DMV and ATM problems

Over a week has passed since my last post and I haven’t had much to do with any government authorities. Have had a couple of setbacks in my documentation though.

First up, my International Drivers Permit issued by the NRMA when I was in Australia remained in my pants when they went through the wash. Without this document, I cannot legally drive in the USA with my NSW Drivers License. So I now need to re-send forms to the NRMA to get a replacement issued. Notwithstanding, the rules in Virginia require that I need a drivers license issued by the Virginia DMV within 60 days of living in this state.

If I was Canadian or German, not a problem. Can just get a Virginia Drivers license by showing my Canadian or German drivers license. As an Australian however, we need to do a two part knowledge test, followed by a drivers test. Apparently Australian driving is not considered safe. Which is qiote funny if you have ever driven over here, or been a pedestrian over here. To paraphrase Pirates of the Caribbean, the rules are more like guidelines. Want to use a pedestrian crossing, well, first up, cross your fingers and hope that the cars stop. In Australia, usually you can step up to a crossing and all cars will slow down. Over here, they seem to think thats just reason to speed up. You actually have to step onto the road, in the path of the oncoming car, for them to slow down. I have now had at least a dozen occasions where I was almost hit by cars. The closest, I could have put my hand forward and had it taken out by the sedan going by oblivious to the pedestrian crossing. No wonder everyone drives everywhere. I think it would be safer if I hopped into a car to travel to the supermarket across the road. A trip of about 150 metres!

Anyway, it will be a race to see if the new international permit will arrive before I have to get a local license. Which raises another problem. Documentation and identification requirements to obtain a drivers license. The DMV has a list of acceptable identification documents that it will accept as proof of identification, proof of legal presence and proof of residence in Virginia.

Working backwards, the proof of residence documents include things such as Virginia ID card, bank statements, utility statements and the like. A little difficult for a newly arrived person, so I have to wait at least 30 days for a bank statement to be issued by my bank.

Proof of legal presence in the USA is easy as my passport/visa/I-94 is acceptable.
But proof of identity is a little bit more difficult. They require two documents. A primary and secondary. However, when looking at the list, there appears to be a significant flaw in accepted documents. With the exception of my foreign passport, which counts as one form of ID, almost all other acceptable ID forms appear to be photo ID documents issued by a US federal or state agency. The closest document appears to be an I-766 which is an Employment Authorisation Document (EAD) which is issued by the USCIS (Dept of Immigration). Unfortunately, as an E-3 visa holder, I am not required to hold such authorisation. The closest I have is my LCA issued by the Dept of Labor.

I will provide an update on this conundrum upon my next visit to the DMV where I get this matter resolved.

The second document issue was my ATM Debit card. In Australia, all ATM’s (based on my experience – this could be wrong) return your ATM card prior to dispensing any cash to ensure the card is not left behind. Unfortunately, the ATM I used last week is not programmed this way. And being my usual absent-minded self, I collected my cash and receipt, and then promptly left, leaving my card behind. By the time I realised my card was missing (we are talking days, not hours), some body had taken my card and spent some money using the visa credit functionality. Thankfully, this should be refunded by the bank as an unauthorised transaction. It was only $40, so not filing for bankruptcy.

Bank was very helpful, they helped cancel the card, issued a temporary card and will have a permanent one resent to me. Will see whether I get charged any fees by the bank for this service. Whilst on the bank, one of the first things I did last week after getting my account was to do an international transfer from my Australian bank to Bank of America. Transfer happened around 8am Sydney time and money was in my US bank about 24 hours later. Definitely happy about that.

As for the rest of my administrative duties, I am still waiting on my Social Security number, but should hopefully arrive soon. I start work at my new office tomorrow (Thursday) so hoping it comes through so I can be taxed properly. Still not sure how much money should be coming out in tax, so making it difficult to budget. Over the next couple of months, will follow up on US tax rules for non residents and write about my findings to hopefully help any others coming this way.

This is getting long so will end this post here and will make a second post today on adapting to US life and the little finds that have helped me think I won’t be giving up Australian life totally.