diddygez

Hi i have just a few questions if anyone can help... my husband is about to be offered a job in the USA .. which is a great package etc however we have in our past been somewhat frivolous when it comes to spending and have thus ended up with quite a large debt and a ccj. does anyone know how this would affect a move , we would only be renting and I guess he would have a company car, but is it a visa requirement that you declare any such debt and how easy would it be to get a bank account etc and how would it affect day to day living .. i know its a bit long winded but if it wqould cause a problem then i would rather halt it now

many thanks

fatbrit

You get to start with a fresh slate.

diddygez

So when you apply for a visa they dont ask any such questons

Rete

Nope, no questions.

Just bare in mind that if you don't repay the debt when you relocate back to the UK, the collectors will be after you. They do that in the UK, don't they?

Jerseygirl

According to past threads some peoples' debts have followed them to the US.

diddygez

The plan is to keep paying the uk debt whilst there i dont want to run away from it my main concern is will we be able to rent a house get utilities etc

diddygez

I suppose what else im trying to say is before he accepts the job i want to know we can go and its not something that will hold us back

fatbrit

You will find it difficult to rent a house and will probably pay deposits on utilities because you will have no US credit history rather than a bad one.

md95065

You will have the same problem that almost everyione else has when they first arrive in the US - you will have *no* credit rating, and initially that will make some things like renting an apartment or buying a car a bit more difficult. Those problems will go away as you establish a US credit history.

As far as I know your poor UK credit history will never find its way onto your US credit reports.

The one thing to be aware of (and this is the same for everyone when they first arrive) is that you may find yourself having to put down cash deposits for some things like electricity and phone service and possibly being asked for larger deposits for rental properties etc. So the first few months will go a lot more smoothly if you have a reasonable amount of cash on hand to deal with things like that.

As far as the visa goes I don't think that any of the non-immigrant visas specifically require you to disclose financial information, and I am assuming that neither of you have ever been convictyed of anything (a fraud conviction, for example, would be a big problem)

Be aware that company cars are an almost unheard of benefit in the US and while it would be reasonable to ask for the company to pay for a rental car for the first month or so as part of the relocation package I would be very surprised if they would offer a "company car".

BritishGuy36

Presumably buying a car is easy enough if you can pay cash.

English Muffin

That's how I did it and had no problems at all.

SamuearlJackson

Good luck with the move - as others have said you will start over with US credit. If you are sensible you should be able to build up a credit rating good enough to get decent credit cards and a mortgage within a couple of years or so.

The most important step will be to make sure you live below your means in order to pay back your UK debts and pay off US credit cards in full every month (I recommend not buying anything on credit that you can't pay off when the statement comes until you need to make a major purchase in a year or two).

Start trying to build your credit ASAP though. Try and find a bank or credit union that will give you an unsecured credit card (best option) or go with a secured card to start with until you can show them that you can be trusted.

taffie77

A lot of the apartments we visited were happy to have my husband's company as co-signers in lieu of any credit rating. Only one place we visited weren't flexible on that, and enforce a higher deposit (they were overpriced anyway ). So, that may be something to talk to your husband's bosses about. I'm sure I read somewhere where people have done similar things to get cell phones etc too.

We're currently waiting for some info from HSBC to come through too, as their website claims that they can open a US account for you and transfer some of your credit rating with it. So, again worth looking into if you're already a customer of theirs.

pejpm1

The guy at my bank (Chase) told me to apply for a credit card, I'd get rejected, but that he could have it over-ruled as I was introduced via my company who have a dedicated customer relationship manager at Chase and the fact that my income is sufficient...he's just emailed me today to say that as of last month Chase no longer allow that and they will only grant credit cards to people who fully pass their credit checks...

fatbrit

Do a secured card for minimum amount. Use 20% of the limit every month and pay off in full -- you do not get a better score by paying interest. Apply again eight months after first getting secured card.