carin123

Can someone please give me some advice or point me in the right direction.

First of all i am a u.s.c living in the u.k and have done for the majority of my life, i am in the process of moving back to the states with my family and getting all relevant documentation together.
But i am having bother opening a U.S bank account without being in the states. I have a S.S.N and passport. I have phoned the The Bank of America and US HSBC, but still no luck!
I have heard that people open accounts, but how do they do this and what bank did they use.
Just that i cant afford to travel over there at this time.

Thank for any hel given
cheers

TRPardoe

I don't think you can open an account without proof of a US address.

Don't you know anyone living here who can walk into a bank and ask them directly ?

carin123

Thanks for such a quick response,
sure, i have been putting in the application forms an american address but they sent me an e-mail saying to contact them, which i did and the gentleman said that i had no credit history and that i would need to come into the bank personally.
Just dont know how to get round this bit lol.
cheers

TRPardoe

I am going thorugh exactly the same poblem trying open an account in the UK. Despite having a Brit passport, Brit driving licence and a Brit house but cannot open an account without a Brit utility bill, which I do not have.

One of my 8-ball buddies is a Bank of America rep, I'll ask him for you if I can get hold of him.

Ray

Try
http://wachovia.com/

Roland Hulme

As a United States Citizen with an American Passport and social security number, OF COURSE you can't open a Bank of America account if you're not in the country.

If you ARE in the country, but are an undocumented illegal alien without a social security number, please, come right in, have a free coffee and we'll get you signed up immediately.

RETARDED.

I got a BofA credit card recently and when they saw I wasn't a USC they automatically sent me the whole bloody package in Spanish, with NO English translations. Activation telephone number was in Spanish too!

TRPardoe

Honestly, you are so cynical!!

Roland Hulme

I know. Rushman will have a heart attack when he realises I don't ALWAYS wave the Star & Stripes.

Here's an article about it:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,251672,00.html

And of course, a plug for my blog:

http://rolandhulme.blogspot.com/2007...migration.html

TRPardoe

That's pretty apalling considering the hoops we legal residents have to go through. Makes you wonder why we bother.

carin123

Thanks for your reply's
Thats great for all helpful info, and pls get back to me on what ur friend thinks who works for the bank of america.
For all the peeps who have moved to the U.S surely there are ways for this to be carried out, come on out of the thousands of peeps who go through the immigration process, having to open an american bank account as part of the proof that they are intending to live in the U.S, surely they have not all made a trip to the U.S just to open an account.

Ive heard of the off shore accounts are these just as good at proving that we are intending on living in the U.S, anybody got any info on this.

Ray

Most people would not consider immigrating without a pre-visit
unless they are daft or going to dingo ..

At this time you would open an account in the normal course of things
The relevant Act requires them to see ID much the same as most
countries

If you are talking a fair amount you could open a citibank dollar/pound account

carin123

My hubby spent 4 months working and living in america, and we have had plenty of holidays in america, and our circumstances have changed and we are all moving to the U.S sooner that what we thought we were going too. If we had known the circumstances then we would have opened an account, hindsight is a great tool however inpractical, thanks for the negitive feed back, hope it helps someone else lol.

carin123

I just want to open a basic account that when we do sell our house the funds can go straight into it, and this would also help with buying another house when we are ready.

TonyLA

I think a lot depends on who you bank with in the UK and who you approach in the US.

If you bank with HSBC in the UK contact their International Division by phone - they should be able to get you all the forms you need and you can fill everything in BEFORE you go to the US and when you get there you will, in theory, have everything pre-approved and ready to go. Takes a few weeks though so if you are leaving soon just wait and walk into a bank there.

Failing that - I walked out of an HSBC branch in the US with a bank account, temporary check book and the ability to transfer funds same day I got a US address. I believe you will get pretty much the same service from any of the US national banks - forget the smaller ones.

Oh....HSBC have an account specially designed to help build up a credit rating quicker but I didn't pursue it so can't tell you much about it.

carin123

HSBC dont have any branches in Massachusetts, already spoke to them. Thats just my luck.