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
Proof of Tennessee residence for the Driver Services Center

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, Driver Services 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.
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 tax filing and is accepted by many banks. It grants no right to work.
OnlineWho: You
4
Book a Driver Services Center appointment in your first fortnight
Tennessee gives 30 days from establishing residency. Nashville-area centres take appointments and the convenient ones fill; the centres in Rivergate, Hermitage and Murfreesboro are often quicker than the central one. Book before you need it.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1–2
5
Expect a temporary-marked licence if you are on a temporary status
Tennessee issues temporary visa holders a licence or ID marked accordingly and valid only for the period of authorised stay. Renewal means presenting current immigration documents again in person. Budget the time; it recurs.
In personWho: You
6
Track your own status expiry
Nobody will remind you. USCIS extensions and change-of-status petitions run for months, so start well before the I-94 date. Falling out of status is far harder to fix than staying in it.
OnlineWho: You

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
Employment authorisation document or approval notice, where applicable
Two proofs of Tennessee residence for Driver Services

Things most newcomers don’t know

Tennessee marks the licence of a temporary visa holder, and that has practical consequences.

A temporary-status licence is visibly different from a standard one and is valid only for the length of your authorised stay. It functions as ID, but landlords, employers' HR systems and occasionally airline staff who do not see them often will pause over it. Carry your I-94 printout and status documents alongside it in the first year, and expect to explain the card more than once.

Source: Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security

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 and looking it up is free.

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. Going on day two normally means being told to come back. Waiting until roughly day ten turns two trips into one, and nothing else meaningfully depends on having the number in your first week.

Source: Social Security Administration — noncitizens and Social Security numbers

Nashville's immigrant communities are much larger than the city's reputation suggests.

Davidson County is home to the largest Kurdish population in the United States, along with substantial Somali, Egyptian, Burmese and Latin American communities, concentrated around Nolensville Pike and south Nashville. That translates into established community organisations, accredited immigration legal aid and, practically, into places where your documents and your language are already familiar — which is worth knowing on week one.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Treating the visa expiry as your permitted stay rather than the I-94 'admit until' date.
Visiting a Social Security office before DHS records have synced.
Paying anyone a fee for a Social Security card — it is free.
Missing the 30-day licence deadline because Driver Services appointments were booked out.
Assuming a temporary-status licence renews on the same cycle as a standard one — it does not.

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