Arb2000

Hi All,
This might be impossible, but I'm asking. I'm relocating to Boston next month, and will be getting a sign-on bonus from my firm to cover my moving expenses. I need a US bank account to have it paid into.

Next week, I'll be house hunting in Boston-and wondered if I could open a US bank account in advance of my permanent move. I can supply ID, employers letter proof of address etc. but I will not have an SSN at this stage.

Can I open a bank account? Any banks that are easier to deal with when a foreigner? Or will I just have to get busy when I arrive?

Any answers will be good.

Al.

Noorah101

Yes, you can open a non-interest-bearing account without a SSN.

Rene

MidAtlantic

Some banks will open an account without an SSN, many will not. It seems it is more to do with their internal procedures/policies than anything else. Wells Fargo gets mentioned as being more understanding so it may be worth trying them.

Arb2000

Rene, thanks. Any suggestion about which Bank to approach or what the requirement are?

kodokan

We opened a Chase account without a SSN, a day or two after arriving. From memory, they wanted to see passports, visas, and a copy of hubby's job letter. They even didn't mind us using work address for a couple of weeks, until we got set up. We popped back a week or so later, and updated them with the SSN, new address, signed the right forms for taxing the interest, etc. You shouldn't have a problem at all.

ZanM

Yup, I was able to open a Bank of America account within a few days of arriving in Florida as well. They needed to see all the relevant paperwork (visa / passport/ job offer etc.) and needed a UK address and a US address that they could send paperwork to (I used my new boss's address while I got a flat sorted out). It was all really straightforward

Pulaski

Unfortunately Wells Fargo has no branches in Boston, so, as others have recommended, I'd try Chase, or if all else fails, Bank of America!

To be clear, legally you do not need a SSN to open a bank account, but you need, thanks to the USA PATRIOT Act, a "government issued ID number", so in the absence of a SSN, you would need a passport number or at a pinch, maybe a drivers licence number.

Olly_

Chase doesn't have any branches in Massachusetts either.

They also require a US proof of address to open an account now, and have a very specific list of what they'll accept (drivers license, lease, a utility bill or a letter from your employer if I remember correctly). I had to wait until I had my NJ drivers license to use as proof of address before I could open an account.

TD Bank were a bit easier, but their online banking is terrible and they charge for outbound ACH payments so I'm not a huge fan. Plus their branch network is very limited if you move away from the Northeast.

Pulaski

All banks do, it's a requirement of the USA PATRIOT Act - name, address, date of birth, and a government-issued ID number.

The problem new immigrants have is that their name doesn't appear in the on-line ID checking databases (very similar to the credit score databases), so whereas a US citizen can in most cases just tell a bank their name, address, dob, and SSN, including keying it in to a web site, and get approved in a few seconds, immigrants have to provide credible documents to support an account application.

petitefrancaise

I checked all this the other day with wells fargo...

Federal requirements - proof of address. Doesn't have to be US one - a UK one will fulfil the requirements but you must have valid proof like a utilty/tax bill. Immediately after the account is opened you can change the address to a local US one which can be a mail box.

1 Government issued ID - passport and a second form of ID which may be just a credit card or debit card with your name on it.

You don't need a social security number at all until you want some form of credit product from them.

For anyone interested here are the actual federal regulations...
https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/law...8000-1600.html

"(i) Customer information required--(A) In general. The CIP must contain procedures for opening an account that specify the identifying information that will be obtained from each customer. Except as permitted by paragraphs (a)(2)(i)(B) and (C) of this section, the bank must obtain, at a minimum, the following information from the customer prior to opening an account:
(1) Name;
(2) Date of birth, for an individual;
(3) Address, which shall be:
(i) For an individual, a residential or business street address;
(ii) For an individual who does not have a residential or business street address, an Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) box number, or the residential or business street address of next of kin or of another contact individual; or
(iii) For a person other than an individual (such as a corporation, partnership, or trust), a principal place of business, local office, or other physical location; and
(4) Identification number, which shall be:
(i) For a U.S. person, a taxpayer identification number; or
(ii) For a non-U.S. person, one or more of the following: A taxpayer identification number; passport number and country of issuance; alien identification card number; or number and country of issuance of any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard."

MidAtlantic

Thanks, helpful info. The problem is that these are the minimum requirements and many banks seem to have their own additional requirements, I guess to cover their backs.

Pulaski

Many bank employees don't seem to understand the rules and/or their employers own policies. Sometimes speaking to a manager or supervisor can help when the front-line teller/ assistant isn't proving to be helpful.

In this regard, based on annecdotes here, Wells Fargo seems to have got its act together and have reasonably well trained/ informed branch staff.

petitefrancaise

All banks are required to have a "customer identification programme" or "CIP". If you've got a numpty then ask if they can take another look at it to try and find the workarounds for "non -US" customers. That might work, it might also get you bumped up to the branch manager level who might have more knowledge about it all.

If your salary is a hefty one then you could ask to speak to their "private banker" - someone who deals with higher net worth clients and you could probably make a bet then that they will try harder to get your business.

However, after all this I think that if you are dealing with a bank that quite clearly doesn't know how to handle new arrivals to the USA then you're probably better off going elsewhere because at some point you are going to do more of the international banking (fund transfers) and you really want a bank that knows what they are talking about.

Hanco

Bank of America opened a checking account for me the Monday after I arrived in Georgia, after I landed on Saturday. (Checking Account = Current Account in UK English)

After that AND when you have a SSN, you can also give them a deposit (I did $2k) and get a "Secured Credit Card" (basically, your credit limit is the value of the $ you give them to hold from you while you have the card). When you have had the card a while, and I waited a year, ask for the deposit back. That requires you were good at paying off your balance etc (i.e. you had good credit history) and they will open you a new card account with a credit limit (or "Credit Line" in US English) that they think you can afford.

Edit: I just read the posts about proof of address. I took with me a letter from my employer and showed that. They noted my address which was a director's house I was in temporarily. Later, for the credit card, I think IIRC that I had to post an envelope from myself to myself and show that!! Seemed a bit weird at the time but it worked.

Bob

Any bank can open an account, it just won't be a interest account, but that's no loss. You might have to ask for a supervisor as it might have to be manually done as the software might not allow them to use a ID that is not a SSN.

That said, there are loads of banks. Ones with a lot of branches around Boston would be BoA, TD Bank, Santander, Citibank and Citizens. There are hundreds of smaller banks and credit unions that are pretty localised too.