Need two IDs

I am working in states on a TN visa and my wife is on a TD visa with me in U.S. She doesn't have an SSN number so she cannot apply for any U.S govt ID.
So she is not able to provide two IDs to apply for a driver's license in states. They refused her as she only has one piece of ID that is acceptable by them(her foreign passport with I-94).

Is there any way she can provide an alternative ID to be eligible to apply for a U.S state license? Or any work around for this issue?
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks

Not really. The whole No SSN = No DL is a big problem for TD's H4's etc, and there really is no way around it in certain states.

Is there any way she can provide an alternative ID to be eligible to apply for a U.S state license? Or any work around for this issue?

What state is this? Maybe we could look up the state's DMV regulations and see if there is any other ID she might have a chance of getting.

It sounds like the SSN is only indirectly an issue here--the state doesn't require a SSN itself but requires other ID that in turn requires a SSN to get. Perhaps if we can see the state's list we can see if there is anything else she might be able to get without a SSN.

-- Wed May 11, 2011 8:59 am --

Is there any way she can provide an alternative ID to be eligible to apply for a U.S state license? Or any work around for this issue?

From another post it seems you are in Virginia. A review of the Virginia DMV website shows that she should qualify by presenting a Canadian passport with I-94, a Canadian provincial driver's license, and proof of Virginia residency:

https://www.dmv.virginia.gov

Primary Proof of Identity: Unexpired passport from Canada or Micronesia with an unexpired or expired I-94

Secondary Proof of Identity: Unexpired U.S. issued (issued by a U.S. state [other than Virginia], jurisdiction, or territory), or a Canadian driver's license, commercial driver's license, or learner's permit with photo. The license or learner's permit must be at least 60 days old. (Other foreign country and international driver's license are not accepted.)

Proof of Legal Presence: Unexpired passport from Canada or Micronesia with an unexpired or expired I-94

Proof of Virginia Residency: Deed, mortgage, monthly mortgage statement or residential rental/lease agreement

Proof of Social Security: I have not been issued a Social Security Number

Sometimes DMV employees are not that knowledgeable about their own rules and regulations. If your wife presented the above documents and still got denied, she may need to keep trying with different employees until she gets approved.

Thanks for the replies.
We are in Virginia and my wife doesn't have a Canadian license yet(her PR visa is in process).
We and the DMV employees themselves have gone through the whole list of documents to see if she can use any document as a secondary ID but they said "We are sorry, we need two IDs".
The problem is she only has a passport with I-94 that she can use as an ID. All other documents she has are from her home country that DMV wouldn't consider at all.
I have visited DMV 3 times and talked to different employee each time.I have talked to supervisors as well but they seem to be bound by the rules and refused it.
There has to be an alternative to this, if they are giving a visa to someone who is living here legally for 2 years and cant even drive thats stupid.

We are in Virginia and my wife doesn't have a Canadian license yet(her PR visa is in process).

When someone uses a stepping stone they should make sure they get a firm foothold on that stone before trying to leap to the next rock.

Anyways given that she is married to a Canadian, surely she will get her PR visa soon and can then make a trip back to Canada to get a Canadian license? This shouldn't be a permanent obstacle, right? There's some hoops to be jumped through but that's sort of expected when you move repeatedly from country to country.

The Cdn DL (if she can even get one without an adress in canada) will not get her state DL. The regs in most states require SSN. The "2 ID" thing is not the problem. No SSN is the problem.

The Cdn DL (if she can even get one without an adress in canada) will not get her state DL. The regs in most states require SSN. The "2 ID" thing is not the problem. No SSN is the problem.

I don't think so. Virginia may have relaxed their rules at least slightly because at one time in the past I believe you would have been correct. Have a look at:

https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/apps/documentbuilder/intro.aspx

Notice that they require, among other things:

"Social security number, if you have been issued one" (italics mine)

They have a worksheet that you can work through at that site--there is definitely an option for the case where you don't have a SSN. Here in Washington state (which is certainly more lenient than VA) they require either a SSN or proof of WA state residence--but not both.

A number of states--of which VA had a reputation for being one of the strictest--took a lot of heat for absolute hard-and-fast rules that you had to have a SSN. It looks like they've relaxed that a bit.

As for whether aadi's wife can get a Canadian DL without a Canadian address, as noted in another thread, aadi should inquire (perhaps on a board more geared to Canadian immigration) as to how his wife's move from her home country to the USA on TD status affects her application for Canadian PR. While I don't know exactly how that will play out, I'm assuming that she will need to have some kind of Canadian address at least briefly so she can enter Canada in Canadian PR status (before re-joining aadi in the USA). She can then use that time to get her Canadian DL. Since aadi hasn't updated their address in her Canadian PR process I assume aadi must still have some kind of valid Cdn address.

I'm assuming that she will need to have some kind of Canadian address at least briefly so she can enter Canada in Canadian PR status (before re-joining aadi in the USA).

Particulary since aadi stated that her Canadian PR visa application wss "from abroad", which requires both spouse and PR applicant to be planning to return to Canada. They need Cdn immig advice on whether the PR application will even be processed.

You are correct about VA DL not requiring SSN. Very unusual. must have lots of illegals in Va.

Well after much of a struggle and talking to a few supervisors at the DMV, I managed to convince one of the supervisors to send my request to the legal department of DMV to make some kind of exception for my spouse. I am currently waiting for a reply from their legal department. Lets see if they can come up with an alternative or an exception for her to apply for DL without a secondary ID.

Regarding my wife's PR application, it has been 10 months she has applied from abroad and the application is still under process in her home country. They will only come to know about my abscence from Canada when they ask for her passport to stamp Canadian PR visa. And I am not sure how do they go about it if they have any objection in this case.

Hello all,
Just wanted to update this post with the status of my wife's application for DL in Virginia. As she didnt have two IDs with her so she was not able to apply for DL.
As we had requested to the headquarters, they finally got back to us saying that she could apply with my employment letter and TN status as a supporting document. So she has finally got the learner's permit now.
Also her immigration process to Canada seems to be in final stages. We have sent her passport to the Canadian embassy and hopefully we will hear back from them in a couple of weeks.
Good luck to everyone.