Question regarding California driver's license

[john1968]

I have called the California DMV asking for information to verify that they do indeed accept either a Canadian Passport or Canadian birth certificate. The main office in Sacramento confirmed that I can apply for a CA license with either a Canadian passport or Canadian birth certificate with no SSN. The lady mentioned that if I use a passport an I94 may be required to process the driver's license application depending on what border I cross. Has anyone heard of an I94 being a requirement in a Canadian Passport? I stated to her that Canadian Citizens who are non-immigrants and cross from Canada into the US are not issued I94s.

[Steven]

You need one to get a DL. It's a bit misleading on their website because they say a Canadian passport is acceptable as proof, but then later on it says you must show you are able to stay for at least another 60 days in order to get a licence, and the only way to do that is with an I-94 if you're in a non-immigrant classification. Basically if you're there as a visitor in B-1 or B-2 it's pointless because the licence would only be valid for a few months.

They seem to be iffy about the SSN: http://dmv.ca.gov/dl/dl_info.htm#SSN

One of my relatives tried to get one without an SSN, basically they require the SSN if you can get one. If you were there, say as TD or H-4 and couldn't get an SSN, then you can get a DL but you need proof you can't get one. My relative said it seems to depend on the office, because she tried another office and they didn't seem to care, but by then she had it anyway.

[john1968]

Would it be possible to apply with just my birth certificate?

[Steven]

You can use it lieu of your passport, but that doesn't help you because the bit you're missing is proof of how long you can stay in the US, which means you need an I-94.

I suppose at the moment you could use a DL and a birth certificate to cross at a land border and ask for an I-94, bit unusual to do that though.