Pulaski

And many banks/branches were very bad at complying with it, which is among the reasons why a number of banks have been slapped with substantial fines in recent years.

mrken30

FATCA changes over the past couple of years have also caused banks to clamp down. This started to happen just before the Panama papers were released. I am sure that piece of news did not help matters. That reporter got assassinated just the other week.

US Banking Regulation, FATCA - Risk management + Compliance for FCA, EU & USA. Financial regulation made understandable.

robtuck

I can confirm I set-up a Bank Account with Wells Fargo last year without proof of address - based on their news coverage for the past 2 years, rules are just no their thing.

Pulaski

What information did you have to provide? Specifically, did it include an SSN? And we're you a "straight off the plane" new immigrant, or had you lived somewhere else in the US (not necessarily recently)?

robtuck

SSN just received - we had a Lease we had completed the paperwork for, but hadn't actually moved in and didn't have the thing sewn up yet. We just gave them that address with no proof (I admit this was being a bit of a chancer, but we had only really walked in to see what we would need and it all went a bit quickly!). Was within the first 10 days of arriving. Never lived outside Swindon in the UK before, let alone USA :-)

robtuck

And I am not sure suggesting a bank on the basis of their lack of ethics is probably the best recommendation, but it's all worked out ok in the end - and we did move into the house.

Pulaski

So you did have an SSN, and presumably your passport proving your name and date of birth, right?

Jaag

Just to echo that when I arrived in 2014, I opened a checking account and credit card at CHASE literally the next day. I had a rental car, living in a hotel, no SSN. Was based on passport and visa, and done on good faith that those other details would be provided later.

I've personally found that many "rules" in the USA seem scary and rigid, but in reality it's quite different and there's a lot of discretion.

Pulaski

Money also talks.

zzrmark

Which would go a long way to explaining why I couldn't set up anything but a joint account with the missus with WF when I first opened an account!!

petitefrancaise

I opened an account today with a client using their temporary corporate accommodation address.

Get a printout from airbnb showing your name, the address, dates of staying there and proof of payment.

ivanidea

One thing I've learned from these forums is, take every piece of ID you have to the bank.

I went to my local PNC soon after arriving in the USA. I was directed to a lady who went through the procedure of opening an account. She was impressed that I brought in my UK documents (Passport & DL), since not many immigrants do so.

My checking account was opened based on my UK address, since I only had UK ID. I did have a copy of the US address lease agreement on which my name had been added to after our marriage. Copies of the passport ID page, visa stamp page and DL were taken. I don't recall if I needed a copy of my UK bank statement (it was a while ago), but I had it with me just in case.

Once I had received my SSN the following week, I returned to the bank and updated the account.

I was fortunate to deal with somebody who knew the process, and everything went smoothly for me.

As soon as I had my SSN, and received a bank statement from PNC (accepted proof of address), I was able to open an account with a credit union. As soon as I had a job, I was then able to obtain a secured credit card from the credit union too.

I know I had a slight advantage with my US wife adding me to her lease and car insurance soon after our marriage the previous year.

petitefrancaise

You know you can phone the bank ahead of time and ask to speak to someone with experience dealing with international clients?

This is exactly what I do if I can't take my clients to a branch that I know.
I look online and check the requirements for the account to be free
than I call them. If there are any grey areas (ie proof of residence) then I ask them whilst on the phone what they will accept. And if they haven't got a clue I either phone back and ask to speak to the branch manager or I go to another branch/bank.
I also make an appointment with the person who knows what they are talking about.

Really, when you actually get there, there should be no doubt that you have all the correct documents.

petepete99

How would you rate PNC? I am due to move to Fort Myers from London in January, and I'm exploring banking options. I am considering Advancial as I've heard they offer unsecured credit cards with decent limits to newly arriving expats, but would be keen to hear about checking/banking options locally (there are no Advancial branches in Florida, and the nearest 'shared' branch is an hours drive).

mrken30

Very different to when I arrived. Landed on the Saturday Monday morning took a leisurely stroll down to the Social Security office. They provided me with a printout showing my SSN. On the walk back opened a bank account with the printout from the social security office.