assemble the documents against the published points table before you book, because the appointment calendar in lower Westchester is the real constraint.

Source: New York DMV — moving to or from New York State

Common mistakes to avoid

Treating the visa expiry as your permitted stay rather than the I-94 'admit until' date.
Assuming a Yonkers postal address means a Yonkers municipality, or the reverse, when the local income tax turns on it.
Turning up at the DMV without six points of identification.
Applying for an Enhanced Driver Licence as a non-citizen — it is for US citizens only.
Paying anyone a fee for a Social Security card, which is free.

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