Can You Get a License Despite an Out-of-State Suspension With a Valid Foreign License

[renner24]

My question involves a driver's license issued by the State of: New York/Vermont/California

I'm a dual US/Canada citizen, and I grew up in New York. I moved to British Columbia and exchanged my NY license for a BC one. Unknown to me, some time after that, my NY license was suspended for a lengthy insurance lapse (long story, not my fault). I've kept my BC license spotless since then. Now I've temporarily moved back to the US. I'm currently staying in Vermont but I may also live in California for a while. I'd keep using my BC license since it's clean, but I might need to buy a car while I'm in the US. As far as I know I can only do this if I have a US license. So I have two related questions...

1) If I want to exchange my BC license for either VT or CA, will either state let me do that? To my knowledge the NY one is still suspended (and I can't just go "take care of it" because it's suspended for a specific amount of time), but since I've already surrendered my NY license and I'm no longer a resident there, will other states deny my application because of my NY suspended status?

2) If I'm unable to get a US license because of this problem, is there any way to register a car in the US using my BC license if I plan to drive it up to Canada and import it?

Thanks.

[PTPD22]

If you change your residence to any of the states you mentioned, you are required to obtain a state driver’s license within a specified time of moving to the state. The fact that you have dual citizenship means squat. Citizenship and residency are two different things. If you reside in the state, you are required to obtain a state driver’s license to drive. And, until you can get the NY license reinstated, no other state is going to issue you a license. However, I don’t believe there is any requirement in any of these states that a person have a valid driver’s license to either purchase or register a vehicle.