Banking with no SSN - my success story
Mar 4th 2004, 2:20 am
#1
Whimsical in the brainpan
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 407
Banking with no SSN - my success story
I'm in the same situation many people are in: wanting to open a bank account without having one's EAD/SSN/AOS stuff sorted out. How fun!
I went to Wells Fargo, where my husband has his account. Adding me to the account was nearly impossible because of the lack of SSN or ITIN.
The friendly account lady was actually from Vancouver (fellow canadian! YAY!) and so she totally TOTALLY understood what immigration was like. She sat down with me and worked out a way around the system, which involved considering me a non-resident (using my Canadian address), with a US mailing address. All she needed was a passport and a secondary form of ID (she used my school ID from Canada).
She was super friendly and helpful! We sorted out the account, deposited some cheques I'd accumulated over time (wedding presents, students, and such) and we were good to go!
So - it IS possible to do, but it does vary from bank to bank. I had tried with TCF and got nowhere.
Apparently Wells Fargo is willing to be flexible, as long as you have a Passport and an I-94 in it, no matter the expiration date. They will consider you a non-resident, assign your account your US address, and voila. When the SSN comes in, you can make the changes to the account, and it will be easier to add you to your spouse's account.
Good luck to everyone - remember to be persistent, but friendly... or to find an account manager who is also an ex-pat!
We shared our immigration woes and had a lot of fun!
Elly
I went to Wells Fargo, where my husband has his account. Adding me to the account was nearly impossible because of the lack of SSN or ITIN.
The friendly account lady was actually from Vancouver (fellow canadian! YAY!) and so she totally TOTALLY understood what immigration was like. She sat down with me and worked out a way around the system, which involved considering me a non-resident (using my Canadian address), with a US mailing address. All she needed was a passport and a secondary form of ID (she used my school ID from Canada).
She was super friendly and helpful! We sorted out the account, deposited some cheques I'd accumulated over time (wedding presents, students, and such) and we were good to go!
So - it IS possible to do, but it does vary from bank to bank. I had tried with TCF and got nowhere.
Apparently Wells Fargo is willing to be flexible, as long as you have a Passport and an I-94 in it, no matter the expiration date. They will consider you a non-resident, assign your account your US address, and voila. When the SSN comes in, you can make the changes to the account, and it will be easier to add you to your spouse's account.
Good luck to everyone - remember to be persistent, but friendly... or to find an account manager who is also an ex-pat!
We shared our immigration woes and had a lot of fun!Elly
Mar 4th 2004, 2:39 am
#2
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Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Nevada b4 California b4 Colorado b4 Valley of plastic and sand, b4 London
Posts: 2,025
Re: Banking with no SSN - my success story
Originally posted by Elenfair
I'm in the same situation many people are in: wanting to open a bank account without having one's EAD/SSN/AOS stuff sorted out. How fun!
I went to Wells Fargo, where my husband has his account. Adding me to the account was nearly impossible because of the lack of SSN or ITIN.
The friendly account lady was actually from Vancouver (fellow canadian! YAY!) and so she totally TOTALLY understood what immigration was like. She sat down with me and worked out a way around the system, which involved considering me a non-resident (using my Canadian address), with a US mailing address. All she needed was a passport and a secondary form of ID (she used my school ID from Canada).
She was super friendly and helpful! We sorted out the account, deposited some cheques I'd accumulated over time (wedding presents, students, and such) and we were good to go!
So - it IS possible to do, but it does vary from bank to bank. I had tried with TCF and got nowhere.
Apparently Wells Fargo is willing to be flexible, as long as you have a Passport and an I-94 in it, no matter the expiration date. They will consider you a non-resident, assign your account your US address, and voila. When the SSN comes in, you can make the changes to the account, and it will be easier to add you to your spouse's account.
Good luck to everyone - remember to be persistent, but friendly... or to find an account manager who is also an ex-pat! We shared our immigration woes and had a lot of fun!
Elly
I'm in the same situation many people are in: wanting to open a bank account without having one's EAD/SSN/AOS stuff sorted out. How fun!
I went to Wells Fargo, where my husband has his account. Adding me to the account was nearly impossible because of the lack of SSN or ITIN.
The friendly account lady was actually from Vancouver (fellow canadian! YAY!) and so she totally TOTALLY understood what immigration was like. She sat down with me and worked out a way around the system, which involved considering me a non-resident (using my Canadian address), with a US mailing address. All she needed was a passport and a secondary form of ID (she used my school ID from Canada).
She was super friendly and helpful! We sorted out the account, deposited some cheques I'd accumulated over time (wedding presents, students, and such) and we were good to go!
So - it IS possible to do, but it does vary from bank to bank. I had tried with TCF and got nowhere.
Apparently Wells Fargo is willing to be flexible, as long as you have a Passport and an I-94 in it, no matter the expiration date. They will consider you a non-resident, assign your account your US address, and voila. When the SSN comes in, you can make the changes to the account, and it will be easier to add you to your spouse's account.
Good luck to everyone - remember to be persistent, but friendly... or to find an account manager who is also an ex-pat!
We shared our immigration woes and had a lot of fun!Elly
Mar 5th 2004, 9:27 pm
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Banking with no SSN - my success story
However you probably had to do a W8 IRS Form correct? if the account
was a non-interest bearing account I do not understand why Wells Fargo
wants me to fill out a tax form! If you didn't have to fill out a W8
I'd love to know how you got the account, Wells Fargo will issue me a
credit card w/o SSN but NOT a checking account! hah!
veryfunny <member13739@british_expats.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Originally posted by Elenfair
> > I'm in the same situation
> many people are in: wanting to open a bank account without having one's
> EAD/SSN/AOS stuff sorted out. How fun!
> >
> > I went to Wells Fargo,
> where my husband has his account. Adding me to the account was nearly
> impossible because of the lack of SSN or ITIN.
> >
> > The friendly
> account lady was actually from Vancouver (fellow canadian! YAY!) and so
> she totally TOTALLY understood what immigration was like. She sat down
> with me and worked out a way around the system, which involved
> considering me a non-resident (using my Canadian address), with a US
> mailing address. All she needed was a passport and a secondary form of
> ID (she used my school ID from Canada).
> >
> > She was super friendly
> and helpful! We sorted out the account, deposited some cheques I'd
> accumulated over time (wedding presents, students, and such) and we were
> good to go!
> >
> > So - it IS possible to do, but it does vary from bank
> to bank. I had tried with TCF and got nowhere.
> >
> > Apparently Wells
> Fargo is willing to be flexible, as long as you have a Passport and an
> I-94 in it, no matter the expiration date. They will consider you a non-
> resident, assign your account your US address, and voila. When the SSN
> comes in, you can make the changes to the account, and it will be easier
> to add you to your spouse's account.
> >
> > Good luck to everyone -
> remember to be persistent, but friendly... or to find an account manager
> who is also an ex-pat! We shared our immigration woes and had a lot
> of fun!
> >
> > Elly
>
> Thank you for this just want I wanted to
> know. THX.
was a non-interest bearing account I do not understand why Wells Fargo
wants me to fill out a tax form! If you didn't have to fill out a W8
I'd love to know how you got the account, Wells Fargo will issue me a
credit card w/o SSN but NOT a checking account! hah!
veryfunny <member13739@british_expats.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Originally posted by Elenfair
> > I'm in the same situation
> many people are in: wanting to open a bank account without having one's
> EAD/SSN/AOS stuff sorted out. How fun!
> >
> > I went to Wells Fargo,
> where my husband has his account. Adding me to the account was nearly
> impossible because of the lack of SSN or ITIN.
> >
> > The friendly
> account lady was actually from Vancouver (fellow canadian! YAY!) and so
> she totally TOTALLY understood what immigration was like. She sat down
> with me and worked out a way around the system, which involved
> considering me a non-resident (using my Canadian address), with a US
> mailing address. All she needed was a passport and a secondary form of
> ID (she used my school ID from Canada).
> >
> > She was super friendly
> and helpful! We sorted out the account, deposited some cheques I'd
> accumulated over time (wedding presents, students, and such) and we were
> good to go!
> >
> > So - it IS possible to do, but it does vary from bank
> to bank. I had tried with TCF and got nowhere.
> >
> > Apparently Wells
> Fargo is willing to be flexible, as long as you have a Passport and an
> I-94 in it, no matter the expiration date. They will consider you a non-
> resident, assign your account your US address, and voila. When the SSN
> comes in, you can make the changes to the account, and it will be easier
> to add you to your spouse's account.
> >
> > Good luck to everyone -
> remember to be persistent, but friendly... or to find an account manager
> who is also an ex-pat!
We shared our immigration woes and had a lot> of fun!
> >
> > Elly
>
> Thank you for this just want I wanted to
> know. THX.
Mar 5th 2004, 11:02 pm
#4
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 246
Re: Banking with no SSN - my success story
I opened my joint account at Bank of America used two ID's with picture (no SSN or ITIN). I used my Citibank Credit Card with my picture on it and also another one which I got as a dependant to my husband...she won't take driving license or birth ID (we have small card when we reached 12 years old) from my country.
