Before you plan to rent a car in a foreign country, you should enlighten yourself with the requirements that overseas drivers need to carry with them during their stay in that country. In general, you can easily use your foreign driver’s license in the USA. Only it should have a valid driver’s license that has not expired. An international driver’s permit (IDP) allows you to drive a vehicle in another country, as long as you also have a valid driver’s license issued by your state. Basically, it’s easy to rent a car and drive with your foreign license but some car rental agencies want you to have a driving experience equal to one year, so your license has to be more than one year old. Other rental agencies do not have such restrictions; moreover, many car rental agencies require that you be at least 22 or 25 years old to rent a car. They do not want to rent to young less-experienced drivers. That’s why it important to check all the requirements on the web pages of the rental companies. Normally, you can use any valid foreign license to drive a car in any state. Most auto rental agencies will accept any foreign driver's license. Usually, an international driver’s license is not needed to drive in the USA but in case you have a foreign driver’s license that is written only in some language other than English, it can be useful to have an international driver’s license. In case you are stopped by the police, policemen must be able to identify that your driver’s license is legit and current. An international driver’s license provides the information in many languages including English. If the license is in a language they cannot understand, they may have trouble determining if it is a valid license. An International Driving Permit is not a driver’s license. The permit only verifies that you hold a valid driver’s license in your home country. That’s why to having a valid foreign driver's license, visitors are advised to carry an International Driving Permit obtained in their home country. However, some countries will not permit you to drive a car unless you have an International Driver's Permit.
In order to apply for US driver’s license, persons with an immigration designation of “D/S“ which means the duration of status, need to have an immigration document (i.e. I-20 or DS-2019) that is valid at least 6 more months into the future as one of their forms of identification. However, you do not have to apply for a NYS driver’s license if your foreign driver’s license is valid and you have no intention to be located in US permanently.
That’s why, before you travel the world, travel to any office for your International Driving Permit. Bring your valid driver's license, $15USD, and two original passport-type photo. Simply print out the application, fill in the information requested and bring it with you to the office nearest you. You can also order an International Driving Permit via e-mail or via regular mail.
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