sundavies

Hi again,
New dilemma !! I need to open a bank account in the US to transfer funds. At the moment I have no SSN and no US address. Obviously my boyfriend has a US address - am I able to use this as mine ? I already have an HSBC account in the UK - can I automatically have an account in the US ? A little help and guidance would be much appreciated - you've been a great help before - I managed to get the LA flight I was looking for for £191 plus tax (cool huh ?)
I suppose what I really want to know is can I open ANY bank account without an SSN ? and if not, how can I get an SSN BEFORE my K1 is approved - if at all ?

Thanks a lot

Patrick

You cannot open a bank account from outside the USA without a SSN period. If you where in the USA you can walk into a branch as long as you have an address. Why can't you use your boyfriends address?

Your only real option is to use your boyfriends account. HSBC is mostly merchant banking in the states and they don't have branches on every corner like the UK.

Good job on the flight ticket though

Patrick

sundavies

Thanks for that Patrick.

I suppose what I need to know is can I use my boyfriend's address BEFORE I am resident there ?

When you say 'as long as I am in the US' does that include to visit or just resident ?

Sorry to sound incredibly thick - its all Greek to me !!!! lol

Patrick

Next time you visit open a bank account, you don't have to be living there you just need a passport and an address. (unless this has changed recently)

Patrick

sundavies

That's EXACTLY what I wanted to know - thanks for being so prompt with your reply Patrick

Supergirl

When we moved to Georgia, we tried to open an account with several banks as my husbands wages were going to be paid into a bank account.
Many banks said that they would not accept just an address and a passport.
We were told that a passport is not good enough for photo ID.
The last bank we went to, Wachovia, would only accept my husbands Siemens ID badge that had been printed that day - but they wouldn't accept a passport.

How stupid is that!

Patrick

We are with Wachovia and have found them to be the most reasonble bank, don't even get me started on BOA.

Patrick

Supergirl

I still miss direct debit and I hate it that every time I go into the bank to pay in a cheque, they tell me that I can't if the cheque is not made payable to me.
You have to spell it out for them that you do not want to cash it.
Then they tell you that the reason why your cash card does not work is that it's been scratched at the back and the details have been lost from the silver strip

NC Penguin

Direct debit does exist in the US. It's known as "direct draft", if I'm not mistaken. Our car loan payments are made like this on a monthly basis..

The quality of the plastic and printing in the US of debit cards, credit card and other plastic cards with a magnetic strip on the back is pretty poor. Flimsy and the silver embossing on the front wears away so quickly. I've also had to resign my bank debit card because my signature wore away.

SunnyDave

If you want/need to open an account in the US while still in the UK AND you have had an HSBC account for at least 2 years and you are in good standing with them, it can be done. However, as Patrick said, they do not have a High Street presence in the US like they do in the UK. Check out this link for the branches they have but not all branches will have full retail services like the UK.

http://us.hsbc.com/inside/locations.asp

If you do need to open the account, ask at your local branch for them to contact their International Banking Centre ( you might have to ask the them to check their branch procedures manual as most of the front line staff won't know this can be done ). The International dept will contact a branch near to where you want the account based & arrange for application forms to be faxed to them. These will be posted to you for completion & returning along with a copy of your passport. These will be sent back to the US branch for the a/c to be opened & books/cards to be ordered.

As I said above, you HAVE to have a good track record & an account with them for at least 2 years as it will be classed as a recommended introduction from HSBC UK to HSBC USA for an existing good customer.

The above goes for opening an account in any country that HSBC (and its group companies) have branches although certain countries have restrictions on what they can open depending on their countries' banking laws. Some will only open accounts for residents, some need minimum balances, some will only offer certain types of accounts but this is down to the countries' banking laws and not any form of credit scoring as the introduction is classed as a recommendation to open an account.

Hope this clarifies it a bit.

Dave

SunnyDave

P.S. I forgot to say they generally speaking, they will want about 4 weeks to complete the whole process, so don't leave it until the last minute.

Dave

Pimpbot

You mean someone actually checks your sig? I cannot remember the last time I saw someone actually check mine. Infact, most of the time they give it back to me before I have been given the receipt to sign.

Supergirl

Thanks for that Dave. I've just e-mailed the link over to my husband. He has a HSBC account in the UK and at the moment we are trying to find a way to move our UK debts over here.
We have credit cards still to pay and a mortgage both in the UK, but of course the exchange rate is making things tough.

If you have any more advice, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks again Dave.

SunnyDave

Well, now that's a bit different. Whilst HSBC UK will help to open an account in the US, they will not make any recommendations for providing any lending. This will be solely down to the US branch and their credit scoring procedures.

Dave

Supergirl

Oh any ideas then?