Can you travel in the US with just your drivers lisence and not your ead card?

I was wondering if you could travel in the usa with just your california drivers lisence and leave the work authorization pink card at home...and if you get stoped by ice is a lisence enough???

As long as you're out of the reach of border patrol you should be ok - so don't go within 100 miles of the border (or anywhere in Arizona or Alabama).

I've flown (nervously) a few times with just a DL... If it were me though and I had that, I'd keep it with me at all times. 1. I don't want it to get lost or stolen when I'm not near it, and 2. Somtimes the shit hits the fan - you get in an accident where someone is very hurt or a fight breaks out and you're arrested, etc. You don't want to be in jail while they sort out who's legal.

i appreciated your post but you seamed a little paranoid

He is.

Once you get your drivers license you dont need to carry your EAD, leave it at home in a safe place with your social. Only take out your EAD when you need to show employers or other important applications. You may travel anywhere in the 50 states with the drivers license, just dont cross any international borders (canada, mexico) also I wouldn't travel to puerto rico just yet, even though people have done it doesn't mean you should do the same.

Edit: just saw his Sig, so he has every right to be nervous. Thats how I felt when I was flying to California and back to New York with just my colombian passport the last two years. sucks he aged out though. But once your approved to be legally here, theres nothing to be worried about when traveling across the US

Alex, did you get your SSN yet? If so, how long did it take?

I never seam paranoid - seaming has a calming effect. J/K Which part seemed paranoid?

Not being within the jurisdiction of the border patrol without it? That is a real danger. They have checkpoints.

Arizona and Alabama part? Perhaps a little paranoid, but they are assholes and even arrested the Mercedes executive before.

Shit hitting the fan part? Yeah it's paranoid, but does that piece of paper and plastic REALLY take up that much real estate in your wallet to leave it at home? Is it THAT big of an inconvenience to carry that .05 oz piece of paper? Nothing will happen in 99.99% of the time, but that one .01% of being in the wrong place at the wrong time makes it worth it to have it with you.

Yes I applied the day after receiving my EAD, and it came in the mail 5 business days later.

You must not go out alot.. In my lifetime (im 29) i've lost my wallet twice, and im so glad it was just money and school ID that ive lost. Imagine you've finally have a social after so many years and one day you loose it because you left your wallet somewhere or someone robs you? You know the fraud that can be done with a social security card? When you get your social in the mail it even says "Keep At Home in a Safe Place!" Even the EAD letter that comes with your card says Keep in a Safe Place. Your wallet is not a safe place!

Besides most drivers license say temporary visitor on it with the date of expiration of your EAD, which confirms your here legally just in case you need to show at a check point close to a border state.

one should never have their EAD in their wallet. or your SSN for that matter either.

those are 2 things that are private and unless asked to show them to an employer or use them for other purposes, then no one needs to see them.

you should keep them at home in a safe place. if you lose your EAD, you have to pay to get another one. and wait all that time to get it.

as long as you have a DL, then you can travel where ever you want within the US and it's territories with no problems. I've flown within the US with just my Mexican Passport and have never had any problems.

lets say that you get stopped at a random immigration checkpoint and you only have your California driver license how do they know if your legal or not?

random immigration checkpoint!!! (they're not like DUI checkpoints. they;re not as "random" as people think they are) lol, where i live the CBP is out and about all the time. CBP has the ability to run someone's DL in their database to check their immigration status. they even have a portable finger print scan. go figure, modern technology.

and you dont have to answer the question of if you're a US Citizen. FYI