fatbrit

You should find the bureaus will list him with aliases eventually. Sometimes they guess them as well. For example, my wife keeps her maiden name, and in her country the ending of your surname is gender specific. I'm not particularly pleased when they keep listing it as an alias for me, since despite my occassional kinkiness the thought of gender rearrangement is not really one of my things. Cutural awareness is not strong among US bureaucrats! Last time they did, I threatened to sue if they did it again.

Yep, put Turkey. It may reject you, but then there's a phone number to call to sort it all out. You may have to go to letters at this stage. Be polite but very firm when dealing with this band of imbeciles, and document everything. BTW, when it accepts you, it asks you for figures from a couple of random transactions on your lines to verify your identity -- so have your files close at hand.

englishnurse

have checked out the ratio with regards to cost of living it seems that apart from states like ca the cost of living is cheaper than in the uk and the wages more however initially i will be working for an agency who will take a cut of the salary for the first 18 months as payment for greencard paperwork etc... so starting wage will be only $42,000 a year. husband is a carpenter, hopefully he wont have too much trouble getting work but i dont know what demand is like for his trade in az. we certainly dont expect to find things easy, however a bit of sunshine should make up for the hardship!

fatbrit

The pay is adequate to live in Phoenix but you certainly won't be lording it. You should check in the nurses’ forum where there are Brit nurses who have worked in Phoenix recently and know the market. I would say that you should be able to increase it considerably with a bit of US experience behind you after the 18 months.

Much of the 'carpentry' in Phoenix is house framing, not really a skilled job and mostly taken by the 'undocumented' ones. He'll probably want to head towards the contractors who work in the posh areas with custom carpentry and should considering branching out on his own later. He should start his reading and planning here as he may need to get confirmation of his skills and training from the UK.

Never heard anybody describe the heat in Phoenix as "a bit of sunshine". Probably best to think in terms of furnace but console yourself with the thought that it's, as they say here, a dry heat. SPF30+ recommended for pasty Brit skin.

Noorah101

I started to request this again today, and froze again at the point of putting in his last name. LOL I guess I'm thinking if I put in the whole last name but he's being reported under the short last name, it will tell me there's no report available for that name and I've used up the one free one per year. I guess, unless I call them and explain it, as you said.

Also, for the life of me I can't remember his address in Turkey offhand...and also it looks like there's no place to even specify another country's address...it asks for address, state, and zip code. LOL

Maybe it's a sign that I shouldn't be running this report!!

Rene

englishnurse

Never heard anybody describe the heat in Phoenix as "a bit of sunshine". Probably best to think in terms of furnace but console yourself with the thought that it's, as they say here, a dry heat. SPF30+ recommended for pasty Brit skin.[/QUOTE]
thought i might save up and buy space suits from nasa that should sort out the sunscreen problem lol

fatbrit

For a "nation of immigrants" this place never ceases to amazes me with a total lack of cultural awareness!

Insist on your free credit report -- it's your right under the FACT Act.

Noorah101

OK, well, I have an update, and I'm kind of upset (perhaps unnecessarily).

My alien husband has been in the USA for 11 months. We are waiting for his AOS interview which will most likely not happen until very late 2005, maybe even early 2006. He got a secured credit card where we bank at Wells Fargo, 7 months ago. At that time, they had told us to come back in 6 to 8 months and they will do a review and see about unsecuring the card. In the meantime, he got a gas card and department store card. A month ago, we called Wells Fargo credit department and they told us their policy was not to issue unsecured a card for 12 to 18 months.

Since this wasn't what the people at the bank told us, we went last week into the branch and talked to them. They recommended applying for a new, unsecured card. I specifically asked them if they could see ANY reason for us not to apply, since we're really trying to avoid a denial on his record (he has one denial from a while back - reason lack of credit history - understandable). The woman at the bank said no, there was no outright reason he would should denied, unless it is lack of credit history (again, which would be understandable).

Soooooooo, the reply comes in the mail – Denied. Reason? Not yet a Permanent US Resident. What?? This one minor (ha ha) detail was NEVER mention during any of our conversation with many people at the bank and on the phone with the credit dept. Lack of credit history, maybe. But never his status here was mentioned that it could be a reason for denial. I went to the bank again last night to ask about it. At very least, I wanted them to point me in the direction of where this policy is written so I can read it myself. Even the woman at the credit dept. the time I called them said the policy was 12 to 18 months, not that the policy was when he gets a green card! The man at the bank called the credit department. Basically they told him “we have the right to refuse credit to anyone for whatever reason we decide, and we don’t have to show the consumer anything written to that effect.” WHAT?

Is it just me or does this sound wrong? I argued with the bank man that if we had KNOWN him not having his green card yet would cause him 100% to get denied, we would never have filled out the application….duhhhh!! All I’m asking is to be shown the written policy – then I’ll calm down. Don’t I have a right to see it? Plus, it doesn’t sound like fair treatment to all their clients….it’s not our fault that some places issue green cards in 4 months, and our location issues green cards in 24 months!!

Sorry for such a long rant. For some reason, this doesn’t sound fair at all. It’s not even not having the credit card itself that’s such a big deal…we can wait longer…but I don’t like Wells Fargo’s attitude and response to my inquiry. I plan to call the credit department again directly today. Do I have a right to request to see their policies?

Thanks for listening!
Rene

inquisitive40

That really sucks ass.
Having said that, I think too much paranoia surrounds the "denial" on your record. I think it may knock a few points off your score long term. Personally I would change banks. I think the people you dealt with just wanted to get you out the door and so advised you to apply for an unsecured card.

Best of luck
Patrick

Noorah101

Thanks Patrick,

I really does suck. I personally have done business with Wells Fargo for a good 12 years and never once had a problem with them. I have multiple accounts, credit, and even now my mortgage with them, and they've been very helpful and curteous. When Sadegh got here, I added him to my accounts and he opened his own, and got the secured card there.

What's so sad is that my longevity and loyalty to them counts for nothing, it seems. Suddenly I'm getting the runaround and being told conflicting information - that's what's bugging me the most.

You're right, the denial is not a big deal and not having the card isn't, either. It was mostly the surprise of the reason for denial, after 7 months of talking to the bank multiple times and never having that issue even brought up.

Thanks!
Rene

BritGuyTN

being denied will actually not have any bearing on your credit score. the inquiry for credit will have a small amount (maybe 5-10 point depending on the score) of impact

fatbrit

Welcome to Wells Fargo. IMO, they have the highest demands for your credit when extending loans, but in return they offer so-so rates.

One thing you should understand is that the Wells Fargo branch and the credit card arm are two separate entities. Whilst the branch can argue on your behalf, they can't apply much leverage to them. By all means complain loud and hard, but make sure you're complaining to someone who can actually take action!

Another option that I always recommend taking, is to simply vote with your feet. I always think that with 300 million plus, US corps have become to believe they can piss anybody off as there are plenty of customers out there. I do my best to convince them otherwise.

Having said that, I like my Wells Fargo credit card. Low interest rate, no silly tricks with me...

fatbrit

If they ran his credit as an account review, he won't even have a ding on his FICO.

inquisitive40

My experience has always been the same with banks, you will be a great customer until you need something out of the usual in service, then they always cite "the rules". Banks are not interested in you, they want your money. Our bank, Washington Mutual was also a nice friendly bank and did "bend" the rules when we joined them first by cashing a check and making it instantly available, but when I wanted to add my name to my wife's account they would not budge quoting their "SSN rule.

Remember also your local branch would have had no control over the credit application you placed with them, some faceless pen pusher did it.

I would push to see "their rules" and threaten moving all you finances elsewhere, including the mortgage, that is one they will not want to lose.

Patrick

Noorah101

Thanks! Just 2 questions...by "someone who can actually take action" I guess you mean someone higher up in the credit department, right? And "vote with your feet" is a new one to me! I guess you mean change banks, right?

Thanks again...I'm off to make a phone call....lol

Rene

inquisitive40

Yup vote with your feet is "change banks".
And yes, ask for someone higher on the phone, supervisor and then to their manager, you have the right to do that, also remember that when you are calling a bank/business, you are dealing with customer service, again, someone who is there to keep you happy BUT not necessarily really help you.

Patrick