mellybrown

My OH has just got off the phone with some personel woman in the US who has told him we can apply online for a bank of america account to get the ball rolling - but I cant find any way to do it without a SSN (which she says is possible,,,)

does anyone know if this can actually be done???

BritGuyTN

go into a branch and do it

Ray

You technically need to be in the US to do it ..

IE..The patriot Act ..

fatbrit

By personnel I assume you mean the HR department of the company he's going to work for. The first thing to learn is that the dumbest tw@ts in the corporate world work for the HR department. If they can't make it there, the only hope for them is the state's DMV office. Whenever they pronounce anything, double check with a reputable source before acting.

You'll find it much easier to open your account when you get over here.

mellybrown

lol thanks - I shall let him know, I didnt think it could be done

BritGuyTN

Thats hilarious

a mate of mine works in HR and he's beer fired or walked away under bad terms with every employer hes ever had, apart from maybe when he worked at the flower stall at the market

hes provided us with many years of hilarity

like when he had someone come and look at his escort rs turbo and they just drove off in it (yes, he would be a chavvy twat in today's nonemclature)

Bob

can use a generic number, can't remember off hand, but i think it's all 0's and then 04 for the last two digits.

chicagojlo

I think she may have been confused with the fact that Bank of America accepts ITIN numbers to open accounts for people, ITINs are for people who aren't eligible to get a Social Security number. But you have to apply for that just as you have to apply for a SSN.
My husband's credit union opened his account using all 9s, and we've used our passport number on occasion to open stuff. But I'm pretty sure that if you don't have a US address they won't do it, at least not online.

cybersecretary

I agree with that statement.

PS OH opened the BOA account asap after arriving in the US. If you go into your local branch and get someone in person, get their name and just bug them each time something goes wrong.

BTW, we just got our first US credit card with a huge limit of $500!!!

penguinsix

The WIKI above has more information on this...

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:Banking-USA

Opening a Bank Account
Under the Patriot Act, banks are required to 'know their customers' as part of anti-money laundering provisions. Most banks have adopted policies that require SSN's before you can open a bank account IF YOU ARE A US CITIZEN. Citizens of other countries have different procedures, such as passport numbers or drivers licenses or other things to prove they are who they are.

However, your common bank teller, usually with a high school education and used to dealing with 99.999% US Citizens sometimes (often times) forgets that there is a slight difference between the treatement of a USC and a foreign national. If they insist on an SSN, you can ask to speak to their superiors and inform them that an SSN is NOT required for foreign nationals under the various anti-money laundering laws (and probably under their own bank's policies). It's just sometimes people forget the slight nuances.

If they insist on an SNN, then use another bank. Banks just need to confirm who you are, so a state ID, drivers license or a passport will do. If you're using something with your US address on it (like your passport), you'll also need to show them a utility bill or something similar as proof of address.
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mellybrown

well we got an email from the manager of transfers (or summit) with the details of the woman to call at the BOA and the company have a policy on setting up accounts so looks like we can do it afterall - OH is gonna ring the woman next week, a fun convo im sure!!

chicagojlo

They might have a global expat type service, we had one of these accounts with Citibank. Got to be too much of a hassle in the end so we closed it. Also watch out because the account we were offered came with a LOT of charges and minimum balance requirements. The relocation company we used had a deal whereby the charges were waived for the first year, but if you don't have such luck then it can get expensive.

kins

Someone else got our BOA credit card, and despite us reporting it to BOA several times they are still sending us the statements and wondering why we're not paying it off.

We've filled in all the fraud forms (twice), and now we've got to the stage where we just take all paperwork that's sent to us into the branch and hand it to one particular member of staff with the words 'I thought you were going to make this go away?'

It's been five months now

ian1976

I have managed to open a Wells Fargo account as a USC here in the UK with my current UK address.

I can then just change the address and advise of my OHs SSN after we arrive.

I had to go in person to Canary Wharf where Wells Fargo has an office to show ID and sign, etc.

More info: https://www.wellsfargo.com/downloads...fact_sheet.pdf

Note: If you are moving to the east coast then you probably won't want a Wells Fargo account, they are mainly west coast and mid-west.

im9907620

When we opened our account with a small 'local' US bank - via an english bank manager who worked there - we applied for online banking and their IT support gave us a dummy number to input as we had no SSN or ITIN.