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
Two proofs of Virginia residency for the DMV

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, the DMV 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 and Virginia tax filing and is accepted by many banks and landlords. It confers no right to work.
OnlineWho: You
4
Title and register the vehicle within 30 days
Virginia DMV: title your vehicle within 30 days of moving to Virginia and register it within 30 days. That is a tighter deadline than the licence, and it is the one people miss because they arrive expecting the licence to be the urgent item.
In personWho: YouWithin 30 days
5
Get a Virginia driver's licence within 60 days
The DMV states plainly: when you move to Virginia, you have 60 days to get a Virginia driver's licence to legally drive here. Whether you sit tests depends on where your existing licence is from — check the DMV's current reciprocity position for your own country rather than assuming a neighbouring state's rules. Decide at the same time whether you want a REAL ID, which you need to board a domestic flight.
In personWho: YouWithin 60 days
6
Register with the city, which the DMV cannot do for you
The DMV says explicitly that some localities require new residents to buy a local sticker or decal within 30 days, sold by the local Commissioner of the Revenue, Treasurer or Director of Finance, and that you cannot get them from the DMV. In Richmond the city's Department of Finance also needs to know about your vehicle so it can bill you the personal property tax. This is the step nobody tells newcomers about and the one that generates a penalty.
In personWho: YouWithin 30 days of moving

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
Two proofs of Virginia residency for the DMV
Vehicle title and out-of-state registration

Things most newcomers don’t know

Virginia's vehicle deadline is shorter than its licence deadline.

Thirty days to title and register the car, sixty for the licence. Most people arrive with the opposite instinct and treat the licence as the urgent one, then discover the vehicle clock ran out a month earlier. If you drove here in your own car, the registration is the first appointment to book, not the second.

Source: Virginia DMV — moving to Virginia

There is a local registration the DMV explicitly will not handle.

The DMV's own guidance says some localities require a local sticker or decal within 30 days and that 'you cannot get them from DMV' — they come from the Commissioner of the Revenue, Treasurer or Director of Finance. In an independent city like Richmond that is a separate government from the one that just registered your car, in a separate building, on a separate deadline. Missing it is how a routine move produces a penalty notice.

Source: Virginia DMV — moving to Virginia

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.

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. Turning up on day two normally means being told to come back. Waiting until about day ten turns two visits into one, and nothing else meaningfully depends on the number before then.

Source: Social Security Administration — noncitizens and Social Security numbers

Common mistakes to avoid

Treating the visa expiry as your permitted stay rather than the I-94 'admit until' date.
Booking the licence appointment first and letting the 30-day vehicle deadline pass.
Not realising the city has its own vehicle registration step separate from the DMV's.
Getting a standard licence when you fly domestically and needed a REAL ID.
Paying anyone a fee for a Social Security card — it is free.

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