Speedbird One

Hi All,

I am moving to houston in december on a 6 months on a b-2 visa. This visa is only a temporary business visa allowing up to 6 months in the usa per year.

q1. how can i open a us bank account, preferable with minimal hassle, noting i do not have a social security number, just a temporary leased home. i can get an atm card ? utility bills not in my name, but i can try and get another telephone line installed, and so a utility bill.

q2. can i take out car insurance if i bought a cheap car - again no social security number is the likely issue. assume i can buy a cheap car (say $5000?) with no problems and register it at temporary address ?

q3. my son is coming with me, and i intend to out him in local school. apparently this is no problem, no ssn needed.

q4. i am thinking of buying a house for $250k with cash, and putting basic furniture in it. live there, then rent it out fully furnished when not there. I have checked and there is a pretty good furnished rental market where i want to buy. any anticipated problems with buying ?

q5. thinking of getting wife a b-1 visa. there is some potential complication with this and i risk a rejection. maybe better let her join me on the visa waiver programme and have her leave, go for couple days to mexico, and reenter after 3 months ? small risk she may not be allowed back in then however.

thanks to any gurus who know these issues !

SP one

civilservant

There is not such thing as this - if you are reffering to the B1/B2 visa then you are allowed to hold business meetings on this visa but not 'work' Who will you be working for? Are they aware of your immigration status?

You will not be able to open an account without a SSN. You will not get an SSN without the authority to work.

Depending on the state, you can use your UK license for a limited period. Then you will need to take and pass the license for the relevent state. You wont get a driving license without an SSN.

For 6 months?? It will be a completly different curriculum.

She will most likely receive questions and possibly be removed if she were to levae the US for a few days and attempt to re-enter for another 3 months on the VWP. Its not a small risk - its a very big one. It can and does happen.

Overall you firdt need to be clear about what you can and cannot do on the visa you have been granted, because if you do have a B1/2 I dont see how you can possibly do all this. If you are getting a B1/2 in lieu of an HB1 (and will later receive the HB1) then that is something else entirely. However this dosent appear to be what you are suggesting.

wilba1234

Not true, I have a checking account with Chase bank with debit card opened in Houston without a SSN.

If you want to leave the account open when you return to the UK you will need to fill in a W8-BEN form to state that you are paying tax in a different country.

Weeze

You can drive for 90 days on your UK license. After that you need to sit a driving test. You can take along documentation to show you aren't entitled to a SSN, but that won't help as I doubt they'll give you a license without more permanant status. Mine is marked with my visa end date and I don't think they'd understand such a short stay.

Utilities pretty impossible without a SSN. They just cannot understand why people don't have one. We couldn't until we had a SSN.

Personally I wouldn't buy a house without knowing more about the area. I wouldn't buy a house without a more permanant status. I wouldn't want to be a landlord in Houston from far away.

civilservant

Perhaps different banks (or states) have different rules? 2 Different banks (1 in SC, other in GA) said I needed an SSN.

Weeze

In Houston Wells Fargo let you open an account without an SSN, but respectfully to the OP, this sounds like it will be the least of the issues.

wilba1234

You could buy a house but will have to find an international mortgage provider. You will not be able to get any form of credit in the US without a SSN, EIN or ITIN number or credit history.

You cannot insure a car without one of those numbers either.

You can lease a property without those numbers and you can get utilities at that address without SSN too.

You will need to find an energy provider that does not perform a credit check though. Therefore it will be way more expensive for energy.

I think I pay 13 cents per kW

Speedbird One

Who said anything about working, I certainly did not. I can negotiate contracts etc however.

Yes, you can open a bank account without ssn, wonder how though.

Apparently no I cant use a local school, although not sure if this really would lead to "any future visas being denied". Anyone sure about this ? If so, I can send him to private school and be done with it.

thanks for the tip on car insurance.

Weeze

You'll have trouble with private school without a SSN IMHO. We had to provide it as part of the financial paperwork.

wilba1234

Easy, walk into a bank with $100 in your wallet and ask to open a checking account.

Bink

+1 There are all kinds of tax implications too if you're renting out a house in the States.
I wouldn't want to do it either.


There is actually very little difference between an ESTA and a B2 - do you have the B2 already? They can also refuse you at PoE if they believe that you're using the B2 to live here rather than visit just as they can for an ESTA entry.

christmasoompa

What visa will your son be on though? If you are going for six months and have an appropriate visa, that's one thing, but if your wife and son will only be on the VWP, they are very unlikely to be able to stay with you for six months.

wilba1234

copied from the London US embassy website

"The U.S.A. has an agreement with most countries whereby the renter's full national driving license may be used for a period of up to one year in the U.S.A. This applies to the full U.K. driving license. Provisional licenses are not acceptable."

Speedbird One

ESTA is up to 90 days I think. Sounds like I should get a b-1/b2 for wife and son - or otherwise just stick to 90 day period on the visa waiver programme.

If private school a problem in Houston too, then maybe I will leave him at boarding school in uk, also possible.

christmasoompa

I'd research just how difficult it is to get a B1 if you're eligible for the VWP - plenty of stories in the immigration section of the forum. If your wife gets refused a B1, which is likely, then she won't be able to use the VWP either.

Have you already got your B2?