From Switzerland To South Dakota Full Time Traveler Resident?

My reply may have gotten lost in the mix, but it's really important before you leave Switzerland to get legal translations of your driver's license, driving record, proof of employment, and physical address there. Legal translations get notarized; by law trucking companies need to verify where you were and your employment history.

Also, call recruiters directly, I had no problem getting answers to this stuff that way. Several had said there would be no problem, others wanted to see a newly active U.S. driver's license for a certain period of time first, but there were a number that said this scenario in itself wouldn't be an issue.

Hi! Your obstacle is more than you think. You are required to have 1 year of recent US drivers license and 3 years of verifiable employment.

I suggest you get to the states and get a license with good standing. Get some verifiable employment and go from there.

Good luck

And no... Paying for a school would not make things easier. It could just waste your time and money.

Three years of employment is not required. The past 3 years must be verified, but there is nothing stating that an individual has to have been employed for 3 years. Individual companies may require that before hiring a person, but this is not a requirement in the same way as possession of a US license for 1 year is a government stipulated requirement.

I called for non-facts all the time, even when I am actually providing an opinion, but here is a moderator just making something up.

, but this is not a requirement in the same way as possession of a US license for 1 year is a government stipulated requirement.

This may have changed in some states. The government websites for Iowa and South Dakota don't seem to mention this requirement alongside the rest; in the past I know Iowa's did.

Not getting something fully right ≠ making things up.

Thanks "Old School" and "Midnight Fox"

"Old School" is correct about my intensions about an out-of-pocket trucking school. I'm old and wise and would not attend an out-of-pocket school and hope for the best after graduation. My time is valuable and flying a couple times in and out of the USA to get my ducks in a row is a much more viable and pragmatic option.

This is my fourth time living as an xpat. Even when I was a kid at 21 I made sure everything was covered in writing before I put my car on a ship, my toolboxes crated and shipped VIA FedEx and myself on an airplane for my return.

"Midnight Fox" thanks for the Notarization in Switzerland tip. I will also start calling recruiters and follow up with an email asking for verification about we discussed. Sadly, we all know if it isn't in writing it never happened.

For the others that think "this guy" is coming out of left field I can assure you I am not. I have read this site extensively including the recommended section as suggested. TT has been a wealth of information and inspiration with very few Trolls. There just is no section for "Xpat Without USA License, How To." I even found the SD Permanent Traveller Resident program mentioned here and this looks like the fastest, cleanest, and least bureaucratic hassle to get a new drivers license.

I know the economy in the USA is bad and will need to get even worse before there is a bottom. I have noticed even Schneider has no training options listed on their job boards and see other companies have stopped training so I must assume others are slowing their recruitment for non-CDL holders. I have the luxury of being where I am and when everything is right, I will make the move.

Thanks again for the help

I have noticed even Schneider has no training options listed on their job boards and see other companies have stopped training so I must assume others are slowing their recruitment for non-CDL holders.

That's not true. Below is 2 jobs posted on Schneider's site populated using the zip code of Adrian, MI. CDL training available. There are other job listings from this same search result that show CDL training being available, and this being a location that is not a prime location for Schneider's hiring areas.